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The details may be given as explained in the Expository portion of this Commentary. Famine, war, and plague are the three ordinary Divine agencies used for the judgment of nations. Each affects numbers and arouses national feeling. Very seldom, indeed, does God make men the offer of a choice of punishments; and we can fully understand that it would not be consistent with his honour so to do. Then why did he do it in this particular case? Because this was special, and designed to bear mainly on the recovery of a good man's full trust in God. God cannot usually make offers to men, because there is no good and right feeling in them to which his offer may appeal. God could make such offer to David, because bin was only a temporary aberration and failure from the true spirit and full loyalty. Even in the matter of his own judgment, God may take David, the "man after his own heart," into his counsel.

I. THE POINT OF THE THREEFOLD OFFER. It tested David's trust in God. Would he prefer judgment which came very evidently through human agency, or would he prefer judgment which was plainly sent direct from God? We know that pestilence is as truly due to human neglect and error as is famine or war; but, in the sentiment of David's time, plague was the direct visitation of God.

II. THE POINT OF DAVID'S CHOICE. (Ver. 13.)

1. He felt that he could better trust the direct Divine agency than man's ministry, which might be toned with ill feeling.

2. There was more hope of the limitations and qualifications of mercy in God's dealings than in man's.

3. The national honour and the integrity of the kingdom and the stability of the throne would not be so seriously affected by a plague, as they would be by the temporary triumph of the national foes. When we are, with David, fully willing to fall into God's hands, then the Divine judgments may be graciously tempered, and even removed. - R.T.

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KJV: And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,

WEB: Yahweh spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying,