Surely you would not destroy the city. You would not destroy 50 good people to kill the evil people. If that happened, then good people and evil people would be the same—they would both be punished. You are the judge of all the earth. I know you will do the right thing.”
David saw the angel that killed the people. David spoke to the Lord. David said, “I sinned! I did wrong! And these people only did what I told them—they only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Please let your punishment be against me and my father’s family.”
As for me, I have come to God.\par And that is good for me.\par I have made the Lord my Master\par my place of safety.\par God, I have come to tell about\par all the things you have done.\par
“Be very careful if you say that a person is guilty of something. Don’t make false charges against a person. Never allow an innocent person to be killed as punishment for something he did not do. Any person who kills an innocent man is evil, and I will not pardon (forgive) that person.
One of their own people will lead them.\par That ruler will come from my people.\par People can come close to me\par only if I ask them to.\par So I will ask that leader to come to me,\par and he will be close to me.\par
But Moses and Aaron bowed to the ground and cried out, “God, you know what people are thinking. [208] Please don’t be angry at all these people. Only one man really sinned.”
We have been cleansed and made free from feelings of guilt. And our bodies have been washed with pure water. So come near to God with a sincere (true) heart, feeling sure because of our faith.
Always tell each other the wrong things you have done. Then pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. When a good person prays hard, great things happen.