August 04, 2010
I see three distinct themes in this section.
1. God's amazing protection and salvation. These verses list the names of the great warriors of David's army, and the amazing battles they won. One man fought for so long that his hand froze in its position on his spear. Another one stood in the middle of the field and fought for it and defeated the Philistines. Another time one went into battle with a club while his enemy had a spear. He took the spear from the enemy and the enemy was killed with his own spear. All these men were brave, but it was the LORD who gave the victory!!
2. Sin and its consequences. David decided (on his own) to count the people. This was a direct sin against God. David was given a choice of three consequences. He choose one, and 70,000 people died.
3. Repentance and forgiveness. David repented. He accepted personal accountability, paid the cost for his sin, and forgiveness was granted.
You cannot avoid the consequences of the choices you make. When you repent and accept the cost there is full forgiveness. However, sometimes other people pay the price for the choices we make, or we pay the price for the choices other people make.70,000 Israelites died because of David's choices.Then God said, "That is enough," and David accepted personal responsibility for his actions.
We are looking forward to the day when "the storm" is over and there has either been a change of heart or God says, "That is enough." I hope there is an acceptance of personal responsibility and there is an understanding of, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong... they did nothing wrong." IF—there is repentance, THEN—there is forgiveness, peace, and contentment. When David accepted the consequences for his choices, "Then the LORD answered his prayer."
It's the only way. You cannot avoid the consequences of your choices. With repentance you also get forgiveness, peace, joy, restoration, contentment, acceptance, true freedom, and life. "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear their prayers and heal their land."
Next Entry: I Kings 1:1–53
I see three distinct themes in this section.
1. God's amazing protection and salvation. These verses list the names of the great warriors of David's army, and the amazing battles they won. One man fought for so long that his hand froze in its position on his spear. Another one stood in the middle of the field and fought for it and defeated the Philistines. Another time one went into battle with a club while his enemy had a spear. He took the spear from the enemy and the enemy was killed with his own spear. All these men were brave, but it was the LORD who gave the victory!!
2. Sin and its consequences. David decided (on his own) to count the people. This was a direct sin against God. David was given a choice of three consequences. He choose one, and 70,000 people died.
3. Repentance and forgiveness. David repented. He accepted personal accountability, paid the cost for his sin, and forgiveness was granted.
You cannot avoid the consequences of the choices you make. When you repent and accept the cost there is full forgiveness. However, sometimes other people pay the price for the choices we make, or we pay the price for the choices other people make.70,000 Israelites died because of David's choices.Then God said, "That is enough," and David accepted personal responsibility for his actions.
We are looking forward to the day when "the storm" is over and there has either been a change of heart or God says, "That is enough." I hope there is an acceptance of personal responsibility and there is an understanding of, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong... they did nothing wrong." IF—there is repentance, THEN—there is forgiveness, peace, and contentment. When David accepted the consequences for his choices, "Then the LORD answered his prayer."
It's the only way. You cannot avoid the consequences of your choices. With repentance you also get forgiveness, peace, joy, restoration, contentment, acceptance, true freedom, and life. "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves and pray, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN I will hear their prayers and heal their land."
Next Entry: I Kings 1:1–53
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