2 Samuel 24:11-17 – Our Merciful God

David realized and confessed his sin and the Lord heard his prayer and answered, but he still had to bear the consequence. It is one thing to be forgiven and quite another to bear the consequence of one’s transgression. Sin will always bring with it consequences. So we read in verse 11 that the Lord sent a message to David through Gad his seer. And graciously God gave David three choices of punishment for him to choose one.

The three punishments were: firstly, for them to experience seven years of famine; secondly, three months of being pursued by their foes; or thirdly to experience three days of pestilence. Though greatly anguished, David chose to fall into the hand of the Mighty God i.e. the three days of pestilence. He knew that God would be compassionate, that even in His punishment he could expect Him to be merciful. The last option was the best, in that it would be less disruptive for the people and for him personally.  

Verse 15 said that the LORD sent upon that land a pestilence from that morning until the appointed time. Apparently, David was right, the Lord was merciful. The pestilence was supposed to come upon them for three days, but it only fell on them till the appointed time, meaning the afternoon sacrifice of the same day. This meant that God did not punish them for three days. However, we note the severity of the punishment for 70,000 of his men from Dan to Beersheba died within a short space of time. When the hand of the angel of death was coming toward Jerusalem, the LORD mercifully stopped it in response to David’s intercession.

When David saw the angel of death moved toward Jerusalem, he told the Lord that he knew it was his fault and was prepared to bear the brunt of the responsibility. He felt that the people were innocent. God heard his prayer and the pestilence stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusites.

Two great lessons can be drawn from these seven verses. We serve a merciful and compassionate God. In His dealing with us, He is always compassionate and merciful. David chose to fall into the hand of God for He knew that God is measured and merciful. As a leader, David took personal responsibility for the wrong. And was prepared to bear the brunt of the punishment. God saw his heart and stopped his affliction on the people. Remember the words of Jesus urging us to be merciful, even as the Father in heaven is merciful. Let us be people of mercy!