2 SAMUEL 24: 1- 25 [The Life of David]
TURNING TESTING TO TRIUMPH
[Exodus 30:12-16 / 1 Chronicles 21:24-27]
The reader might logically expect to come to the end of the book and read of David's peacefully dying in his bed or of some great victory for Israel. Instead there is the story of new trouble for David and the people as a result of David's presumptuous sin against God. As this chapter closes the book, it holds a most important lesson.
Late in David's reign he decides to take a census. A census is a tool for centralizing power. Its purpose was to see the potential for raising an army and for raising taxes. Satan had stirred up David's heart in pride to assess his military strength, rather than simply continuing to maintain trust in God.
This Census of David not only affected him but it caused great harm to the people of Israel as well. Yet we shall see that when one truly repents he once again is restored to the relationship with God (CIT). At the end of the chapter David has bought the site for the temple and has made peace with God in an act of worship.
[In our passage we will find David's ordering a census over the objection of his commander Joab, God sending an epidemic in punishment for David's sin, the sparing of Jerusalem, and the purchase of the temple site.]
I. A DEPENDENCE ON MAN, 1-9.
II. A REPENTANCE FOR SIN, 10-14.
III. A JUDGMENT ON THE PEOPLE, 15-17.
IV. A REDEMPTIVE SACRIFICE, 18-25.
1ST, A DEPENDENCE ON MAN OR NUMBERS, 1-9.
The Lord's permits us to make wrong choices especially went were are too prideful of our accomplishments. In verses 1-3 David in pride and self-glory wanting to assess the human strength of his kingdom. "Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah." 2 The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, "Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people." 3 But Joab said to the king, "Now may the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?"
For reasons not stated, the Lord was very angry against Israel. [Our text literally says that God's nose burned. God was "hot" over Israel's sin.] So God allowed Satan (1 Chron 21:1) to tempt David into this sin because Israel needed punishing. Satan was the destructive agent stirring up David's heart in pride to assess the military strength of his kingdom, rather than maintaining trust in God's strength and protection. God here is said to have caused the action in the sense of permitting Satan to put David to the test (Job 1; 2).
[In 1 Chronicles 21:1 this motivation is attributed to Satan. There is no contradiction for the Lord simply allowed Satan to prompt David to an improper course of action in order that Israel might be punished and that David might be instructed. This is similar to the Lord's permitting Satan to trouble Job (Job 1:12; 2:6) and His allowing an evil spirit to torment Saul (1 Sam. 16:14). In any case, the Lord Himself did not incite David to do evil for "God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone" (James 1:13). The Lord is in control of all human activity, especially as it pertains to His people.]
The reasons for David's desire for a census are not clearly stated, though the fact that he only had military men counted (2 Sam. 24:2, 9) suggests that he was interested in determining his military strength. And herein lay the sin—he probably did this so he could boast in human might. This may be implied in Joab's query as to why the census was to be undertaken. God was able, Joab said, to multiply their troops as much as necessary, so why did David feel the need to assess his strength?
Joab, who played something of a mixed role as villain on the one hand and advisor on the other, provided sensible counsel this time. Clearly Joab perceived in the heart of David a growing pride of accomplishment. [Yet because of all the death and mayhem perpetrated by Joab, David was no longer listening to his general.]
Verse 4-9 relay the details of the census taking. ["Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi, and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon, 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, to Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone about through the whole land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 "And Joab gave the number of the registration of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men."]
[Numbering is not necessarily wrong. Moses numbered the fighting men of Israel in preparation for battle (Numbers 1:1-4). Moses also numbered the Kohathites (Numbers 4:2) and the Gershonites (Numbers 4:22) for priestly service. Saul numbered the Israelites to defend the people of Jabesh-gilead by fighting the Ammonites (1 Samuel 11:8). David numbered those loyal to him in preparation for defending himself against an attack by his son, Absalom (2 Samuel 18:1). In none of these cases was numbering wrong.]
The census which David required here does not appear to be a mere numbering of the Israelite warriors, a simple matter of counting heads. This census took nearly ten months to complete, and somehow it required the participation of the military commanders themselves. It would seem that when the soldiers were numbered, they were also divided and ranked. Such a numbering involved ordering and ranking the soldiers in preparation for battle.
We do see a word of warning related to numbering in the Book of Exodus:
12 "When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 13 "This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. 14 "Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. 15 "The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. 16 "You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves" (Exodus 30:12-16).
It is clear from this text that a census without the redemption offering is wrong. Though not wrong in itself, if atonement is not made it becomes wrong.
But the real sin is trusting in man's power, instead of in God's power. He wanted to walk by sight, not by faith. He wanted to know how the numbers balanced out, what was the strength he could muster.
"Without faith it is impossible to please God."
How are we going forward today? Are we counting our strength or are we looking to God for our strength? Do we think that we must win the battle by our strength, or by our numbers, or are we going out with what we have, no matter the odds and looking for God to deliver the battle, the victory into our hands?!
II. A REPENTANCE FOR SIN, 10-14.
It's hard for anyone to admit a mistake, I image even more so if you have the total power of a king. In verse 10 we find David's genuine repentance and confession of his sin. "Now David's heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly."
God sees and is displeased with the sins of His people, and no sin is any greater than pride of heart, self-sufficiency. He had attained what he wanted to attain but there was no joy in it, only sorrow. So it is with us and our vain strivings. Now God is not against census taking. He is against His dearest children counting on their strength which comes from sight, instead of His strength which comes from faith in Him.
So God sends His Spirit to convict David of his sin. And instead of being allowed to glory in his own strength David sees his sin and cries out to God to take the iniquity of his evil away.
David became conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing."
David finally [the Census took 9 months and 20 days -v. 8] began to realize that he was trusting in the size of his empire ….the military number and strength RATHER THAN leaning on God and trusting on HIS DIVINE Protection and Care! AND GOD WANTED ISRAEL TO TRUST IN HIM!
Thank God for His convicting Spirit that breaks through of self will and brings us out of eclipsing God with our own life. The world knows nothing of the deep conviction and cleansing repentance the Spirit brings but oh how grateful God's children become for it, because it is the way back to God's way. The snare of Satan torn asunder the prisoner is again free.
I have often wondered just what blessings I have missed or how much trouble I have brought upon myself because I failed to hear and obey God. Would my family or my friends… or co-workers be living different lives if we had spent more time in prayer or daily family devotions?
If I had praying in faith for their deliverances, salvations, blessings, etc.
Would I be walking on a different/better path than I'm right now? What would be different if I had learned early to obey His voice quicker and more often? [How much time…money…and gifts have I wasted? ]
The lesson in this is - God prefers our trust in Him over in our own numbers or ideas or power, knowledge and strength!
In verses 11-13 God sends his prophet with three punishment choices. "When David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, [12] "Go and speak to David, 'Thus the LORD says, "I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them, which I will do to you."" [13] So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, "Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me."
God's prophet Gad [whose name means good fortune] tells David that God is displeased. This is no small thing to such a good man as David. The repentant King's sinful deed was forgiven. But the reception of divine grace may not obscure divine righteousness. We can't go back and correct the past, but we can do what is right from now on. Repent. Make things right with God. But we may need to suffer the consequences of making some bad decisions. Just as David did when he realized the price for his failure, we must also stop and count the cost of what has happened already and see where God wants us to go now.
David was given 3 Choices of punishment for his sin. Israel will either be punished by war, famine or pestilence, for punished he must be. Sometimes we never learn the seriousness of sins until God's punishment opens our eyes.
Each punishment would affect Israel in a profound way. In famine the fields burn up and blow away, the brooks carry no water and there is despair in every dwelling, forcing the people into economic hardship. The images of fleeing the hunger swords of his enemies are too much for David to endure. The other choice is three days of pestilence. The land filled with corpses strewn about, poison breath, tears and wailing of widows and orphans. And the King must open the flood gates to one of these horrors.
In verse14 we have David's response to the prophet of God. "Then David said to Gad, "I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man."
David said all of them are terrible! "But, God's Mercy is great. I don't want to fall into human hands….I choose 3 days of plague." David realized that God would be more merciful than a person. "His mercy endures forever"!!!
It is upon that kindness that David casts himself. He knows that he is guilty before God and deserves to suffer at His hand. But he also knows that the hand of God is kinder than the hand of men. Think of this for a moment. David not only trusts in God for his salvation and for deliverance from his enemies, but for His chastening. There is no area of our lives that we should entrust to men instead of God.
III. A JUDGMENT ON THE PEOPLE, 15-17.
In verse 15 the Lord sends an unknown plague upon His people. "So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
It is possible most of these 70,000 were fighting men.
In verses16 & 17 the sword of the Lord is revealed. When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your hand!" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. [17] Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, "Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father's house."
The angel is called the Angel of the Lord, [a phrase which marks a theophany in the Old Testament.] He visible saw the angel [1 Chron 21:16] standing between heaven and earth with a drawn sword. This detectable being made it obvious that the plague was a definite punishment from God, and not just a coincidence of nature.
David's response is to declare that he had sinned but he didn't understand the punishment upon these sheep. [David refers to himself and the people in metaphor; he is the shepherd, and the people are the sheep. The same figure is used of Christ and the church in the New Testament.] The plague then stopped short of Jerusalem, however, just before the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite
IV. A REDEMPTIVE SACRIFICE, 18-25.
This book closes with a beautiful story of the purchase of a threshing floor to be used as a place of worship. In verses 18 & 19 Gad came to David with another solution, a sacrifice. 18 "So Gad came to David that day and said to him, "Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." 19 David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the LORD had commanded.
Why did the Angel of the Lord stop His sword of destruction at that spot? Why did the prophet tell David to erect an altar to the Lord on that spot?
2 Chronicles 3:1 tells us about the significance of this specific spot, this spot chosen by God for the offering in honor of the stopped plague.
It was near where Abraham and Melchizedek met in Genesis 14 and Abraham gave offering to the King of peace.
It was the place where Abraham took Isaac, his only son to sacrifice him to the Lord, called Mount Moriah.
This is the place where the temple of God was built which housed the ark and the Shehinah glory.
This is the place or near the place where the Dome of the Rock, which is the Muslim religion's second most holy place, sits today.
Is this the place where the abomination of desolation will make his sacrifice to satan in the Great Tribulation?
This threshing floor, a wide, smooth, surface, was on Mount Moriah, just outside the northern wall of David's Jerusalem. But David had no right to it because it was owned by another.
In verses 20 & 21 David goes to the owner of the threshing floor under the instructions of Gad the prophet. "Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, "Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" And David said, "To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be held back from the people."
Then, in order to make proper restitution and atonement, David arranged to construct an altar to the Lord. For Gad had told him that it must be built on the threshing floor of Araunah.
Listen to Araunah in verses 22 & 23. "Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 "Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king." [And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God accept you."]
Did Araunah [Ornan] try to withhold the threshing floor, the means of his livelihood from the king? No, he wanted to give it all to the king.
And your King can use what you have also. Will you freely give what you have, your life, that which sustains you?
Notice that Araunah wanted to also give his wood sledges which the oxen pull to crush the grain, for fire to consume the offering which were his oxen for the burnt offering, and to give even the wheat he was grinding for the grain offering.
He gave all! He gave all he had! We too, need to give all we have for the King has need of it! There is the plague of lostness in the world today and that plague is sin and unless men and women are willing to give all to the Lord, the plague will not be stopped.
David's reply to Araunah has captured the imagination of Christians through the ages in verse 24. "However, the king said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver."
In this passage, I think we are given understanding and insight into what made David so great. Why was he alone called a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)? It certainly wasn't because he was sinless, for he had a series of failures that match or exceed any of ours. But that wasn't God's verdict. Why? Because God looks at the heart, and David had a heart for God.
"Take the property, Take it all," Araunah said. "Make your sacrifice so the plague might be stopped. It's free. It's yours." But David responded, "I will not give the Lord that which costs me nothing."
Hear the heart of David. "I won't skimp," he said. "I won't cheat God. Yes, I failed Him in the past. But my heart is devoted to Him."
[If you want to know the heart of David, read the Psalms. Saul never wrote a single psalm because Saul didn't have a heart for the Lord. Saul was outwardly impressive, but he used the things of God to exalt himself. David, on the other hand, used himself to exalt the things of God. When David penned the Psalms, he didn't know they would be preserved and studied for centuries. He was simply writing love letters. He just loved God.]
What would you have done had Araunah come to you and said, "Take the property. Here's the wood for the sacrifice. Here's the oxen. Just take it"?
Would you have said, "Great! That makes it cheap & easy on me" Or do you have a heart like David's, a heart that says, "No, I'm willing to sacrifice. I give what ever it takes, every thing I am to the One who gave His all for me"?
Many of us skimp & withhold from God. We give the Lord the leftovers of our time, of our energy. You might not be committing any mortal sin. But God sees the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). He's looking for men and women who say, "I'm devoted to worshiping the Lord. I'm devoted to worshiping and praising Him. I'm devoted to paying the full price."
Although severely chastened again, even at the end of his life, David is still to be exalted by the Lord and acknowledged throughout history as one of the very greatest of all men who ever lived. Why? Because he had a heart after God.
Do you? [Courson, Jon: Jon Courson's Application Commentary: Vol 1. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005, S. ]
David's refusal to offer a sacrifice that cost him nothing provides a model of biblical giving. One cannot be making a sacrifice when the offering has cost little or nothing. Whatever we do for God let it be a sacrificial offering of ourselves to God.
With verse 25, 2 Samuel closes. David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the LORD was moved by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel."
This final paragraph brings the books of Samuel to an end, with a strong forward look. The threshing-floor of Araunah becomes a sacred place, a place for sacrifices, offerings and prayer (25)—in fact, it is where Solomon's temple will be constructed. This place of sacrifice will become the scene of hope and fellowship.
IN CLOSING
As we leave the Book of Samuel, our eyes are fixed on the person of Jesus Christ, who is to come to save His people as the "Son of David," who will "sit on the throne of his father, David." Our eyes are likewise fixed on a place, on a flat spot atop a mountain near Jerusalem. As I see the angel of the LORD standing there with uplifted arm, ready to smite Jerusalem with his sword, I cannot help but think back to Abraham, who also had his hand lifted up, ready to plunge the knife into his beloved son Isaac. It took place at the very same place, Mount Moriah. And both times God stayed the hand from taking the life, because He had a better sacrifice, One that would take away the sin of the world.
Yes, the temple was built on this very spot, on Mount Moriah. And it was there that sacrifices were offered which stayed the judging hand of God. But best of all it was on a hill not far away at all, Mount Calvary, where the hand of God came down upon His own beloved Son, and because of this sacrifice, men never need suffer the eternal wrath of God for their sins. It was because of His sacrificial death on that cross, and His resurrection from the dead that the offer of eternal salvation has come to us. Have you received this gift? Have you found God as your Savior, as your deliverer, as your fortress? If not, I urge you to accept His gift of salvation this very moment. [Bob Deffinbaugh: A Study of 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel 24:25 Bible.org]
Yet our text begs us to ask another important question - Are you giving service to Christ, which cost you nothing? Or are you giving at all? Araunah saw an earthly king and was willing to give all. Have you seen the Heavenly King? Are you willing to give it all? For it is in giving that we receive!
God gave it all for us. We were not purchase with silver of gold, but with the precious shed blood of the only Son of God.. God has bought us with such a price. 1 Cor. 6:19-20. We have been paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. Let us therefore not return a service or sacrifice to Him which cost us little or nothing. May we too be a man or woman with a heart after God.
