Written For Our Admonition

719 Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 24:14 “And David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man." (2 Sam 24:14) David has been given a choice for the punishment of his sin. Years of famine, months of losing at war, or days of pestilence. No wonder David was in great distress, this was not going to be pretty. We have a difficult time in America grasping the horror of famine, we've really never experienced one of biblical proportions. We've seen the pictures of famines in other places, but even then we can't grasp the reality of it all. The Great Famine of China which occurred in the early 1960's resulted in the slow, painful death of an estimated 43 million people! Famines are usually a combination of extreme weather conditions and gross mismanagement by the regimes of men. His next choice was three months of losing war. The worst battle in the history of warfare is said to be the battle of Stalingrad in WW II. AN estimated 2 million lives were lost in that battle. Get the picture? War and famine are never pretty. Man's basic instinct for survival can bring about unspeakable barbaric acts. Pestilence: The worst recorded plague in the history of mankind was the Black Plague in the 1300's which resulted in an estimated 75 million deaths! Famine, war, or plague. Tremendous suffering no matter how you look at it. No wonder David was distressed! Of the three choices, only pestilence removes the inherent wickedness of man from the equation. Pestilence knows no economic boundaries and even the powerful are susceptible to it's effects. So David wisely chooses pestilence relying on the mercy of God. Now some may say, “Merciful God? How can a merciful God exact such punishment on a nation for the sin of their leader?” Don't go there. Remember what was written in 1Co 10:11 Now all these (OT) things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. The point is sin has consequences and will be accounted for on the Last Day. Those who are in Christ will not be punished, (plagued) but those who reject Him will live in eternal punishment. A punishment that is basically a total absence of the goodness and mercy of God! So let the pictures of the ravages of famine, war, and pestilence be etched in your mind, because hell will be even worse! Then run to Jesus and be saved!