Bible Study

Just for your thoughts.
1 Chronicles or Notebook Book — Bible Lesson 18
Scripture for Meditation: 1 Chronicles 21:13 —
“Falling into God’s hands is the safest place.”
"Then David said to Gad, 'I am in great distress. 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)
During his lifetime, David regretted two major incidents deeply:
The sin he committed in the matter of Bathsheba.
When Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of the Israelites, which led to severe consequences.

In the first case, he personally suffered great loss and pain. God did not give him any options but directly declared judgment upon him.

However, in the matter of the census, God gave him three choices of punishment:

Three years of famine;

Three months of fleeing from enemies while they pursued with their swords;

Three days of the Lord’s sword — a plague in the land. (1 Chronicles 21:12)

Except for David, there is no other record in the Bible where God personally offered someone the choice to select their own punishment.
Let us briefly meditate on why David chose the punishment he did.
The first reason was that David had already suffered much at the hands of men — from Saul and from his own son Absalom.

When punishment comes through men, we find no mercy or grace.

A man punishes according to his own will and anger. But when punishment comes from God’s hands, there is mercy and grace.

Even though God’s merciful judgment caused 70,000 Israelites to die, it still reveals His compassion. If this was the result of God’s merciful punishment, we cannot even imagine how terrible the other two punishments would have been — they would have been much harsher and longer-lasting.

This was a massive loss caused by one leader’s wrong decision. Another divine purpose behind this punishment was to reduce the prideful sense of strength David had developed through the nation’s growing population — God humbled him by reducing that number.
Seeing the severity of the punishment, David pleaded directly with God to stop it.

He did not seek the help or counsel of any prophet.
Lessons We Learn from This Event
Personal mistakes affect only the individual, but leadership mistakes affect the entire church or organization under that leader.

The matter of Bathsheba was a personal sin; David personally bore its consequences.
But the census issue was related to his nation — and therefore, the whole nation suffered.
The death of 70,000 Israelites was the result of one wrong decision.
Throughout history, churches and ministries have suffered immeasurable loss due to wrong decisions by leaders. Leaders must act with shared responsibility.

Had David listened to the counsel of his commander Joab, this tragedy might have been avoided — but he rejected that advice. Even today, autocratic decisions by leaders continue to harm ministries and congregations.


We must allow God to discipline us when necessary.
If we choose to be disciplined through men, we will face shame and humiliation.
When we face God’s discipline, we should not depend on mediators or agents to plead for us. If we cry out to God directly, deliverance is certain.
Even the greatest servants of God can make wrong decisions — David stands as a clear example of this truth.