Lessons from the life of David
King of Israel
Part 7 - David's Census
1 Chronicles 21
1 Chronicles 21
Is God unfair?
Recently someone asked me about a Bible story, where it appeared that God acted unfairly. An Israelite king ignored God's counsel, and as a result hundreds of innocent Israeli men died. It appeared that God punished the men for the mistake of the king. That doesn't seem fair.
My response was to point out that when we are in a position of authority, the decisions we make always affect people under our authority. The decisions I make every day in my private life affects my family and my church.
David's Pride
We discover this principle played out once again in David's life in the story about the census.
Recently someone asked me about a Bible story, where it appeared that God acted unfairly. An Israelite king ignored God's counsel, and as a result hundreds of innocent Israeli men died. It appeared that God punished the men for the mistake of the king. That doesn't seem fair.
My response was to point out that when we are in a position of authority, the decisions we make always affect people under our authority. The decisions I make every day in my private life affects my family and my church.
David's Pride
We discover this principle played out once again in David's life in the story about the census.
1 Chronicles 21 (New Century Version)
Satan was against Israel, and he caused David to count the people of Israel. So David said to Joab [David's nephew and top army general] and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count all the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then tell me so I will know how many there are."
Dan was a city near the northern border of Israel, and Beersheba was near the southern border. "From Dan to Beersheba" was a phrase often used to represent the whole nation. It is like saying in our country "from the Atlantic to the Pacific."
But Joab said, "May the Lord give the nation a hundred times more people. My master the king, all the Israelites are your servants. Why do you want to do this, my master? You will make Israel guilty of sin."
Is there anything wrong with David taking a census of the nation? Normally, no. But it seems his motives were wrong. His purpose was not just to count the population, but to count the number of soldiers he could raise for an army, if he wanted to. This was David's version of the Selective Service System. It appears that David forgot how he became a successful king and military commander.
Two hundred years earlier, Moses had warned Israel:
Two hundred years earlier, Moses had warned Israel:
You might say to yourself, "I am rich because of my own power and strength," but remember the Lord your God! It is he who gives you the power to become rich, keeping the agreement he promised to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:17, 18 NCV)
During most of his life and service as king, David understood that it was not his own power and intelligence which made him successful. All the credit goes to God. David wrote:
Now I know the Lord helps his appointed king.
He answers him from his holy heaven
and saves him with his strong right hand.
Some trust in chariots, others in horses,
but we trust the Lord our God. (Psalm 20:6, 7 NCV)
But now David is settled in his position, admiring his achievements, and he begins to take personal credit that really belongs to God. So he forgets, and he orders the census to see just how powerful he is.
Many years later, another king, one of David's descendants, made a similar mistake. The prophet Isaiah offered this counsel:
Many years later, another king, one of David's descendants, made a similar mistake. The prophet Isaiah offered this counsel:
This is what the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, says:
"If you come back to me and trust me, you will be saved.
If you will be calm and trust me, you will be strong."
But you don’t want to do that.
You say, "No, we need horses to run away on."
So you will run away on horses.
You say, "We will ride away on fast horses."
So those who chase you will be fast.
One enemy will make threats,
and a thousand of your men will run away.
Five enemies will make threats,
and all of you will run from them.
You will be left alone like a flagpole on a hilltop,
like a banner on a hill.
The Lord wants to show his mercy to you.
He wants to rise and comfort you.
The Lord is a fair God,
and everyone who waits for his help will be happy. (Isaiah 30:15-18 NCV
Back to David's story…
But the king commanded Joab, so Joab left and went through all Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Joab gave the list of the people to David. There were one million one hundred thousand men in all of Israel who could use the sword, and there were four hundred seventy thousand men in Judah who could use the sword.
That is 1,570,000 draft eligible Israeli men. Nice!
David had done something God had said was wrong, so God punished Israel.
Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly by what I have done! Now, I beg you to forgive me, your servant, because I have been very foolish."
Three Choices
Realizing that he did wrong, David did not defend his action, but confessed and asked forgiveness, as he did earlier when he had committed adultery. But this time, the Lord chose to punish him. But God decided to let David chose his own punishment. God gave him three choices:
The Lord said to Gad, who was David’s seer, "Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I offer you three choices. Choose one of them and I will do it.’ "
So Gad went to David and said to him, "This is what the Lord says: ‘Choose for yourself three years of hunger. Or choose three months of running from your enemies as they chase you with their swords. Or choose three days of punishment from the Lord, in which a terrible disease will spread through the country. The angel of the Lord will go through Israel destroying the people.’ Now, David, decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me."
Here, again are the choices from which David had to choose:
#1 Three years of famine - no rain, no farm crops
#2 Three months of military conflict and defeat
#3 Three days of plague - disease through all the land of Israel.
If you were David, which would you choose?
Maybe (1) three years of famine? Maybe David could buy food from other countries.
Maybe (2) three months of military conflict and defeat. Now, that doesn't seem as bad as three years of famine. After all, David still can raise an army of 1,570,000 soldiers if he needs to. He might still be able to made a pretty good defense. If David had held on to his pride, he might have made this choice. But now he knew better. He knew that without the Lord's help, it would not matter how big his army was. David had often been on the other side of the statistics. With only a small band of men, he had defeated great enemies (like the Philistines), because the Lord had fought for Israel with his Angelic army.
Or (3) three days of disease? Disease sounds scary… but it is only for three days.
Which should David choose?
#1 Three years of famine - no rain, no farm crops
#2 Three months of military conflict and defeat
#3 Three days of plague - disease through all the land of Israel.
If you were David, which would you choose?
Maybe (1) three years of famine? Maybe David could buy food from other countries.
Maybe (2) three months of military conflict and defeat. Now, that doesn't seem as bad as three years of famine. After all, David still can raise an army of 1,570,000 soldiers if he needs to. He might still be able to made a pretty good defense. If David had held on to his pride, he might have made this choice. But now he knew better. He knew that without the Lord's help, it would not matter how big his army was. David had often been on the other side of the statistics. With only a small band of men, he had defeated great enemies (like the Philistines), because the Lord had fought for Israel with his Angelic army.
Or (3) three days of disease? Disease sounds scary… but it is only for three days.
Which should David choose?
David said to Gad, "I am in great trouble. Let the Lord punish me, because the Lord is very merciful. Don’t let my punishment come from human beings."
Translation: "I will let God choose. But definitely not #2. I want God to punish me, not people. I can trust God mercy. I don't trust what my enemies will do to me if they had the chance."
God's Judgement and David's Prayer
God chose #3.
God's Judgement and David's Prayer
God chose #3.
So the Lord sent a terrible disease on Israel, and seventy thousand people died. God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but when the angel started to destroy it, the Lord saw it and felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. So he said to the angel who was destroying, "That is enough! Put down your arm!"
David was right. He knew God's mercy. But there is also another reason God stopped the plague.
The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord in the sky, holding his sword drawn and pointed at Jerusalem. Then David and the older leaders bowed facedown on the ground. They were wearing rough cloth to show their grief. David said to God, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong. I gave the order for the people to be counted. These people only followed me like sheep. They did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me and my family, but stop the terrible disease that is killing your people."
Now you see why the Bible calls David, "a man after God's own heart."
Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to tell David that he should build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David did what Gad told him to do, in the name of the Lord.
Araunah was separating the wheat from the straw. When he turned around, he saw the angel. Araunah’s four sons who were with him hid.
I might have been tempted to go hide, also.
David came to Araunah, and when Araunah saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed facedown on the ground before David.
David said to him, "Sell me your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord here. Then the terrible disease will stop. Sell it to me for the full price."
Araunah said to David, "Take this threshing floor. My master the king, do anything you want. Look, I will also give you oxen for the whole burnt offerings, the threshing boards for the wood, and wheat for the grain offering. I give everything to you."
We don't know if Araunah offered everything for free because he loved King David so much, or because he love the Lord, or because he was scared out of his mind because of the angel hovering over his land. David could have said, "Fine, thanks!" But David refused Araunah's offer for a very good reason.
But King David answered Araunah, "No, I will pay the full price for the land. I won’t take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I won’t offer a burnt offering that costs me nothing."
So David paid Araunah about fifteen pounds of gold for the place. David built an altar to the Lord there and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. David prayed to the Lord, and he answered him by sending down fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its holder.
When David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah, he offered sacrifices there.
If you think that David offered two sacrifices on the threshing floor of Araunah, you are absolutely right. First was the sacrifice of repentance, begging God's mercy. The second was a sacrifice to say "Thank you!" to God.
Post Script
Remember that Israel did not yet have a temple for God. We studied 2 Samuel 7 where earlier David wanted to build a temple for God, but God told him, "No, you will not build a house for me, but I will establish a house [dynasty] for you." David knew that his son would one day build the Lord's temple. And now, standing on the threshing floor of Araunah, just outside the walls of Jerusalem…
Post Script
Remember that Israel did not yet have a temple for God. We studied 2 Samuel 7 where earlier David wanted to build a temple for God, but God told him, "No, you will not build a house for me, but I will establish a house [dynasty] for you." David knew that his son would one day build the Lord's temple. And now, standing on the threshing floor of Araunah, just outside the walls of Jerusalem…
David said, "The Temple of the Lord God and the altar for Israel’s burnt offerings will be built here."
Principles for Us
1. Remember how David knelt on the threshing floor and prayed, "I am the one who sinned and did wrong. These people did nothing wrong. Lord my God, please punish me."
1000 years later, Jesus, who committed no sin, hung on a cross near Jerusalem, and prayed for us, "Father, forgive them, and punish me."
2. There on the threshing floor, David offered the sacrifice of bulls, which he had purchased from Araunah.
There on the cross, Jesus offered the sacrifice of Himself for us. And with His sacrificed, He purchased from Satan.
1000 years later, Jesus, who committed no sin, hung on a cross near Jerusalem, and prayed for us, "Father, forgive them, and punish me."
2. There on the threshing floor, David offered the sacrifice of bulls, which he had purchased from Araunah.
There on the cross, Jesus offered the sacrifice of Himself for us. And with His sacrificed, He purchased from Satan.
You were bought, not with something that ruins like gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb. (1 Peter 1:18, 19)
3. David dedicated that spot, Araunah's threshing floor, as the site of the future temple.
When our Savior died, the heavy curtain hanging in the middle of the temple was torn open, signaling an end of our eternal separation from God. Forty years later, the whole temple came crashing down. So now where is His temple?
When our Savior died, the heavy curtain hanging in the middle of the temple was torn open, signaling an end of our eternal separation from God. Forty years later, the whole temple came crashing down. So now where is His temple?
You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit who is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. So you do not belong to yourselves, because you were bought by God for a price. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 NCV)
Footnotes:
A threshing floor was an outdoor platform where farmers separated kernels of grain from the straw and husks (chaff). Farmers used various methods of threshing grain.
Then the farmer would winnow the grain, by throwing the grain up into the air with a shovel. The wind would blow away the chaff, but the kernels of grain would fall straight back down to the floor. The farmer collected that grain in bags, and would grind it into flower as he needed it.
Jebusites were not Israelites. Jebusites were one of the many pagan tribes living in Canaan (today we call the land Palestine) when Israel took over the land after their escape from Egypt. Jerusalem had been a Jebusite city up until the time David became king. (See 2 Samuel 5 and 1 Chronicles 11.) It appears that even though Araurnah was a Jebusite, he honored David as king. Araunah lived as a citizen, not as a conquered enemy. He still owned a farm near Jerusalem.
A threshing floor was an outdoor platform where farmers separated kernels of grain from the straw and husks (chaff). Farmers used various methods of threshing grain.
- Cows would walk on the grain, knocking the kernels loose from the straw, and knocking the husks off the kernels.
- Farmers pounded the grain with wooden paddles, to knock the kernels loose.
- Cows pulled heavy wooden sleds over the grain, which knocked the husks off without crushing the kernels.
Then the farmer would winnow the grain, by throwing the grain up into the air with a shovel. The wind would blow away the chaff, but the kernels of grain would fall straight back down to the floor. The farmer collected that grain in bags, and would grind it into flower as he needed it.
Jebusites were not Israelites. Jebusites were one of the many pagan tribes living in Canaan (today we call the land Palestine) when Israel took over the land after their escape from Egypt. Jerusalem had been a Jebusite city up until the time David became king. (See 2 Samuel 5 and 1 Chronicles 11.) It appears that even though Araurnah was a Jebusite, he honored David as king. Araunah lived as a citizen, not as a conquered enemy. He still owned a farm near Jerusalem.