In Psalm 98,it says, "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music." It made me start wondering when I had last shouted for joy in the Lord. Sometimes I get so busy that I forget to appreciate all that He gives. As I write this, I am looking out the window at a blue sky and green trees. I have a family that loves me, a place to sleep, and plenty to eat. Today, I will joyfully thank the one who gave them all.
Wouldn't it be nice if all of our politicians heeded what David said: "When one rules over people in righteousness,when he rules in the fear of God,he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth." Unfortunately, we have very few that rule in the fear of God; in many ways, they worship their own power instead.
2 Samuel 24:1, the Lord … incited David, while 1 Chron. 21:1 reads, “Satan … incited David.” Can both be true? Yes, God can use the evil of Satan to accomplish His good purposes just as He can bring good to people out of terrible circumstances.
In I Chronicles 21:14, it says that David's chosen punishment for his sin led to the deaths of 70,000 in Israel. Can you imagine how terrible that would feel? Our presidents often talk of the guilt and worry associated with sending our troops off into battle, but this is on a different level because the deaths didn't come from Israel's enemies, the deaths came from God as a punishment of David's sin.
Let me respond to each of your great comments: 1. If folks are reading the CorneR article I have been penning for The Eagle, our church newsletter, they will see my breakdown of the Lord's Prayer. It shows early on in the prayer (right after declaring God's parental identification [Father] and His Sovereignty) that He is to be praised. Many take that part out of their prayers. We only ask Him to grant our needs. We must look around at the phenomenal confirmation of the Lord's existence. As you said - there is blue sky, green grass, a loving family, food on our plate, and a place to rest our heads. We must think on these things. I do my best, but sometimes I falter. Reading Psalm 98 brought back the reminder to be more joyfully thankful to God and shout for joy in the Lord.
2. The news hit me, and I am sure the rest of the world, with a bombshell: President Obama would like Israel to give back all the territory it rightfully gained from the Palestinians (the territory was the property of the Israelites from the start) and be content with the land they occupied before the 1967 conflict. I have been reading the book of Revelations and there is a person of "peace" who deceives many nations. That is all I will explore on that for now. One thing is for sure, our leaders' morality is becoming exposed more than ever, both Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal. It is scary.
3. You answered your own question! LOL In the parallel passage, we see that God was angry and influenced David to do this. Both are true. God may be said to cause that which He permits (Job 1:12 - "The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”). The evil that is unleashed by disobedience leads to suffering which we may see as sent by God (Romans 1:18 - "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness" and, Romans 1:24 - "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." Of course God is also proactive in punishment (Isaiah 13:11 - "I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless," Isaiah 28:21 - "The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon — to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task," and Revelations 20:9 - "They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them." David made a bad decision to number the Israelites. This was more than gathering information. It was an order for the men found to be ready to fight. David David said to Joab that this choice to use the military (Joab was commander) could override the wishes of the people. Plus, God had a different method of numbering the Israelites (Numbers 1:2 - "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one" and Numbers 26:1 - "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by families—all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Israel. So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said, "Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the LORD commanded Moses." As for God "using" the evil of Satan, I (personal opinion, of course) would probably change that verb to "allowing." Great comment, Gary!
2 Samuel 24 parallels 1 Chronicles 21 where God allows David to make the decision on the punishment to be brought to the Israelites. When I was in the military, and someone in our company made an error, the WHOLE team was disciplined. This created team work by teaching the team to watch our buddies: if we see they are about to make a mistake, we are to correct it at our level and not the command's level. It also showed unit accountability and not just individual accountability. Here were the choices God gave David: three years famine, three months of being besieged by the enemy, or three days pestilence. I, like David, would have chosen the 3 days. This would inflict the least amount of damage to my people. Three years of famine would have killed more than the 70K felled by the infection; three months of being chased around by the enemy would have probably killed more than 70K too. Sure, it was a tough bone to chew knowing you caused the death of so many Israelites but I submit to you that it was possible the 70K men who died had assumed the same pride as did the King David.
In Psalm 98,it says, "Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music." It made me start wondering when I had last shouted for joy in the Lord. Sometimes I get so busy that I forget to appreciate all that He gives. As I write this, I am looking out the window at a blue sky and green trees. I have a family that loves me, a place to sleep, and plenty to eat. Today, I will joyfully thank the one who gave them all.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice if all of our politicians heeded what David said: "When one rules over people in righteousness,when he rules in the fear of God,he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning,like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth." Unfortunately, we have very few that rule in the fear of God; in many ways, they worship their own power instead.
ReplyDelete2 Samuel 24:1, the Lord … incited David, while 1 Chron. 21:1 reads, “Satan … incited David.” Can both be true? Yes, God can use the evil of Satan to accomplish His good purposes just as He can bring good to people out of terrible circumstances.
ReplyDeleteIn I Chronicles 21:14, it says that David's chosen punishment for his sin led to the deaths of 70,000 in Israel. Can you imagine how terrible that would feel? Our presidents often talk of the guilt and worry associated with sending our troops off into battle, but this is on a different level because the deaths didn't come from Israel's enemies, the deaths came from God as a punishment of David's sin.
ReplyDeleteLet me respond to each of your great comments:
ReplyDelete1. If folks are reading the CorneR article I have been penning for The Eagle, our church newsletter, they will see my breakdown of the Lord's Prayer. It shows early on in the prayer (right after declaring God's parental identification [Father] and His Sovereignty) that He is to be praised. Many take that part out of their prayers. We only ask Him to grant our needs. We must look around at the phenomenal confirmation of the Lord's existence. As you said - there is blue sky, green grass, a loving family, food on our plate, and a place to rest our heads. We must think on these things. I do my best, but sometimes I falter. Reading Psalm 98 brought back the reminder to be more joyfully thankful to God and shout for joy in the Lord.
2. The news hit me, and I am sure the rest of the world, with a bombshell: President Obama would like Israel to give back all the territory it rightfully gained from the Palestinians (the territory was the property of the Israelites from the start) and be content with the land they occupied before the 1967 conflict. I have been reading the book of Revelations and there is a person of "peace" who deceives many nations. That is all I will explore on that for now. One thing is for sure, our leaders' morality is becoming exposed more than ever, both Republican and Democrat, Conservative and Liberal. It is scary.
ReplyDelete3. You answered your own question! LOL In the parallel passage, we see that God was angry and influenced David to do this. Both are true. God may be said to cause that which He permits (Job 1:12 - "The LORD said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.”). The evil that is unleashed by disobedience leads to suffering which we may see as sent by God (Romans 1:18 - "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness" and, Romans 1:24 - "Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another." Of course God is also proactive in punishment (Isaiah 13:11 - "I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless," Isaiah 28:21 - "The LORD will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim, he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon — to do his work, his strange work, and perform his task, his alien task," and Revelations 20:9 - "They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them." David made a bad decision to number the Israelites. This was more than gathering information. It was an order for the men found to be ready to fight. David David said to Joab that this choice to use the military (Joab was commander) could override the wishes of the people. Plus, God had a different method of numbering the Israelites (Numbers 1:2 - "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by their clans and families, listing every man by name, one by one" and Numbers 26:1 - "Take a census of the whole Israelite community by families—all those twenty years old or more who are able to serve in the army of Israel. So on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said, "Take a census of the men twenty years old or more, as the LORD commanded Moses." As for God "using" the evil of Satan, I (personal opinion, of course) would probably change that verb to "allowing." Great comment, Gary!
ReplyDelete2 Samuel 24 parallels 1 Chronicles 21 where God allows David to make the decision on the punishment to be brought to the Israelites. When I was in the military, and someone in our company made an error, the WHOLE team was disciplined. This created team work by teaching the team to watch our buddies: if we see they are about to make a mistake, we are to correct it at our level and not the command's level. It also showed unit accountability and not just individual accountability. Here were the choices God gave David: three years famine, three months of being besieged by the enemy, or three days pestilence. I, like David, would have chosen the 3 days. This would inflict the least amount of damage to my people. Three years of famine would have killed more than the 70K felled by the infection; three months of being chased around by the enemy would have probably killed more than 70K too. Sure, it was a tough bone to chew knowing you caused the death of so many Israelites but I submit to you that it was possible the 70K men who died had assumed the same pride as did the King David.
ReplyDelete