God can transform our sins and failures to bring good out of evil

We all need God's mercy. Because of his great love, grace and mercy, we have not been overtaken by the perils of this world. He keeps us. I do this article this morning as I am amazed at how many are walking in blindness, how quickly the deception of the last days is growing.

But yet God is pursuing his people l

Now God led me this weekend to study

one more time the account of how David numbered the people. The account is in 2 Chronicles 21.

1Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.”

3 But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the number of his people a hundred times over! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this? Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?”

4 But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem 5 and reported the number of people to David. There were 1,100,000 warriors in all Israel who could handle a sword, and 470,000 in Judah. 6 But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do.

7 God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it. 8 Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing.”

9 Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer. This was the message: 10 “Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”

11 So Gad came to David and said, “These are the choices the Lord has given you. 12 You may choose three years of famine, three months of destruction by the sword of your enemies, or three days of severe plague as the angel of the Lord brings devastation throughout the land of Israel. Decide what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”

13 “I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into human hands.”

14 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 people died as a result. 15 And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel was preparing to destroy it, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Araunah[a] the Jebusite.

16 David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth with his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusalem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on burlap to show their deep distress and fell face down on the ground. 17 And David said to God, “I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people.”

David Builds an Altar

18 Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to instruct David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 So David went up to do what the Lord had commanded him through Gad. 20 Araunah, who was busy threshing wheat at the time, turned and saw the angel there. His four sons, who were with him, ran away and hid. 21 When Araunah saw David approaching, he left his threshing floor and bowed before David with his face to the ground.

22 David said to Araunah, “Let me buy this threshing floor from you at its full price. Then I will build an altar to the Lord there, so that he will stop the plague.”

23 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you wish,” Araunah said to David. “I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, and the threshing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give it all to you.”

24 But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it for the full price. I will not take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!” 25 So David gave Araunah 600 pieces of gold[b] in payment for the threshing floor.

26 David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And when David prayed, the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to burn up the offering on the altar. 27 Then the Lord spoke to the angel, who put the sword back into its sheath.

28 When David saw that the Lord had answered his prayer, he offered sacrifices there at Araunah’s threshing floor. 29 At that time the Tabernacle of the Lord and the altar of burnt offering that Moses had made in the wilderness were located at the place of worship in Gibeon. 30 But David was not able to go there to inquire of God, because he was terrified by the drawn sword of the angel of the Lord

Please read the continuation in chapter 22

Let's expound a bit:

All sin bears consequences.

David was a man after God's own heart, not because he didn’t sin or fail, but because he was repentant. He never explained why he did what he did (as some of us do) but he took responsibility for his sin.

It is important to note when we sin, we may not always see our sin, that is why it is necessary to make ourselves accountable to others.

On both occasions of David’s "serious" sins - this account and also the account of murder and adultery in 2 Samuel 11 and 12 - God sent the prophets Gad and Nathan to point out his sin.

Why is this?

Sin - the condition of the hardening of one's heart causes a state of "blindness" to come upon us.

How merciful God is to continue to pursue us even with our failings.

Now David took full responsibility (..That is where repentance begins), he never continued with pride, but he had to bear the consequences and as a result 70,000 people died.

Repentance does not negate consequences, but enables us to walk down a new pathway, sowing right seed and making right choices and if we have to bear the consequences of presumptuous sin commited, God will give us the grace we need in that place.

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The amazing thing about this story is when David chose his punishment and begs God for mercy. God gives the instruction to build an altar of sacrifice. The place where David built of sacrifice became the site for building Solomon's Temple.

God can transform our sins and failures and bring good out of evil.

Prayer

God have mercy on me, show me truth - use whatever means necessary to show me my sin. I will walk in ways that please you God. I want to be connected to your heart. Remove any blindness from me Lord. Enable me to walk down a new pathway to freedom and empowered for purpose. Remove guilt and condemnation from me. I ask you Lord

In Jesus name

Amen