Scripture

Our verse for today comes from 2 Samuel 24:15, ” So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. ” 

Background

The movie Silverado tells the story of some outlaws whose paths fatefully cross in the western town of the same name. Among these outlaws are Cobb and Tyree, who happen to have been reformed just enough to attain the positions of sheriff and deputy. Their former riding buddy, Paden, happens upon Silverado and quickly learns that Cobb and Tyree, though wearing the badges, are anything but lawful and reformed. And that makes it challenging for Paden, for he has cleaned up his act and wants no part of Cobb’s arrangement, but he also doesn’t want any trouble, either. As tensions mount, Cobb tells a story in the saloon one day about Paden’s unpredictability and his propensity to care for things unexpectedly. It turns out that in their earlier days, as the gang moved from town to town, they came upon a stray dog, and one of them took to feeding it. So as any stray would do, the dog followed them wherever they went. But one day, as they were fleeing a posse, the dog got tangled up with Tyree’s horse and sent him flying. Furious, Tyree got up and shot the dog, but didn’t quite kill it. Immediately, Paden jumped down and scooped up the dog, telling the boys to go on without him. Eventually they did, and Paden wound up in jail as the posse gathered him up with the dog. Oddly enough, up until then, Cobb said, Paden hadn’t even liked the dog. 

Application

There really is no telling what our hearts are going to latch onto, is there? Something insignificant can become precious, and vice versa. Similarly, God can appear to care about things that seem random and unconnected, like David taking a census of his people. But in some way, David’s heart was not right, so God reduced the headcount of the nation by 70,000 men. You may think your innocent distraction or casual interest in something means nothing to God. But He might think differently. That wounded, stray dog could have a bigger hold on you than you realize. 

Charge

As we seek Him today, don’t let the size of the attraction or the time that it requires fool you into thinking that it’s not all that important.