God Never Had to Show Mercy, but Always did at the Right Time
[15] So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. [16] And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. [17] Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”…
[25] And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
2 Samuel 24:15–17, 25 ESV
There are a lot of places in the Old Testament where God’s judgment comes in the form of a large-scale plague. The causes vary, and the results vary, but it can be confusing to look at these events and wonder why God would do such a thing. The problem of asking that question is that it often blocks us from getting any more insights from the event.
After a long period of peace, David gathers up the army and has Joab parade them around. This isn’t some kind of Veteran’s Day celebration. If it were, they would go to Jerusalem and be honored. Instead they are called up to fight and they march around the perimeter of Israel for 9 months just for the purpose of counting how many men are in the army.
King David realizes that the whole thing was just a futile act of pride and feels guilty and confesses his sin to the Lord. The Lord’s judgment is by by multiple choice, and David chooses 3 days of plague from the Lord. The other options were longer and came from men. David knew that only God is compassionate. All mercy and grace comes from God, not men.
God could have done a lot of things: wiped out the whole army, strike David and his family from the throne forever, send Assyria and haul everyone off to Babylon (that would come later) but instead God sends a plague that follows a map. 1.3 million men in David’s army, and the plague took 70,000 of them. Then when the plague came up over Mount Moriah God stopped it.
Look at Mount Moriah in relation to Jerusalem. It was the peak that everyone could look up and see from the town. It served as a constant reminder to everyone in the city that God shows mercy. The first mention of Mt. Moriah is in Genesis, when Abraham and Isaac climb it. God had a command, and then God showed mercy. This mountain was a memorial to God’s mercy for His people.
Now a new generation would look to that mountaintop and see God’s mercy. They would all remember the year that dads and brothers went out marching for 9 months and the King’s sin affected them all. They would all remember the year that God showed mercy by not punishing them all.
Like Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day, everyone was affected differently by these events. But Mt. Moriah meant the same thing to all of them:
“Things could have been much worse, but God’s mercy prevailed.”