“But after he had taken the census, David was conscience-stricken. David said to Adonai, ‘I have greatly sinned in what I have done. But now, Adonai, please! Put aside your servant’s sin, for I have done a very foolish thing.'”-2 Samuel 24:10
Now that the census was over, David finally came to his senses.
He realized the sin he committed, and David, being David, confessed his sin to the Lord.
What do I mean when I say “David being David?”
I mean that when he ran cold, his sinning behavior froze over like an ice block in Alaska, man.
And when he ran hot and decided to turn the other direction away from sin, his repentance burned with heated passion.
He confessed without excuse.
Now, the vast majority of our Bibles in English will say that David’s heart or LEV (לֵב) struck him.
For example, the King James Bible says…
“And David’s heart smote him after that he had numbered the people.”
Or the New American Standard renders it as…
“Now David’s heart troubled him after he had counted the people.”
Now, to be fair, to say David’s “heart” struck him, literally, is an accurate rendering of the verse based on the original Hebrew.
However, we’ve got one itty-bitty problem here.
And this is something I’ve spoken about before.
In the Biblical era, the heart was NOT seen as the seat of human emotions.
Rather, it was considered the organ connected to our cerebral thinking processes.
It was viewed as the center of our intellect and morality.
Ya feeling me here?
So if you’re a believer who grew up in the West, you read that verse and probably jump to the conclusion that David was feeling the emotion of guilt here.
That’s not quite right.
I think the Complete Jewish Bible (copied and pasted above) and the NIV version more correctly capture the nuance of what the phrase really means for modern readers today.
The Complete Jewish Bible says…
“But after he had taken the census,
David was conscience-stricken…”
The NIV says…
“David was conscience-stricken
after he had counted the fighting men…”
I think that more accurately conveys that David’s moral intellect consciously came into play here.
And sure enough, the foolishness of what he had done was reinforced the very next morning when the Prophet Gad showed up on his front door.
David had already confessed he had done wrong.
So there was no need for a trial.
Things went directly to the penalty phase.
I gotta tell ya what happens next is both unexpected and unprecedented in Scripture history.
The Lord actually allows David to choose which penalty among 3 options is to be administered as justice for David’s sin.
The next time we meet, we’ll examine this proceeding, which was more like a divine version of “The Price is Right” game show or something.
But for now, ya know what time it is?
That’s right, homies.
IT’S TIME FOR TODAY’S TAKEAWAY!
So here’s what I got for you today.
It all goes back to what I said at the beginning of this post about David’s behavior running either icy cold or passionately hot.
I look at David’s life, and to me, his life is a message against wishy-washiness.
It’s a message against all of the complacency and mediocrity that exists in our world today.
So stop hemming and hawing with every decision you make in your life.
If you decide to do something…
GO ALL THE HECK IN MAN!
Or you don’t go in at all!
Ya feel me?
When I decided to start this blog and walk through God’s Word…
I didn’t wanna be like the vast 99% of the population that decides to do something and then three months later quits.
I decided I’m gonna go all in for God’s Word…
Or nothing at all!
And here I am, a decade later, about to finish up the Books of Samuel after starting from Genesis Chapter 1, verse 1, over ten years ago.
If that ain’t dedication, I dunno what is homies.
I don’t take myself or life too seriously.
I’m happy to honestly tell you when I don’t know jack turd about something.
But when it comes to Scripture…
I’ll wipe the floor with most any pastor, preacher, or teacher on the planet.
ESPECIALLY IF they were educated in some Christian seminary where they were brainwashed into accepting doctrines that were anti-Semitic and teach that the gentile church has replaced Israel.
Ya feel me?
Let those who have ears to hear, listen.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“So, because you are lukewarm
—neither hot nor cold—
I am about to spit you
out of my mouth.”
-Revelation 3:16
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