Slices
Prepare
Confess your sins before the Lord. Read out loud the promise of 1 John 1:9 and be thankful.
Bible passage
David enrols the fighting men
24 Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’
2 So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, ‘Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enrol the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.’
3 But Joab replied to the king, ‘May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?’
4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enrol the fighting men of Israel.
5 After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around towards Sidon. 7 Then they went towards the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.
8 After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.
10 David was 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, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.’
11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 12 ‘Go and tell David, “This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.”’
13 So Gad went to David and said to him, ‘Shall there come on you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.’
14 David said to Gad, ‘I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into human hands.’
15 So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the end of the time designated, and seventy thousand of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 16 When the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was afflicting the people, ‘Enough! Withdraw your hand.’ The angel of the Lord was then at the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 When David saw the angel who was striking down the people, he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned; I, the shepherd, have done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Let your hand fall on me and my family.’
Explore
There were times when the Lord had been angry with the nation (2 Samuel 6:7; 21:1,2), but on this occasion no reason is given. All we are told is that David will be used by the Lord as the instrument of his judgement, by inciting David ‘against them’ by means of a census.
David commands Joab to conduct the counting, yet Joab challenges the king’s motivations (v 3). Surely such an exercise was pointless. The Lord could easily multiply Israel’s troops to win any battle. I wonder if Joab is remembering the lesson of Gideon. What ultimately counts is not numerical strength but the power of the Lord to save (Judges 7:2,3).
The story does not end well. David overrules his general and 9 months later the census is complete. Yet, despite David’s recognition of his arrogant pride (v 10), he cannot save his people. The Lord’s judgement against his people is enacted through a terrible plague.
Take note, however, that God’s mercy has the final word. Jerusalem will be spared (v 16). The Lord’s command is decisive and the location carefully observed. This will be the future location for Solomon’s Temple (1 Chronicles 22:1). Despite human sin, the Lord is indeed ‘compassionate and gracious, slow to anger’ (Psalm 103:8).
Respond
‘Enough! Withdraw your hand’ (v 16). Praise God for his mercy and grace. Who else needs to hear this today?
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Jeremiah 27,28; John 11
Pray for Scripture Union
Pray for Jim Winning as he leads the Supporter Care team. Pray that our new Supporter Care Assistant Sarah Murrill will settle into the role quickly, helping supporters in various ways (including dealing with donations, orders, Bible reading subscriptions and other enquiries).
