Census
2 Sam 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
God apparently saw that the hearts of David and Israel were lifted up with self reliance and pride, so he moved out of the way and allowed David to order a census. The thought is, we count what belongs to us and Israel was to belong to their Holy King, the God of all creation and power. Did God tempt them? No.
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
James 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
2 Sam 24:2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people.
2 Sam 24:3 And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing?
Joab resists this order, for it is God who increases and is King over his people.
2 Sam 24:4 Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel.
Remember, God was going to punish Israel for their proud hearts. He was allowing them to sin which would require God to punish them under the old covenant law. God keeps his word. I am so glad that we are under the new covenant of grace. Jesus has met the requirements of the old covenant, so now we are under His grace. We are not under the wrath of God because we fail in our thoughts and deeds. Still we are required to confess and repent.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1 John 2:2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Thank you Jesus. Your Holy Spirit points out our need to repent and leads us into all truth.
Census completed
2 Sam 24:5 And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer:
2 Sam 24:6 Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon,
2 Sam 24:7 And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beersheba.
2 Sam 24:8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
2 Sam 24:9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
2 Sam 24:10 And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.
Chronicles often repeat the story of Samuel in another way. In the following verse satan was given the credit, or blame for provoking David to number Israel.
1 Chr 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
The LORD may have stepped aside, giving satan permission to provoke, as a punishment or for a devine purpose. Remember satan can only do his harm, to a child of God if we do not resist him or if permission is given to him.
1 Pet 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
1 Pet 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
David gives a heartfelt plea for God to forgive his sins, but Jesus had not yet come to forgive sins. Every transgression required a just punishment. God is not only of love but he is just, the judge who upholds his laws.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Three choices of punishment
2 Sam 24:11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
David began his path with God with his prophet and priest, Samuel. Now his prophet who gave him advice was Gad. Gad was one of the tribes of Israel, with it's territory. This is a prophet of the same name. We here of him the first time when David had fled to Moab with his parents to be protected from Saul.
1 Sam 22:5 And the prophet Gad said unto David, Abide not in the hold; depart, and get thee into the land of Judah. Then David departed, and came into the forest of Hareth.
This is the second time we here from Gad.
2 Sam 24:12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.
2 Sam 24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
Seven years of famine would prolong the punishment and make Israel weak to the surrounding enemy nations. David had fleed Saul for almost 20 years, but he did not care to run from man. He would face God and receive a swift punishment.
2 Sam 24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
2 Sam 24:15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
Seventy-thousand men were killed by the disease upon the land. We learn then that there are many ways that God may punish his nation Israel. These were three. The famine they had remembered, being experienced in the time of Joseph and Jacob. Israel would be taken captive by a great enemy nation, Babylon as punishment for their idolatry. This would happen in the time of Daniel. David chose the quick punishment, but still he trusted in the mercy and justice of the almighty God. We always must choose God and not our own way. It was pride that brought down God's punishment on His nation.
1 Pet 5:5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
1 Pet 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1 Pet 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Death Angel
2 Sam 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
We can recall the death angel visiting the first born in Egypt. The Hebrew children were saved by applying the blood of a lamb over the door posts. This became known as the Passover, the angel passed over the homes protected by the blood of the lamb. Jesus is the reality of the Passover Lamb, his blood shed protects us from evil. We are not under condemnation; God says I remember the blood of my Son Jesus, it is enough.
Jerusalem, God's Holy City was spared because God said, it is enough.
2 Sam 24:17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house.
David knew his own sheep and as the shepherd king, he offered his own life for the people. Evidently the people had their sins too, it really is not said what they were specifically. We all were sinners, needing the mercy and grace of God.
I knew a woman who was strong in the spirit. One day she saw the death angel. She commanded it to leave. Thinking all was well, a few weeks later she tripped on her beloved small dog and hit her head on a coffee table. This resulted in an injury that soon took her life. The Lord can send the death angel or prevent it, all is in his power. We will be allowed to complete our ministries, by His grace. He knows what plans He has for us. David himself was spared, this brought a need to serve God in some way. He would build an altar.
Altar
2 Sam 24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
This is where the death angel quit his wrath upon Israel, at God's command. This place and event would be memorialized by building an altar upon the threshing floor.
This place is supposed to be Mount Moriah: on which, according to the rabbins, Cain and Abel offered their sacrifices; where Abraham attempted to sacrifice Isaac, and where the temple of Solomon was afterwards built. (Clark)
2 Sam 24:19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded.
2 Sam 24:20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
2 Sam 24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
The LORD had commanded that the Altar be built, the plague had already stopped by God's command. An altar of worship would help the people to turn to God and to not fall into sin and pride. The covenant that Israel agreed to was that they were to obey God and love God above all else. If they transgressed the law, then God was to bring punishment. This is the law of sin and death, obedience and blessings. Yet God is a God of mercy.
Psa 25:7 Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.
Psa 25:8 Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way.
Psa 25:9 The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
The Price
2 Sam 24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
2 Sam 24:23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.
2 Sam 24:24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
2 Sam 24:25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
The offering was made and the plague ended as God promised. David had obeyed God and met the final requirement to stop the plague.
An important moral judgment is made by king David. He could not offer a sacrifice to God that did not cost him anything. Do we give our best to the Lord? Remember the sacrifice of Mary of Bethany? She poured very expensive ointment on the feet of Jesus. He was pleased. Jesus gave his life a sacrifice for us, what shall we give in return? We shall give our lives, living sacrifices unto his service.
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
This concludes 2 Samuel 2. The story of David continues in 1 Chronicles 22-29
Superragman@aol.com
2 Samuel Chapters
2 Samuel 1 Table of Contents
1 Samuel 1 Table of Contents
Eaglewings Ministries
Eaglewings Daily Bible