Previous Challenge Entry (Level 2 – Intermediate)
Topic: ENOUGH (01/07/21)
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TITLE: Contrite Prayer Turns Away God's Anger | Previous Challenge Entry
By Shanta Richard
01/13/21 -
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The life of King David intrigues me because when he is good he is very good and when he is bad he is very bad. Yet God called him a man after His own heart. I think the reason is his humility and instantaneous repentance. One example is found in in the Bible- 1Chronicles.21.
The chapter starts with David's victories over his many enemies. He returns home laden with treasures of the defeated kings, including a heavy golden crown studded with precious stones. He sits on his throne wearing this magnificent crown, conceited and vain over his vast empire. To make matters worse, like a miser counting his gold, he orders his commander Joab, to count his subjects. Joab tries to dissuade him warning him that God abhors pride, but to no avail. And the inevitable happened.
An angry God smoke Israel. Awakened from his egocentric stupor, David realizes his sin. Falling on his knees before God, a contrite and humble David, pleads for forgiveness. Merciful God forgives him, but the wages for sin must be paid. God offers him three choices, three years of famine, three months of defeat before his enemies or three days of punishment under the sword of God. David chooses God's punishment.
And so, the angel wielding the sword of God causes a deadly pestilence to slay the people. Seventy thousand people die and the agonizing cry of devastated humanity reaches the heavens. As the angel advances towards Jerusalem, God looks down and filled with compassion, calls out to the avenging angel,
'It is enough. Stay your hand' ( 1 Chronicles 21:15. KJV.). As the slaughter ended. A penitent David learnt his lesson.
These experiences adds to David's wisdom and he writes them down. In the book of Ecclesiastes 1:9, he writes:
'That which has been is that which will be again, and that which has been done is that which will be done again. So there is nothing new under the sun.'(Amplified Bible).
Considering the world around us today and the pestilence that is prevailing, these words sound prophetic. Maybe we are guilty of the same reasons as in David's day.
Maybe we are so filled with our own importance that we are forgetting to give God His glory. Maybe that is why His avenging angel is among us with this horrible pestilence. God heard David's penitent prayer and stopped the punishment. If we His people, called by His name, repent and cry out humbly in surrender, He will tell the angel, ' Enough's enough. Pull back.' (Message Bible. 1 Chron. 21 :15)
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The only improvements I can see is I think there might be a typo in this sentence:
An angry God smoke Israel.
Also, I would separate the below sentence from the paragraph you have attached it to so it stands out more
"Considering the world around us today and the pestilence that is prevailing, these words sound prophetic. Maybe we are guilty of the same reasons as in David's day."