DAVID , the “man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam. 13:14; Acts 13:22), had significant times when he failed to follow God’s will, with disastrous results. David erred greatly, and sinned far worse, when he sent Joab, one of his military generals, out to count the fighting men of Israel in preparation for war. What he apparently saw as a wise precaution the Lord saw as a critical lack of faith. As a result, God sent the prophet Gad to him to let him choose his appropriate punishment from one of three terrible options. David made his decision. “So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.” (2 Sam. 24:15) David repented of his sin. “I am the one who has sinned and done wrong. Let your hand fall upon me and my family.” (2 Sam. 24:17b) Finally, as the plague reached Jerusalem, God relented. “On that day Gad went to David and said to him, “Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” (2 Sam. 24:18)
David had been a warrior since his youthful triumph over Goliath. He had been in raids, skirmishes, and battles throughout his young adult life. As king, he had been at war throughout most of his reign. He had grown exceptionally tired. “Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and he became exhausted.” (2 Sam. 21:15) Few of us have had the enemies that David had, and few still have led in battle year after year with the responsibility for the welfare of a nation on our shoulders. All of us, however, who have lived long enough, have faced our own kinds of battles, some of which can seem endless. And all of us known the weariness that accompanies never-ending conflict, at least to some extent, so we can empathize with a lapse of judgment.
We need to be aware when we are in jeopardy of making such mistakes. There is an acronym prevalent in recovery ministries, ‘H.A.L.T.,’ that is worth our consideration and understanding; it is best to have such knowledge standing guard at the doorway to really bad choices. It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired, and when any one of these conditions afflict us it is a warning, and we should pay attention to that. When multiple aspects of this affect us simultaneously, we are liable to making great mistakes. So it was with David, and not for the first time. Under very similar circumstances he had the same lack of prudence when he sinned with Bathsheba, and there also he had a prophet to remind him to reconsider his ways. He was familiar with both sin and repentance, and when he turned away from denial, he knew what he must do. So too with us; when we become aware of the sin, our first move needs to be done humbly before God. “Forgive me Lord, I repent of my sin.”
The Lord stated this price: “So David went up. Araunah said, ‘Why has my lord the king come to his servant?’ ‘To buy your threshing floor,’ David answered, ‘so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.’” (2 Sam. 20:19-21) Not much is said in scripture regarding Araunah, but enough that we find that he is a man of integrity who lives in fear of the Lord. “Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. May the Lord your God accept you.” (2 Sam. 20:22, 23b)
But David, like us a man of many flaws, also has integrity. It is he that wrote in the Psalms, “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who keeps his oath even when it hurts.” (Psa. 15:1-2, 4) He responds to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Sam. 20:24) Thus it is that the ground that would later be the site of the first Temple is purchased for the Lord, a site that is still revered as holy, but is still not absent from strife.
We have a lifetime of eight decades or so to work out the challenges of our life. God is working out the challenges of creation across a much longer arc of time, and who is to deny that in some small way the decisions that you and I must make about the trials of our lives that demand integrity do not impact history? What will the legacy of our decisions lead to as an inheritance to our descendants? Would we trade, say, personal temporal gain, if that meant that our descendants knew us as people of impugned character? Each of us must decide, at those points of challenge, what is important to us. And like David, there will be times when we fail, but must recognize that such failure is really simply another trial, and one over which we can ultimately attain moral victory. Jesus posed this question most succinctly. “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matt. 16:26)
Q. What decision of today will show up in my tomorrows?
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