Pride goes before the fall. That's is what David did as he wanted to see how many men he had in his army available to him. He neglected to acknowledge who was the provider of his armies (which all told, totalled 1.5 million) - which was God. He was advised against this sin and even was defied by Joab who refused to take part in this sin totally. God was angry with this and took his vengeance against the Israelites. David saw the sin of his ways and pleaded with God to let him bear the brunt of his anger rather than the people. There were 3 choices - 3 years of famine, 3 months of running from Israel's enemies or 3 days of plague. The latter was chosen by David since he didn't want his fate decided by men rather than God. So the angel of death came killing 70,000 people. God was sorry for this action and told the angel to stop. David went to sacrifice as an atonement and had to push the issue to pay for the sacrifice since it was the right thing to do. He went to the field of Araunah the Jebusite where he bought the field and the bull for an altar and sacrifice. God answered David with fire from heaven. So fearful of the angel of death was David that he did not inquire of the Lord there.
What a great story! I wish other public officials would read this and glean the truths of prideful politics and the lessons to be learned from it. While this story was an account that took place out of sequence with other things going on, it still was powerful enough to see that David was a man after God's heart and unlike Saul was repented and sought the Lord's providence. This is the first time that God spoke to David via Gad as well.
Praise for today: Exalt the Lord our God and worship him at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy. Psalm 99: 9
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