Submission to Divine Chastisement
B. Dale 2 Samuel 24:14 And David said to Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great… Let us now fall into the hand of Jehovah. Already David had been convinced of his sin. He had also confessed it and sought forgiveness. Nor had he done so in vain. But, as formerly (2 Samuel 12:10-12), so now, the (temporal) penalties of sin must follow. Throughout he exhibited a spirit the exact reverse of that in which he had numbered. the people. Consider - I. THE CHASTISEMENT OF SIN which was laid before him. I. It was consequent upon his sin, and adapted to its correction. A vain glorious pride and warlike policy result (in the providence of God, sometimes by means which can be clearly seen) in the destruction of human life; not only directly by war (Matthew 26:52), but also by famine (through lack of proper cultivation of the soil, wasting consumption of its produce, etc.) and by pestilence (to which both contribute); and are rebuked and chastised thereby (Revelation 6:4-8). 2. It was a necessity, from which there was no escape. He and his people must suffer, according to the fixed and just method of the Divine procedure, for the vindication of the honour of God and the promotion of their own welfare. Herein no choice is left. 3. But it was also optional, within certain limits (Jeremiah 34:17). "Every example, public or private, of a sin brought face to face with its suffering, presents an aspect of choice as well as of compulsion. The mere question of confession or denial, with the consequences of either, is such an alternative in the case of individual wrong doing. The adoption of this expedient rather than that, in the way of avoidance or mitigation of consequences, is an alternative" (C.J. Vaughan). Why was such a choice submitted to him? To test his character; to deepen his sense of sin, by the consideration of its terrible effects; to induce the open acknowledgment of his guilt; to perfect his submission; "to give him some encouragement under the correction, letting him know that God did not cast him cut of com-reunion with himself, but that still his secret was with him; and in afflicting him he considered his frame, and what he could best bear" (Matthew Henry). 4. And it caused him great distress; all the greater because he was required, not merely to submit passively to chastisement, but to choose the form thereof, and thus make it, in some sense, his own. "All chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous, but grievous," etc. (Hebrews 12:11). II. THE SPIRIT OF SUBMISSION which he displayed. "Is it a choice made? or, is it a choice referred back to the offerer? Is it, 'I choose pestilence'? or is it, 'Let God choose'? Whatever the application, the principle stands steadfast - In everything let me be in God's hand; whether for the choice of my punishment, or for the infliction of it, he shall be my Judge; for his mercies are great - greater than man's; the more free his choice, the more direct his dealing, the better is it for the man, the better is it for the nation that must suffer." "And David chose for himself the mortality [death]" (LXX.); "that affliction which is common to kings and to their subjects, and in which the fear was equal on all sides" (Josephus). Of famine and war, with their untold miseries, he had had experience, not of pestilence. By the former he would become dependent on men (for the sustaining or the sparing of life); by the latter, more directly on God; and whilst "the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel," his "anger endureth but a moment" (Psalm 30:5), and "his mercies are great." The spirit evinced is one of: 1. Self-abasement, before the majesty of the supreme King and Judge. 2. Self-abnegation; with noble disinterestedness, setting aside all care for his personal safety, and enduring, in common with the meanest of his subjects, the just chastisement of Heaven. His position might secure him against suffering and death by famine and "the sword of his enemies;" not by "the sword of the Lord" (1 Chronicles 21:12) - "The pestilence that walketh in darkness, And the sickness that wasteth at noonday." (Psalm 91:6.) 3. Self-surrender; the sacrifice of his own will to the will of God (1 Samuel 3:18; 2 Samuel 15:23-29; Psalm 131.). "And in his will is our tranquillity: It is the mighty ocean, whither tends Whatever it creates and nature makes." (Dante, 'Par.,' 3.) Though he slay me, etc. (Job 13:15). "If Christ stood with a drawn sword in his hand pointed at my breast, yet would I rush into his arms" (Luther). 4. Confidence in the abounding mercy of God. For he is not like man, ignorant, inconsiderate, unjust, wilful, selfish, cruel, and malicious; but knows all things (the secrets of the heart, the force of temptation, the sincerity of penitence, the reality of love), is considerate (of human infirmities, Isaiah 57:16), righteous, "merciful, and gracious," etc. (Exodus 34:6), very pitiful (Psalm 103:13, 14), mitigates affliction (Isaiah 27:8), mingles with it many consolations, and "repents him of the evil" (Jonah 4:4; 1 Samuel 15:29; ver. 16). Such trust is the spring of true submission, and it is fully justified by the event. 5. Cooperation with the merciful and holy purposes of God in relation to the moral welfare of those whom he afflicts. The selfishness of men in famine and their cruelty in war tend to evoke rebellion, wrath, and retaliation; the recognition of "the mighty hand of God" (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6) tends to produce lowly obedience, tenderness, and kindness. 6. Concern for the welfare of the nation, which would suffer less by the last than by the first two of the calamities; and: 7. Zeal for the interests of religion and the glory of God. "Let thy Name be magnified forever" (ch. 7:26). "When the apostle said to the Hebrews that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, does it not contradict the decision of David? By no means. The apostle meant to speak of those who fall without repentance into the hands of God for punishment; but, in a penitent disposition, nothing is so sweet as to fall into the loving and most gracious hands of the living God" (Du Bose). - D. Parallel Verses KJV: And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. WEB: David said to Gad, "I am in distress. Let us fall now into the hand of Yahweh; for his mercies are great. Let me not fall into the hand of man."