Day 143: In God’s Hands (2 Samuel 24:14)

¹⁴ Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”  2 Samuel 24:14.

Other than the Sermon on the Mount, the Puritan preacher Jonathan Edwards’s sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God may be the most famous sermon ever preached. The first time I read it I was in high school. It was required reading for an American history class, and it terrified me. One quote in particular gave me nightmares:

For extra credit, we could draw an illustration from the sermon. I couldn’t find the pencil sketch I turned in, but I asked AI to recreate it, and this is really close:

So with that in mind, I’ll be honest with you: When I read about the three choices Gad gave David in 2 Samuel 24, I think I might have chosen differently.

Here’s the background: At the beginning of the chapter, David takes a census of all the fighting men of Israel. While the text is not explicit about why this is a sin, David himself recognizes it as sin, and he repents (see verse 10). Through the prophet Gad, God passes judgment on David, and offers him three choices: he could have three years of famine, three months of warfare, or three days of pestilence. David chooses Option C, concluding that three days in God’s hands would be preferable to three months in the hands of his enemies.

That doesn’t mean it was easy. The plague God sent killed seventy thousand people, according to verse 15. Interestingly, the text doesn’t say the plague lasted the full three days, only that it lasted from “the morning to the appointed time” (v. 15). The implication is that David interceded on behalf of the people, built an altar at God’s instruction, and the plague was stopped.

We will never know how things would have turned out if David had gone with options A or B. The Bible isn’t a choose your own adventure book. What we do know is that David’s reasoning is sound. Committing yourself to the mercy of God is always best.

You see, David already knew something about being at the mercy of human beings. He had faced Goliath, run from Saul, been betrayed by Ahithophel, and survived a coup by Absalom. Saul had lied to him, Michal had scorned him, and Joab had committed war crimes in his name. David had watched men manipulate, betray, flatter, murder, and rebel for power. He knew how quickly human mercy runs dry. He knew how cruel people can become when pride, fear, or vengeance takes hold. And even when men like Saul and Absalom made a show of repentance or reconciliation, they changed their minds.

But David also knew something about the character of God. He knew that God’s word could be trusted. That God’s judgment would be righteous. That God’s forgiveness would be final. And that even God’s anger was governed by holiness and mercy, not ego or impulse.

I think many of us secretly imagine God as Jonathan Edwards described Him: holding us over the flames by a thread, angry and disgusted. And to be sure, God is holy, and sin is serious. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

But there is a big difference between the unrepentant rebel on judgment day and the contrite believer enduring the Father’s discipline. The writer of Hebrews is describing what awaits the “one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29).

That’s not David. And if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior, that’s not you, either. You are a child of God. And don’t miss what the same writer of Hebrews says just two chapters later:

⁵ And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. ⁶ For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” ⁷ It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

(Hebrews 12:5-7)

In 2 Samuel, the same God who sent the pestilence told His own destroying angel, “It is enough; now stay your hand” (2 Samuel 24:16). David would later describe Him as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 103:8).

So when you fail—and you will—run to Him, not away from Him. Fall into His hands.

They are not soft hands.

They are scarred hands.

Holy hands.

Just hands.

And they are safe hands.

For Further Reading:

• Day 143: Dealing with the Discrepancies

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