“And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man” 1 Chronicles 20:13 (KJV).
It is a terrible thing to be at the mercy of man. The reason being that man can be so heartless at times. The heart is desperately wicked, especially hearts that are not circumcised by God. Man’s love is not perfect and his mercy is not everlasting. Consider these qualities of God’s love.
- It is enduring
- It is selfless
- It is unconditional
- It is sacrificial
David was influenced by the devil to number Israel. Note here that numbering of Israel was not the issue but the motive is. Nothing good can ever come from the devil. Christians must understand that every suggestion from satan have evil attached to it. The goal is to make us offend God and so fall out of favour with him. Adam and Eve failed to understand that no good thing can ever come from satan. On the surface, satan’s suggestion may seem to bring happiness and comfort but hidden in the seemingly happiness is dangerous poison that will ultimately erode the comfort or happiness living behind great pain and lifetime regret. David yielded to the temptation to number Israel; the spiritual implication of the numbering of the people is putting confidence in the arm of the flesh instead of relying on God. There is always this tendency to shift one’s confidence from God to one’s human connections, to one’s strong financial account or to one’s skills or knowledge when one feels he has become so successful in life. Numbering Israel for proper welfare or economic planning wouldn’t be a bad idea but that was not the case. David was putting his faith in the numerical strength and military strength of his men rather than confidence in God who has given him victory with few people and few war gadgets.
Faced with three difficult options:
- Three years famine
- Three months in the hands of foes
- Three days in the hand of God
David remembered the mercies of God. It was not an issue of the shortness or length of the days of wrath because three days of God’s wrath could be more terrible than three years of natural disasters or three months of human wickedness. It was a question of God’s mercy that takes away from us the wrath we deserve and his grace that gives to us the blessings we do not deserve. “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassion fails not Lamentation 3:22 (KJV).
PRAYER: Lord, thank you for your great mercies
Rev. Vincent Diolu