David’s choice and the Lord’s great mercy
This Communion reflection revisits David’s sinful census in 1 Chronicles 21 and the judgment options God presented through Gad. It highlights David’s decision to fall into the Lord’s hands because God’s mercy is “very great.” It then points to the cross, where Jesus suffered human cruelty while fulfilling God’s deliberate plan for forgiveness.
- Scripture records David’s failure honestly, including the census in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21.
- David chose the Lord’s hands over human hands because God’s mercy is very great.
- At the cross, Jesus revealed both human wretchedness and God’s mercy in providing forgiveness.
By Doug Redford
David’s census and a merciful God
While King David is called a man after God’s heart (Acts 13:22), the Scriptures do not attempt to gloss over times in David’s life when his heart and actions were not in tune with God’s. One of those is recorded twice in Scripture: in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. The issue was a census that David commanded Joab, the primary commander of Israel’s army, and the other officers to take of the fighting men in Israel. Joab objected to this; however, David demanded that the census proceed. Only afterwards did David recognize the wrong of his actions, perhaps because numbering his troops reflected a lack of trust in the Lord as the real Commander of Israel’s army. David admitted to the Lord that he had “sinned greatly” and called his action “a very foolish thing” (1 Chronicles 21:8, New International Version).
The Lord then sent David’s seer, a man named Gad, who gave David three choices as to the punishment he would receive for his actions: three years of famine, three months of pursuit by Israel’s enemies, or three days of punishment by “the sword of the Lord,” including a plague “with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel” (v. 12).
David’s response reveals an insightful understanding of both God and human beings: “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands” (1 Chronicles 21:13). David knew all too well from his previous experiences in battle how unspeakably cruel and brutal humans can be. But he also knew from previous experience how merciful the Lord is—and the Lord was indeed merciful in this instance as the rest of the account in 1 Chronicles 21 shows (vv. 14, 15).
Communion and the mercy revealed at the cross
Consider as we observe Communion how Jesus, who was both God and man, the son of David and the Son of God, suffered the cruelty of human hatred when he was mocked, abused, and eventually crucified. Yes, Jesus fell into human hands, but that is only part of what was happening when he died. Hear Peter’s words at Pentecost: “This man [Jesus] was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge” (Acts 2:23). In God’s sovereign hands, Jesus demonstrated at the cross how wretched human beings can be but also how merciful God can be by providing a means for the forgiveness of that wretchedness. As we take this meal of remembrance, let us echo what David said: that the Lord’s mercy is indeed “very great.”
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
Author: Doug Redford
Doug Redford has served in the preaching ministry, as an editor of adult Sunday school curriculum, and as a Bible college professor. Now retired, he continues to write and speak as opportunities arise.
