Sin & Whole-Hearted Repentance - 2 Samuel 24:1-25
Prayer: Lord we thank you for your love for us, no matter how many times we mess up you forgive. Help us Lord to recognize our sin, to be honest with ourselves about our sinfulness & not excuse it away, and help us to repent whole-heartedly when we recognize our sin.
Quickly Form Groups:
1. When we do things not forbidden by God, but with a wrong motive, is it sinful? What about doing things in ministry, but with the wrong motive? Give examples.
We're continuing on some of what I think of as "footnotes" to David's life, but that doesn't mean they're insignificant events, it just means they weren't contained in the general historical narrative. The timing of this particular occurrence we're studying today is unknown; however, it teaches us some wonderful truths.
2 Samuel 24:1-4 - Wait a minute? Did I hear that right? Did this passage actually say God incited David to act? We need to look at another passage to get clarity - 1 Chronicles 21:1. So it is actually Satan who does the inciting, but God that has allowed it because of His displeasure with Israel - whew, this makes a lot more sense! This is a good reminder to us, we must be careful to consider the whole of scripture when seeking to understand - in this case the "short version" of the incident didn't clarify the details about God lifting His hand of protection and allowing Satan to do what he's chomping at the bit to do - and that is to undermine & destroy God's chosen.
Now that's cleared up, let's see what happened... David sends his military commanders out to determine the number of skilled warriors in Israel. Joab doesn't like this, what's the problem Joab is seeing that David is ignoring? I'm not certain, there are some who think that this may have occurred not long after David returned post-Absalom, and that this may have been seen as David trying to flex his muscles with the people of Israel. Our country would probably be upset if suddenly there were a peace-time draft, this could be the ancient equivalent. Why does David need to know this? There doesn't seem to be an enemy on the horizon. Is David acting out of concern for Israel? It appears not. Is David acting out of pride? Perhaps, we just aren't given enough information... but we will find out that whatever David's motivation was it was wrong in the eyes of God, and thus he is sinning.
2 Samuel 24:5-9 - Wow! They did an extensive search, from Dan to Beersheba (throughout Israel from South to North) to count of the fighting men of Israel. I'm guessing that many were tested to see their level of skill, since the specific ability to handle a sword is given. It took almost 10 months to complete the task, that's a huge undertaking. What is the size of David's available fighting force? The math here makes it look like it's approximately 1.3 million men, with 500 thousand in Judah & 800 thousand in the rest of Israel. That's an impressive force for a small country, and shows how strong the tribe of Judah was in particular.
2 Samuel 24:10 - David has a crisis of conscience, he knows that what was done wasn't strictly forbidden by God, but that his motivations were wrong & thus he has sinned. What was his specific sin? Perhaps pride, perhaps failing to trust in God as his protector, perhaps some of both. David has seen the sin in his heart, and he falls on his face in repentance before God - Satan had enticed David, and David had fallen into his trap, now David is calling out to God for forgiveness & restoration.
2 Samuel 24:11-13 - We need to remember how this chapter started, God was angry with Israel as a whole - not necessarily with David. Satan, when given the opportunity, decided to attack Israel at the seat of human power within the nation - bring down the king & the rest of the nation will likely follow suit, especially since David was a Spiritual as well as a Governmental leader of the nation. God will hold political leaders accountable for the state of their nations, to those who have been given much there will be greater accountability.
Ok, so though its David that messed up, he is just a mirror reflecting the state of Israel - and obviously Israel was headed in the wrong direction if God's anger had been aroused. So here comes Gad to give the bad news to David, a punishment is coming. God has forgiven, but that doesn't mean that there aren't consequences, and now David is asked to select a consequence for Israel. Three years of famine in Israel, three months of Israel being attacked & fleeing from foreign enemies, or three days of plague on the people of Israel. Tough choice.
2 Samuel 24:14-16 - David doesn't seem to be able to choose, he puts the nation into the Lord's merciful hands - knowing God knows what is best. At first it sounds like what he's saying is "go ahead and punish us, but spare me", but that's not what he's saying; what he's saying is this: God I want to put myself in your hands not in the hands of men, you punish me - David knew he could trust himself in God's hands. So God sends the plague, that would have been my choice - get the punishment over quickly. What's interesting is that God is allowing an Angel to bring the punishment; however, when the Angel eyes Jerusalem God says "Stop" - God will only allow the punishment to go so far. Where the Angel was stopped was the threshing floor of Araunah. In case you're wondering, this location is within the current city of Jerusalem, but was probably not within the city proper at the time of David. Back to the plague for a moment, we need to be aware of the consequences of the sin - 70 thousand lives taken, from all throughout the land of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba - seemingly along the same path taken by Joab when he numbered the fighting men.
2 Samuel 24:17-19 - David sees the Angel, and his response shows us again that he wasn't trying to avoid punishment for his own sin, he prays and asks God to be merciful on the people who David calls "sheep" - he is willing to lay his life down for the "sheep", and we see in David in this instance a glimpse of Christ.
Gad comes again to David and says, ok it's time to finish setting things right, you need to go set up an altar & make sacrifices to God. Where is David to set up this altar? At the very place Angel was when God told him to stop - the threshing floor of Araunah. David wastes no time, off he goes to Araunah's place.
1 Chronicles 21:20-21 & 2 Samuel 24:20-21 - David wasn't the only one who saw the Angel, Araunah & his sons have also seen it, and Araunah's sons have hidden; however, Araunah continues with his work of threshing - to me this speaks of his trust in God, he didn't run and hide from God's Angel. Araunah sees the king coming, and he bows himself down to David out of respect for David's position in Israel, David wasn't just the king but a spiritual leader as well. David explains that he wants to purchase the threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord in order that the plague might be stopped. Ok, here is one of those times when we sense that the passage might not be strictly chronological... In fact, it appears that God has sent David to build an altar & make sacrifices at the very place where God wants to stop the Angel. I think this because David's obedience is evidence of his repentance, and we are forgiven when we repent (not before).
2 Samuel 24:22-25 - Araunah knows his place, he is a lowly "sheep" of Israel & he's speaking to the king, so he offers to provide not only the threshing floor, but also the oxen and the wood for the sacrifice - he also seems to be eager for God to answer David's prayer for the plague to end. David says "no" to Araunah's offer, he will not make a sacrifice that has not cost him, David is demonstrating true repentance - he's not just repentant in words, he's working out his repentance in actions, he's taking personal responsibility for his sin. The price paid doesn't have an equivalent in today's market, silver would have been more valuable then; however, we do know from Chronicles that David ended up purchasing the entire site for a hefty sum, it became part of the royal property, and this is the location upon which Solomon's temple was built. As if to answer my questions about timing: verse 25 seems to indicate that the plague is stopped, David's prayer is answered, after David makes his sacrifice.
Closing Prayer: Thank You God for your amazing mercy & grace, that we don't get the punishment that each of us as sinners deserves; instead, you offer forgiveness and even paid the price for it yourself. I am amazed by your grace. Lord help us to accept responsibility for our sins, help us not to be angry when we must pay the consequences of our sins, but let us instead learn the lessons you have for us through the consequences. Amen!
Quickly Form Groups Again:
2. Gad played a key role in today's passage, he came along side David and instructed him in what actions he should take to make amends for his sins. Who in your life could be a "Gad" for you - to hold you accountable, help you know how to make amends, and point you back to God? Who might God be asking you to be a "Gad" for?
3. Pray for each other.
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