2 Samuel 24:10-14

2 Samuel 24:10-14

[10] And David's  heart  smote  him after  that he had numbered  the people.  And David  said  unto the LORD,  I have sinned  greatly  in that I have done:  and now, I beseech thee, O LORD,  take away  the iniquity  of thy servant;  for I have done very  foolishly.  [11] For when David  was up  in the morning,  the word  of the LORD  came unto the prophet  Gad,  David's  seer,  saying,  [12] Go  and say  unto David,  Thus saith  the LORD,  I offer  thee three  things; choose  thee one  of them, that I may do it unto thee.  [13] So Gad  came  to David,  and told  him, and said  unto him, Shall seven  years  of famine  come  unto thee in thy land?  or wilt thou flee  three  months  before  thine enemies,  while they pursue  thee? or that there be three  days'  pestilence  in thy land?  now advise,  and see  what answer  I shall return  to him that sent  me. [14] And David  said  unto Gad,  I am in a great  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. 

What does 2 Samuel 24:10-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Apparently the census was complete, as complete as Joab took it, before David acknowledged that he had sinned. Finally guilt for his pride penetrated his conscience, and he confessed his sin and asked God for forgiveness ( 2 Samuel 24:10). This response shows David at his best, as "the man after God"s own heart." God graciously gave the king some choice about how He would punish the nation ( 2 Samuel 24:13). This may be the only instance in Scripture where God gave someone the choice of choosing between several punishment options. Because David was the head of the nation, his actions affected all Israel, as well as himself. David"s choice was whether he wanted a long, mild punishment or a short, intense one. He chose to leave the punishment in God"s hands because he had learned that God is merciful ( 2 Samuel 24:14).
"War would place the nation at the mercy of its enemies: famine would make it dependent on corn-merchants, who might greatly aggravate the misery of scarcity: only in the pestilence-some form of plague sudden and mysterious in its attack, and baffling the medical knowledge of the time-would the punishment come directly from God, and depend immediately upon His Will." [1]
"Sinners in the hands of an angry God have more reason for hope than does offending man in the clutches of an offended society." [2]
The rabbis assumed that David"s reasoning was as follows.
"If I choose famine the people will say that I chose something which will affect them and not me, for I shall be well supplied with food; if I choose war, they will say that the king is well protected; let me choose pestilence, before which all are equal." [3]