As far as I know there is only one place in the Bible where God allows a person to choose the punishment for their sin. I Chronicles 21 tells us about David and his sin of numbering the people of Israel. The chapter begins with David being provoked by Satan to count the people. Why would this be an evil thing? Perhaps Satan knew how susceptible we humans are with our pride. From Dan to Beersheba, the length and breadth of the land, a census was to be taken and it could be that David intended to gloat in the vast number of people he was king over.
There was another time in the Old Testament when God did call for a census. It was during the time of Moses and that story is found in Numbers 24. However, this census from David wasn’t commanded by the Lord. David took it upon himself to glory in the numbers of his kingdom. Joab tried to dissuade him from doing this but “the king’s word prevailed.” 21:7 tells us that “God was displeased with this thing.” David quickly found himself at odds with the Lord. One of the admirable things that I love about David is when he is confronted with his sin, he deals with it. Even during the several months ordeal with Bathsheba, once the prophet Nathan confronted him, he dealt with it. In this passage he does the same. That should be the attitude we have when we sin. Deal with it quickly.
God always has someone to give us a reality check. In this case it is a seer, a prophet named Gad. During the Bathsheba saga it was a prophet named Nathan. Gad tells David punishment is on its way and you have three choices. One, Israel can go through three years of famine. Two, Israel can go through three months of military defeats by her enemies. Three, the angel of the Lord will smite the land for three days. None of these punishments are pleasant. If God were to give you a choice in your punishment, what guiding principle would you use? 21:13 is an important verse for us to always remember. David thought hard about his choice but remember, he did have to choose. There was no opting out. The life knowledge that David had acquired is revealed in this verse. He knew something about God that we should never, ever, forget. “…let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.” He knew God was merciful. He wanted nothing to do with man’s punishment. Human nature can be an awful thing. The greatest genocides of all time have been perpetrated by the evil hearts of men. David chooses to trust God.
Christians can get out of fellowship with the Lord. We can allow sins to creep into our lives the same as David. These should be swiftly dealt with. Keep short accounts with God. Allowing sin to fester in our hearts will ultimately be made known in our lives publicly. We believers don’t have the choices David had but if we live in disobedience, make no mistake in your thinking, chastisement will come. Hebrews and Proverbs offer many verses concerning God disciplining his children. I heard Dr. Curtis Hutson share this little bit of wisdom in a sermon once. I have never forgotten it. As a little boy, his dad would spank him if he did something wrong. That’s normal for most of us. Dr. Hutson said he quickly learned that if he got as close to his dad as possible his dad couldn’t spank as hard. That humorous little mental picture in my mind has been with me for decades now. I think it’s true. If the punishment must come, I want it to be as easy as possible. I want to admit my sin and I want to get as close to the Lord as I possibly can. My prayer is that you feel the same. The desire of your heart is to be as quick as possible in your confession of sin and draw near to the Lord. He is merciful.