Consequences
by Pastor Andrew Wolfenbarger
10/25/2023
Recommended Reading: 1 Chronicles 21:1-13
2 Samuel 24:10 – “And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
Sin always has consequences. Take the Seattle man, for example, who tried to steal gasoline from a motor home. Attaching a siphoning hose to the vehicle, he started to work; but police found him shortly afterward writhing in agony in the street. Seems he had attached the hose, not to the gasoline tank, but to the motor home’s sewage tank! The owner declined to press charges; he was too busy laughing.
David was far from a perfect man. In fact, his greatest mistakes are recorded for the world to read. What made him a man after God’s heart was not his lack of failure, but his decisions after his failures. Unlike his predecessor (King Saul), David always repented before God and received mercy. That doesn’t mean, however, that he never had to endure the consequences of his sin. The day that he numbered the people of Israel, God viewed this action as sinful and his advisors considered it abominable. Because of this, God imposed consequences even after his repentance. The choices that God gave him were 1) seven years of famine, 2) three months of defeat at the hands of his enemies, or 3) three days of pestilence. David’s response shows his understanding of God’s nature.
2 Samuel 24:14 - "And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man."
David didn’t know what discipline God would impose, but he understood that even in judgment, God’s mercy is great. As God smites the nation with pestilence, He becomes grieved at the destruction caused by David’s sin. So, God leaves off smiting the nation at the great city of Jerusalem (the city of David), until David is able to offer sacrifice and have his sins pardoned by means of atonement.
Notice the direct consequences of David’s sin:
1. David’s Sin Affected Him
2 Samuel 24:10 - “And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people.”
2. David’s Sin Affected Others
2 Samuel 24:15 - “So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.”
3. David’s Sin Affected Future Generations
1 Chronicles 22:1 - “Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.”
This particular point is both a blessing and a curse and it is the harsh reality of sin’s consequences. David purchased this land with the intent of one day constructing a permanent altar in this place. This would eventually become the place of the Temple and the brazen altar upon which every Jewish sacrifice for generations would be offered. The fact that David responded in repentance and surrender to the mercy of God means that God made a positive out of David’s negative so that countless other Jewish men could follow his pattern in future generations. Unfortunately, every single person who would visit this place would remember that this all began because of David’s great sin.
10/25/2023
Recommended Reading: 1 Chronicles 21:1-13
2 Samuel 24:10 – “And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
Sin always has consequences. Take the Seattle man, for example, who tried to steal gasoline from a motor home. Attaching a siphoning hose to the vehicle, he started to work; but police found him shortly afterward writhing in agony in the street. Seems he had attached the hose, not to the gasoline tank, but to the motor home’s sewage tank! The owner declined to press charges; he was too busy laughing.
David was far from a perfect man. In fact, his greatest mistakes are recorded for the world to read. What made him a man after God’s heart was not his lack of failure, but his decisions after his failures. Unlike his predecessor (King Saul), David always repented before God and received mercy. That doesn’t mean, however, that he never had to endure the consequences of his sin. The day that he numbered the people of Israel, God viewed this action as sinful and his advisors considered it abominable. Because of this, God imposed consequences even after his repentance. The choices that God gave him were 1) seven years of famine, 2) three months of defeat at the hands of his enemies, or 3) three days of pestilence. David’s response shows his understanding of God’s nature.
2 Samuel 24:14 - "And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man."
David didn’t know what discipline God would impose, but he understood that even in judgment, God’s mercy is great. As God smites the nation with pestilence, He becomes grieved at the destruction caused by David’s sin. So, God leaves off smiting the nation at the great city of Jerusalem (the city of David), until David is able to offer sacrifice and have his sins pardoned by means of atonement.
Notice the direct consequences of David’s sin:
1. David’s Sin Affected Him
2 Samuel 24:10 - “And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people.”
2. David’s Sin Affected Others
2 Samuel 24:15 - “So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.”
3. David’s Sin Affected Future Generations
1 Chronicles 22:1 - “Then David said, This is the house of the LORD God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.”
This particular point is both a blessing and a curse and it is the harsh reality of sin’s consequences. David purchased this land with the intent of one day constructing a permanent altar in this place. This would eventually become the place of the Temple and the brazen altar upon which every Jewish sacrifice for generations would be offered. The fact that David responded in repentance and surrender to the mercy of God means that God made a positive out of David’s negative so that countless other Jewish men could follow his pattern in future generations. Unfortunately, every single person who would visit this place would remember that this all began because of David’s great sin.
Posted in Sin
Tagged with 1 Chronicles 21, 2 Samuel 24, sin, consequences, mistakes, discipline, judgement, mercy
Tagged with 1 Chronicles 21, 2 Samuel 24, sin, consequences, mistakes, discipline, judgement, mercy
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