{"id":34319,"date":"2025-01-19T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-samuel_24_1-9-copy\/"},"modified":"2025-01-14T13:20:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T20:20:47","slug":"2-samuel_24_10-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2-samuel_24_10-17\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of a Conscience"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Samuel 24:10-17\u00a0 \u00a0(CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Samuel 24:10-17.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the\u00a0GAME\u00a0sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

2<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a024<\/em><\/strong>:<\/em><\/strong>10<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n10<\/sup>\u00a0<\/em>David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse\u00a010: \u00a0In the previous verses we looked at why David calling a census was a foolish thing to do.\u00a0 Now, after the census is over, David is conscience-stricken and confesses his sin to God.\u00a0\u00a0Your conscience is a great gift from God.\u00a0 Without a conscience, we would persist hardheartedly in our sin and never turn back.\u00a0 But when the Holy Spirit touches our conscience, as He did here with David, we can quickly confess our sin and get back on the right track.<\/strong>\u00a0 It’s no wonder Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy\u00a01:19\u00a0to hold on to a good conscience.<\/p>\n

2<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a024<\/em><\/strong>:11-13 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>Before David got up the next morning, the word of the LORD had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer:\u00a0<\/em>
\n12\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>“Go and tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.'”\u00a0<\/em>
\n13\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come upon you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-13: \u00a0 God sends the prophet Gad, David\u2019s long-time\u00a0friend and advisor, to bring him the message that God is letting David choose among 3 options the punishment for his sin.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0God is holy, righteous and just, such that God cannot turn a blind eye to sin.\u00a0 God\u2019s justice is so thorough and comprehensive that He demands that every sin be punished.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Does God still send plagues, famine and other disasters today as punishment for people\u2019s sins?\u00a0 I don\u2019t believe so.\u00a0 That\u2019s because Jesus took on all of God\u2019s wrath against our sins at the cross.\u00a0 As\u00a0Romans 3:25 (TLB) says:<\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God\u2019s anger against us. He used Christ\u2019s blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

For this reason Jesus could hang on the cross and declare \u201cIt is finished\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0Because all of God\u2019s wrath against our sin was placed on Jesus at the cross, God doesn\u2019t send natural disasters today to punish people for their sins.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 24:14 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the\u00a0LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”<\/p>\n

On verse 14:\u00a0 When David is asked to choose the punishment for his sin (whether three years of famine, three months of fleeing from his enemies, or three days of plague), David is deeply distressed.\u00a0 When considering his options, it must have crossed David’s mind that he had already experienced three years of famine (2\u00a0Samuel\u00a021:1) and had spent much longer than three months fleeing from enemies.<\/p>\n

What was David\u2019s guiding principle when choosing?\u00a0\u00a0It was this:\u00a0 God is a lot more merciful than people.\u00a0 David had learned from personal experience that it is better to be wounded by God who loved him and knew him better than anyone, and who was wise and self-controlled, than to be attacked by his enemies who didn\u2019t know when to quit. So David responds by saying, “Let us fall into the hands of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.” \u00a0\u00a0God is far more merciful than people are.\u00a0 It is always better to fall into the hands of God than the hands of people.\u00a0 It is better to put your hope in God than to put your hope in people.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

2 Samuel 24:15-16 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the\u00a0LORD\u00a0sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the\u00a0time\u00a0designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the\u00a0LORD\u00a0was grieved because of the calamity and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0was then at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 15-16: \u00a0 Consistent with Exodus 30:12, God chooses to allow a plague. After three days, 70,000 people are killed.\u00a0 Just before the plague is about to reach the family of Araunah the Jebusite, God in His mercy says, \u201cEnough!\u201d, suggesting that many more people could have died in the plague had God not brought it to an earlier end.\u00a0 If David’s mistake was that he put his hope in numbers and statistics, what a way for God to show how fragile and foolish David’s hope in numbers was.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this? \u00a0When we put our hope in something other than God, one day we\u2019ll eventually see how fragile and foolish that hope was.<\/strong><\/p>\n

2<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0Samuel<\/em><\/strong>\u00a024<\/em><\/strong>:17 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n17\u00a0<\/sup><\/em>When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the LORD, “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall upon me and my family.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 17: \u00a0David is grieved and distressed because his sheep, the people of Israel, are suffering because of his sin as a shepherd.\u00a0 By the way, if David was the one who sinned, why is it that God would allow many others in Israel to suffer because of David\u2019s sin?\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When a leader sins, it does not affect him or her alone, but it affects everyone in that leader\u2019s care, either directly or indirectly.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t ever think that your sin affects only you.\u00a0\u00a0Directly or indirectly it will affect all those whom God made you to influence as well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>W<\/strong>e must use the power and influence God has given us wisely and with care; otherwise, our mistakes can cause the people God has entrusted to us to suffer too.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here in 2 Samuel 24 the sheep would suffer for the shepherd\u2019s sin.\u00a0 Centuries later, the opposite would happen: \u00a0a good shepherd would voluntarily suffer for the sins of the sheep.\u00a0 That’s what happened when Jesus died on the cross.\u00a0 Jesus took responsibility for our failures.\u00a0 In effect Jesus was saying the same thing David said in verse 17, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong.\u00a0 These are but sheep.\u00a0 What have they done?\u00a0 Let your hand fall on me” (v17).\u00a0 Truly Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep (John\u00a010:11).<\/p>\n

Father, thank You for the gift of a conscience, which ultimately led me to You.\u00a0 Thank You also that You are far more merciful than people, so much so You even sent Your Son, the Lord Jesus, to be the shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep.\u00a0 Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being willing to take on all the suffering for my sins.\u00a0 Today and every day may my hope always be in You.\u00a0 In Jesus’ name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

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opyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Samuel 24:10-17.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.\u00a0 See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help. Then read the\u00a0GAME\u00a0sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!\u00a0<\/p>\n

2\u00a0Samuel\u00a024:10\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0
\n10\u00a0David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

On verse\u00a010: \u00a0In the previous verses we looked at why David calling a census was a foolish thing to do.\u00a0 Now, after the census is over, David is conscience-stricken and confesses his sin to God.\u00a0\u00a0Your conscience is a great gift from God.\u00a0 Without a conscience, we would persist hardheartedly in our sin and never turn back.\u00a0 But when the Holy Spirit touches our conscience, as He did here with David, we can quickly confess our sin and get back on the right track.\u00a0 It’s no wonder Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy\u00a01:19\u00a0to hold on to a good conscience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34319"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34322,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34319\/revisions\/34322"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}