2 Samuel 24:10-17--The LORD's Judgment of David's Sin

2 Samuel 24:10-17
English Standard Version

The LORD's Judgment of David's Sin
10 But David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

15 So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. 16 And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house.”

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Last time we talked about how David wanted a census taken, and how even Joab protested this because he knew it was not good to do this unless the LORD commanded it.  Whether the act itself was sinful or simply the motive behind it was sinful doesn't matter, David refused to listen to wise council from Joab (not the person I would expect the LORD to use to give me wise council, if I'm being honest) and the LORD had to send the prophet Gad to David to confront him (much like when the prophet Nathan was sent to confront David after his adultery with Bathsheba).  That's where we will pick up the story today.  To us this may seem like no big deal, but David seems to be trusting in himself and the numbers of the people of Israel for the kingdom to continue.  He's about to die and wants to know if the kingdom is able to survive without him.  He might also specifically be concerned about war breaking out between Israel and Judah again, since it seems apparent that he had the northern tribes counted separately from the southern tribes.  No matter what David's concern was, he was not trusting in the LORD to be faithful to fulfil his covenant with David and his house.

David realizes this right away as soon as Joab reports the census numbers to him, but at that point it can't be taken back.  The deed is done and the dye has been cast.  The LORD came to the prophet Gad, David's seer, and told him to offer three choices of punishment to David.  The first option was three years of famine, the second was three months of military losses when David would flee before his enemies (which we'd assume would come with heavy loses to both the fighting men and the civilians), or three days of pestilence (a plague) that would be felt throughout the entire land.  The number three is consistent here but the duration of each event diminishes probably meaning that the first event is less intense but longer lasting, the second is of both moderate duration and intensity, and the third was likely to be of short duration but high intensity.  None of the choices set before David are good choices and David wishes that he himself could be punished for his own sin and the people could be left out of it and not affected by his poor choice, but that wasn't one of the options given to David.  David is not afraid for the hand of the LORD to bring judgment Himself, but David is concerned about the LORD using pagan men to accomplish his judgment because David doesn't trust them (this might help reveal to us that David's concern in taking the census was about the strength of the military and keeping the borders of Israel secure).

The LORD understood that David was choosing the option of pestilence because a long-term famine would also be an invitation for the foreign armies to attack when Israel was weak.  David really wants something that will be quick and painless and that wasn't an option either.  The quick option would be very painful for him and the people and the plague that the LORD sent worked its way through the whole land killing 70,000 men.  The angel (we'll see in a second that this is not just any angel, but the angel of the LORD, which I hope you recall is one of ways in which the second person of the Trinity is referred to in the Old Testament) sent to administer the plague was reaching his hand out towards Jerusalem to destroy it (assuming this means to completely kill everyone in it, including David and his family), but the LORD stopped, probably for the sake of the Davidic covenant and the other covenants that He made with Israel that needed to be fulfilled through Christ.

Even though the LORD has stayed his judgement, the angel of the LORD does not leave and is at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, which would eventually become the location of the Temple.  Of note, this is also in fairly close proximity to the location where Abraham was tested by being asked to offer up Isaac, the Child of Promise, in the book of Genesis.  God might have intended for the Jews to remember this location and have some connection in their thoughts between that event and this one, for the angel of the LORD appeared to and spoke to Abraham there, and they offered a sacrifice and worshiped the angel of the LORD there.  So it would be that David would come and offer and sacrifice and worship there, and the angel of the LORD would accept the sacrifices and worship--something that only God and no ordinary angel should do.  We'll talk about that next time as well as something interesting that David says about refusing to offer a sacrifice that costs him nothing.

David again pleads for the judgment to come against him and his house, for a shepherd, he sees the people of Israel as his sheep that he is shepherding (there is a strong connection in the Bible between the role of the king and the role of a shepherd).  It breaks his heart to see the "sheep" of the people of Israel suffer for his own sin.  One day, the Good Shepherd will go beyond this and will plead for the Father to poor out His wrath that was stored up for the true Israel (all the redeemed people that were true children of Abraham from all the nations of the world) not because Jesus had committed any sins that He deserved to pay for and didn't want to see others punished for, but because He had committed no sins and desired to take their punishment upon Himself so that they might have the rewards that belonged to Him for perfectly keeping the Law and fulfilling the covenants that no one else could.  That event would again happen either right here in this place where David and the angel of the LORD would meet or in close proximity in the very same mountain range (the hill that we call Golgotha was either here or nearby).  The intent is clear though that the LORD intends to teach David one final lesson about being king and that is that he is guilty of sin and cannot suffer in the place of his people.  One day however, there would be a better King, the King of Kings, who would be the Suffering Servant of the book of Isaiah.  Let's look at just a few of those words as we close today.


Isaiah 53:4-6
English Standard Version
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.