Judgment And Mercy

There is a really interesting story in 1 Chronicles 21. It's the story of one of David's greatest blunders which the Lord turned around into a wonderful act of mercy.

David ordered a census of Israel. I won't go into why this was wrong but suffice it to say that God did not order it or want it. So when David went ahead there as judgment to pay. God gave David a choice: three years of famine, three months of a foreign enemy, or three days of "the sword of the Lord."

David chose the three days of God's judgment saying "Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great" (1 Chronicles 21:13). Those three days were terrible, with 70,000 of Israel perishing.

Now get this scene: the angel of the Lord (many think this represents the pre-incarnate Christ) is poised over Jerusalem to destroy it. God has mercy as David cries out his guilt "It is I who have sinned and one great evil" (vs 17). Instead of destroying, God orders David to set up an altar.

He buys the threshing floor of Ornan. Though Ornan offers it for free David says "I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing."

This altar becomes the site of the Temple.

The Temple then becomes a picture of the sacrifice for all sins that Jesus would make. So here you have Jesus who bears both the sword of judgment and the altar of mercy. This is a good picture for us to remember. We will all face Jesus. You will either face Him as the Lamb who allowed the judgment of God to fall on Him for you, or you will face Him as the judge who not spare those who have sinned outside of His grace.

The next time you feel God's judgment gathering like a sword over your head, remember this section and give your heart to the mercy of God through the sacrifice of Jesus.

Pastor Tom