The Power of Confession (2 Sam 24.3, 10, 17, 23)
But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God increase the number of the people a hundredfold, while the eyes of my lord the king can still see it! But why does my lord the king want to do this?”
“I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, I pray you, take away the guilt of your servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
“I alone have sinned, and I alone have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”
“May the LORD your God respond favorably to you.”
Background
The book of Second Samuel is drawing to a close, and the writer is summing up the life of David in a few different ways. But there is one story left to tell. A story that teaches us how easy it is to slip into thinking of ourselves as the center of the universe instead of God. The story includes a blessing-prayer, a prayer of confession and petition for forgiveness, another confession, an intercession, and finally, a petition.
The writer begins the summation of the book by including the prayer-hymn in chapter 22, which we looked at in the previous chapter. Following that long prayer, the writer includes another psalm-like passage—not a prayer, but an oracle by David presented as his “final words.” An oracle is a pronouncement made by a person who purports to speak for God—or, more accurately, that God is speaking through them as a mouthpiece. In this one, David focuses on the covenant that God made with him and his house. Following that, the writer includes a list of the “mighty men” of David—those soldiers who showed great loyalty and heroism.
The final story about David is another about his sin. He did not fall away from God like the Israelites during the time of Judges, nor did he seek his agenda by any means as Saul. Once again, David’s sin was in “believing his press.” Like the situation with Bathsheba, David lost his focus and let his kingship and his success get the better of him.
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