God Is No Respecter Of Persons
Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops. "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan"...the king's command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God…
Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, "Go and tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "
So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: "Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -- days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me. "
David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands." I Chronicles 21:1-13
Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
The LORD said to Gad, David's seer, "Go and tell David, ‘This is what the LORD says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.' "
So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the LORD says: "Take your choice: three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the LORD -- days of plague in the land, with the angel of the LORD ravaging every part of Israel.' Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me. "
David said to Gad, "I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the LORD, for His mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands." I Chronicles 21:1-13
God is utterly holy, just and righteous. These qualities preclude Him from playing favorites. God is no respecter of persons. He deals with sin and the sinner with equal justice. Unlike humans, divine justice is truly blind! There is no bribery and there is no corruption! He is merciful to all and His wrath knows no discrimination either.
When Satan rose up in rebellion against God, he was kicked out of heaven. Satan was one of God's choicest and most powerful angels but his sin earned him divine judgment, which will be fully consummated in the final judgment when he will be thrown into hell. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, divine judgment brought a curse upon their lives and that of the entire human race; God is no respecter of persons. When Moses sinned against God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded, he forfeited stepping foot on the Promised Land as God had commissioned him to do; God is no respecter of persons.
David was dearly loved by God. God called him a man after his own heart. His relationship with God was nothing short of enviable. A read through the Psalms causes one to just pause in awe of how a mere mortal could enjoy such a deep relationship with divinity. But even David did not get away with sin because God is no respecter of persons. David paid dearly for his adultery with Bathsheba and here again, we see him pleading with God for mercy because of his sin in counting the fighting men of Israel. He knew it was wrong but he overrode the objections of his advisers and pridefully pursued his desire. He did what was evil in the sight of God. The price was rather hefty. God is no respecter of persons.
I believe there is an important lesson for us: Going against the word of God is bound to attract whatever built-in consequences it entails. God is righteous; He is no respecter of persons so we can never get away with the consequences of that which violates His righteousness. Satan is cunning and will always seek to incite us to violate the word of God because he is aware that we cannot escape the destructive consequences; divine mercies notwithstanding.
So let's allow the lesson from David's life to spur us on to serve our faithful God in holiness and righteousness because God is no respecter of persons. Sin in our lives only reaps the pain associated with it. It is painful for God to observe the pain, but because He is no respecter of persons, His judgment will always run its course, even if we are "a man after God's own heart."
When Satan rose up in rebellion against God, he was kicked out of heaven. Satan was one of God's choicest and most powerful angels but his sin earned him divine judgment, which will be fully consummated in the final judgment when he will be thrown into hell. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, divine judgment brought a curse upon their lives and that of the entire human race; God is no respecter of persons. When Moses sinned against God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it as God had commanded, he forfeited stepping foot on the Promised Land as God had commissioned him to do; God is no respecter of persons.
David was dearly loved by God. God called him a man after his own heart. His relationship with God was nothing short of enviable. A read through the Psalms causes one to just pause in awe of how a mere mortal could enjoy such a deep relationship with divinity. But even David did not get away with sin because God is no respecter of persons. David paid dearly for his adultery with Bathsheba and here again, we see him pleading with God for mercy because of his sin in counting the fighting men of Israel. He knew it was wrong but he overrode the objections of his advisers and pridefully pursued his desire. He did what was evil in the sight of God. The price was rather hefty. God is no respecter of persons.
I believe there is an important lesson for us: Going against the word of God is bound to attract whatever built-in consequences it entails. God is righteous; He is no respecter of persons so we can never get away with the consequences of that which violates His righteousness. Satan is cunning and will always seek to incite us to violate the word of God because he is aware that we cannot escape the destructive consequences; divine mercies notwithstanding.
So let's allow the lesson from David's life to spur us on to serve our faithful God in holiness and righteousness because God is no respecter of persons. Sin in our lives only reaps the pain associated with it. It is painful for God to observe the pain, but because He is no respecter of persons, His judgment will always run its course, even if we are "a man after God's own heart."
Prayer: Father, I thank you for the many lessons I see in the life of David. Please help me to live in holiness and righteousness. Help me to understand that sin has its consequences and that you are no respecter of persons with regard to your righteousness. Amen.