2 Samuel 24:17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, “I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.”
A great leader is one who can admit the mistakes they have made. It is interesting that neither the current President, nor the previous President seem to be able to do this simple thing. But let’s not get too lofty in our stone throwing. Most of us have difficulty admitting our mistakes without first defending and blaming.
But I digress. Leaders take their delegated responsibility seriously. Delegated responsibility is the responsibility given to them by someone or something else. Our Constitution gives our Presidents the power to do what they do, or at least that is the way it is supposed to work. Each branch of government balances out the powers of the others.
Unfortunately, ancient Israel didn’t have our constitution. King David had power consolidated into his hands, a power he often didn’t want. In fact, the LORD had warned Israel about the difficulties of having an earthly king rather than allowing Him to remain their King.
But in our passage, this text in particular, David steps up and is the best version of a King possible. He is willing to take the responsibility for the entire nation’s sin onto himself. Oh, how those words coming from a leader sound good.
Too often those at the bottom feel the brunt of a leader’s bad choices. Those at the bottom feel the squeeze of the price of gasoline right now much more than those at the top. Those at the top, those in power, don’t have the economic concerns that those at the bottom feel. So an extra hundred dollars out of the budget each month is nothing to them.
But for David, made a mistake. He counted the fighting men in Israel. How could that be a problem? What was wrong with a census!
The census was the symptom that David had begun to believe his own propaganda and the headline news written about what he had done. He had begun to forget that it was the LORD who had won the battles. The lion and the bear had been forgotten. In his mind Goliath had been the first in a line of many victories he had won.
Now before we judge David too much, when was the last time you took credit, even in a small degree, for something far larger than you ability to accomplish? We all do it. Something good happens and we had a part in it, and we accept credit when credit is given.
But our posture must be one of pointing, honestly and earnestly, to the One who enables us to do what we do and accomplishes the impossible. When we forget this, our heads swell and we are getting ready for a tumble. Those around us often see our heads swell, our pride enlarging and try to say something, which we inevitably ignore.
David, as he sees his counting scheme come to a tragic conclusion, realizes his mistake and tries to take the responsibility that truly was his to bear. He wants to stop the death of innocents, and puts himself in the line of judgment fire. He offers himself as a substitute for others who are going to die.
We a believers understand substitution. Jesus was our substitute. He died in our place. Who are we giving up our lives to save? What sacrifices are we making so that others might hear the message of salvation and receive it? Or are we too comfortable for our own good!
The Arnold Journey 