Week 20

Week 20


This week will be extremely brief. There were two points that I would have liked to have discussed, but both are theologically advanced and I couldn't do justice to either in the short time I had left to me for study.

Those points were:

1) The Messiah being priest (and king) after the order of Melchizedek when the "established" priesthood of the Jews as of the Aaronic order from the Levites.

2) The Lord was sitting at God's right hand and would crush kings on the day of His wrath.

If anyone wishes to question or comment on either of these points, please feel free to, and we can discuss them over the coming days.


What I want to discuss quickly is the short passage of David conducting a census of the fighting men of Israel. Last week, I touched on a point that while our sins may be forgiven, there are consequences. This is another prime example of that fact.

Why was it a sin or why did it anger God for David to conduct a census? Before this time, David relied soley on God's strength, protection, and promises. In counting the fighting men of Israel, he was measuring his own strength rather than relying on God.

God then gave David the option of choosing his own punishment.

My parents did that with me on occassion; did yours? I would be offered a lengthy grounding, extra chores, or a spanking (which was NOT insignificant when delivered by my Dad). Each of the choices I faced were very disagreeable and painful to me, but I had to choose the one that I would have to face as the consequence for my action.

Can you imagine being in David's place with God on the other side waiting to dispense punishment? To choose between being routed in warfare, a famine, or a plague - each punishment would result in obvious loss of lives - the very lives that David had counted as his own strength.

I do not envy David's position. We see in the scripture that David was grief stricken at the loss of lives because of His actions. We see also that God was grief stricken at the loss of lives.

What I want to point out that struck me most is that of the three choices given David, David chose the one that placed himself in the hand of God.

David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD , for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men."

In warfare, he would be directly in the hands of men. In famine, he would be reliant on men for aid and food. By choosing the plague of the angel ravaging Israel, David returned to relying on God instead of man.

That's the lesson I wish to learn from this episode of David's life: to stop relying on my own strengh, my own intelligence, my own talents and skills, and my own cunning and wit. I want to learn to lean on God for my strength, my protection, and my provision, as I trust Him alone for my deliverance.

Amen.