I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 20-23.

    I do not know that I ever noticed this before, but David took the census AFTER completely defeating two enemies of Israel. It seems as if, after his success against the Ammonites and the Philistines, he decided to go on a campaign of expansion. David was given a choice of three punishments for his sin: three years of famine, three months of destruction by his enemies, or three days of plague. David chose the three days of plague. He knew that it would be easier for himself and his people to recover from suffering of shorter duration than the longer, even if the devastation was greater. It is a facet of human nature that we generally recover better from a devastating experience of short duration than a more minor suffering of long duration. This is a principle which we would do well to remember, and factor in, when we consider options in our criminal justice system.