King David Accountable

Synopsis     1Chron 21:8-17     1/20/2020 

The prophet Gad rebuked David for conducting the census. After which, King David acknowledged the wrong. As a result, God offered David one of three options for a punishment. Rather than famine or the pursuit of enemies, David chose a plague that would last for three days.  

David put on sackcloth and ashes in lament for his sin. But the plague hit with ferocity. And very soon, seventy thousand people died.  

As the plaguing angel approached Jerusalem, God stopped its advance. At about that time, King David spotted the angel hovering in the sky near the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And so, he went out to meet the angel. Simultaneously, David prayed to God to stop the plague.  

King David Accountable 

As king, David was responsible not only for his own behavior, but for the behavior of the entire community. He was, as social-contractarians have recognized, the embodiment of the state. Accordingly, to the extent the state commits sin, the sin falls on the leader.  

Leadership & Accountability 

The great onus of leadership is accountability.  

“If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!” 1Cor 9:16