see the bottom for credits given
“David takes a Census”
2 Samuel 24
Ticket in Linn County Missouri
- Going to see Dalyn at here home in Northern Kansas
- I was in a hurry, hadn’t seen her in a week
- driving up from Ozark I had 220 miles to travel
- at the time the speed limit was 55 most of the way
I was trying to go the speed limit:
- but I wasn’t trying very hard
- I still remember cresting the hill and
- seeing the police cruiser flipping on his lights
- I looked down and I was going about 80 mpg
- the policeman called it 77 in a 55 mpg
- I called it $200
Lessons I learned:
- don’t speed over the top of the hill, you don’t know what’s on the other side
- Don’t speed in Linn County, Missouri
- the most important lesson was
- if you are going to break the law, be prepared to pay the price
Today we will read about Israel being punished:
- we are not told why they are being punished
- we just know that they have SINNED AGAINST God
- Now they have to pay the price
- Hopefully they learn the lesson God is teaching them
Turn in your Bibles to 2 Samuel 24
1. SIN (2 Samuel 24:1-9)
2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 are parallel accounts of David’s census:
“Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 2 Samuel 24:1
“Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel.” 1 Chronicles 21:1
David was:
- instructed by God and
- incited by Satan
- to take a census of Israel and Judah.
David numbered the people:
- which in God's eyes never mattered and
- should not have been done, but
- David did it anyway.
A census was taken….
“Then Joab gave the sum of the number 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.” 2 Samuel 24:9
God always wants people to trust in Him:
- not in how many soldiers a king had.
Later David regretted that he had counted the people:
- He knew this was something that did not please God
I had a real problem putting this all together:
- How could God seemingly put the census into motion through David
- and then be mad that David took a census
- it ALMOST seemed to me like God was punishing David for being obedient.
Things are not as simple as that:
- Israel was lead by David and supposed to follow God
- apparently neither David nor Israel were obedient to God at this point
- Israel needed to be disciplined, and God used David to accomplish it
What we do know is that:
- David sinned and knew it
- God acknowledged that David sinned
- therefore since we know David is guilty
David’s motivation for the census was probably pride:
- he had won some victories
- now he wanted to look with pride on his large army
Warren Wiersbe writes
“God gave David nearly ten months to change his mind and avoid discipline (v. 8). God even used the wise counsel of Joab to discourage him, but David would not listen. It is too bad that God’s children sometimes become stubborn in heart and insist on their own way.”
2. Suffering (2 Samuel 24:10-17)
David knew he was wrong:
- convicted by his own heart that he had sinned, and
- he admitted that he acted very foolishly
- that he should not have taken the census
- and he begged God to take away his sin.
God did not NEED to confront David:
“And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 2 Samuel 24:10
David had:
numbered the people and
this displeased God
He confessed his sin and asked for forgiveness
Here are a few possible reasons God would be angry about David’s census:
- it could be that an enemy in the region inspired David to take a census,
so that he could figure out his potential fighting force
- Taking a census was about arrogance,
trusting in the size of your army for safety rather than in God.
- He took the census but didn't collect the half-shekel "ransom" required by Exo 30:12
God gave him a choice of his consequence for his sin:
• 3 years of famine
• 3 months of fleeing before enemies (meaning they were losing on the battlefield)
• 3 days of plague
There is no good choice here:
- it’s kind of like being asked if you wanted to be stabbed or shot
Allen Hickerson writes
“Of course, given the punishment options, the plague is the only likely one. He's spent the last few years of his life running from enemies & they've just been through a lengthy drought.”
David knew God would be merciful:
- “And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 2 Samuel 24:14
David chose 3 days of plague:
he would rather fall into the hand of a merciful God
than into the hand of his enemy, so
he chose three days of plague
When the plague came to a certain place in Jerusalem, David pleaded:
“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. 16 And when the [d]angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” (2 Samuel 24:15-16)
The plague was stopped:
- at a place in Jerusalem because
- the Lord said to the angel who was wreaking destruction and death...
“It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” 1 Chron 21:15b (NKJV)
God was merciful to Israel:
Sam Mccormick writes…” “Enough” does not mean the same as “all that justice allows. “Enough” means sufficient to serve the intended purpose. His purpose was not to destroy the nation. His purpose and plan was for the nation to bring the Messiah.
3. Sacrifice (2 Samuel 24:18-25)
God told David to make an altar, and he did it:
“And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.” 2 Samuel 24:18-25
The place was the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite:
The angel of the Lord told David to build an altar on the threshing floor.
Later, the threshing floor became the site of Solomon's temple
When David tried to purchase the site on which to build the altar:
Ornan tried to donate the site and the oxen and the yoke for the sacrifice.
But David would not have it.
“Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel. ” 2 Samuel 24:24-25
Review:
1 - David Sinned,
2 - David Suffered
3 - David Sacrificed
Sin always brings suffering, it did for David and it will for us
David was smart enough to see:
- that he had done wrong
- that he needed to humble himself before God and confess
- that he needed to get right with God
- then he counted on God’s MERCY and FORGIVENESS
When David got right with God the plague stopped (X2):
- I wonder if there is an application for America?
- Is there a message for us as well?
We must be careful not to fall into PRIDE:
- we don’t know what sin brought God’s wrath on Israel
- we do know they had a habit of
- turning to idols
- being arrogant, unrepentant and vile
- they forgot about God and
- instead of being God reliant, they became self directed
In short they had a habit of being prideful:
- that is what got David into trouble
- he took the census to take pride in his army, in his victories, in his own strength
The story is told of Muhammad Ali,
the great boxer ever known, once he was on an airplane and he often said, “I'm the greatest.” The airhostesses looked at him and saw he didn't have his seatbelt fastened. She said to him, “Mr. Ali, you'll have to fasten your seatbelt.” Ali responded, “Superman don't need seatbelt.” The hostess then replied, “Superman don't need no airplane either.”
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
Let’s learn from David, let us learn from Israel:
- be humble,
- stay lowly
- run from pride
We have to make sure that we are obedient to God:
- it might have seemed harmless to have a census
- but God had a different view
- we must not assume that God is always in agreement with our opinions
We have to be prepared to listen to Godly advice:
- Joab (commander of David’s army) tried to warn David against the census
- but David wouldn’t listen, not just to Joab, but wouldn’t seek Gods counsel
-we’ve got to seek God’s wisdom,
- ask, seek and knock for God’s direction
- when in doubt don’t assume, ask someone wise.
When David discovered he had sinned:
- he quickly went to the Lord
- he did not try to spread blame
- he owned up to his sin
- he was humble
David set a fine example to FOLLOW:
- he turned from his sin
- he turned toward God
- he listened and obeyed the LORD
- and went back to serving God
We must do whatever is necessary:
- to stay on God’s path
- to be busy doing God’s work
- in this way we will be too occupied being obedient
- maybe we’ll have less time to sin
David was wise to throw himself into God’s hands:
- when given a choice of 3 years of famine, 3 months being on the run, or 3 days of plage
- David chose the 3 days of plague because it left him in God’s hands
- David knew God was merciful,
- David had learned to trust God
- David knew that in God’s hands was the best place
David made a real sacrifice:
- would not take the threshing floor or the sacrifice for free
- would not give to the Lord that which cost him nothing
- there is danger in us never giving sacrificially to the Lord
- giving God left overs
- things we don’t want or what we don’t need
We need to trust God:
- when the going is tough
- when life and death are on the line
- we need to say out loud “I trust God to take me through this or out of it as He see’s fit”
Today we saw two extremes of David’s attitude:
- too bull headed to listen to anyone’s advice. Arrogant. (Don’t do that)
- We saw David extremely low, broken and vulnerable to God (Do that)
There are several challenges we face:
- we must not that what we desire is what God desires
- we must be quick to turn from sin when we are aware of it
- we must listen to Godly counsel
- to seek the Lord before we walk into a landmine, is
- is better than once you’ve already stepped on a bomb
We don’t want to ALWAYS follow David’s example:
- of arrogance
- of being unteachable
- of pride and independence
Let us learn to be:
- humble, obedient and reliant on God’s provision
Here are 2 final lessons….
1st…Sin always comes with a price
Sin always costs something:
David’s sin of pride and leading the people of Israel to pride
cost the lives of 70,000 people in Jerusalem to a plague and
the price of a threshing floor, altar and sacrifice
Sin is not nothing. Sin is something we must deal with.
* We know that sin cost Adam and Eve life in the Garden of Eden
* We know that sin cost Nadab and Abihu there lives
* We know that sin cost Lot his wife
* We know that sin cost Moses life in the Promised Land
* We know that sin cost Samson his eyes and strength
* We know that sin cost Judas Iscariot his life
* We know that sin cost Ananias and Sapphira their lives
David and Israel’s sin:
- brought death by way of a plague.
- imagine 70,000 people dying in just 3 days
- would that get your attention?
- does God have to be that extreme to get our attention? (X2)
Don’t buy the lie that sin has no cost..
The Scriptures are pretty clear that our sin costs:
- us our life and brings us death (Romans 5:12)
- brings us judgment (Romans 2:12).
- Sin earns us death and we all have sinned (Romans 3:23, 6:23).
We all have sinned and we all deserve to die:
- not just a physical death like the 70,000 in Israel…
- but a Spiritual death.
- An eternal separation from God and His blessings and love.
There IS a price for sin.
2ndly – someone has to pay that price for sin
Jeff Strite writes
“The people were paying a terrible price for their sin… until David stepped in.
Their plague was averted because David was willing to pay a price for their sin.
It was his purchase of the land
It was his sacrifices placed upon the altar that he had built
It was his understanding - that that which is offered to God MUST cost something
AND, it was his sacrifice – given because he loved these people…”
John 3:16 tells us God also offered a sacrifice for us –
John 3:16-17 (NKJV) says
“For God so LOVED the world that he GAVE his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should NOT PERISH, but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
It was on a hill:
- that God’s sacrifice
- of His son was offered for the sins of all people.
1st – sin has a terrible price
2nd – God has paid that terrible price so that you and I would not have to perish
Jesus went to the Cross:
- because He loves us
- He paid the ultimate price for your sin
- It is the sacrifice of Jesus that can bring us the forgiveness of sin,
- the invitation is open to all who will COME.
Do you have it?
Many, many people live:
- confident in themselves
- even Christians can fall into the trap of trusting themselves
- but what we need is to trust Jesus
We need to:
- trust the words of Jesus
- we need to turn from sin, pride and lust
- to rest in the promises of God
We have to learn to have confidence:
- in God’s power to save and deliver
- to trust His cleansing blood
- to rest in His grace
Will you choose this morning:
- to make a move
- to move in the direction of God
- for some that will mean a prayer of confession
- some will need to make amends with someone
- for a few of you, it is time to be baptized in Christ
- to respond to the Gospel and receive salvation
- each of us needs to move closer to Jesus this morning
Pray:
Credit:
Introduction summary edited from: https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-census-plague-sam-mccormick-sermon-on-military-247909
http://childrensbiblelessons.blogspot.com/2014/08/lesson-king-david-returns-to-jerusalem.html?m=1
Weirsbe - OT outlines for the outline.
INVITATION:
Edited work from Troy Burst https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/life-of-david-the-cost-of-nothing-troy-borst-sermon-on-david-88676
and Jeff Stritehttps://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/paying-the-price-jeff-strite-sermon-on-giving-general-63131
