2 Samuel 24 - God rules over sin

So I'm going to read God's word for us, 2 Samuel chapter 24.

2 Samuel 24 · chapter mention

I'm going to read the whole chapter to us.

We are right at the end of our series in 2 Samuel.

Let's listen to God's word.

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.

So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him,

go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba

and enroll the fighting men so that I may know how many there are.

But Joab replied to the king,

may the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 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?

The king's word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders,

so they left the presence of the king

to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aror,

south of the town in the gorge,

and then went through Gad and on to Jazir.

They went to Gilead and to the region of Tahim Hodshi

and to Danjan and round towards the Sidon.

When they went towards the fortress of Tyre

and all the time of the Hivites and the Canaanites,

finally they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.

After they'd gone through the entire land,

they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days.

Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king.

In Israel, there were 800,000 able-bodied men who could handle a sword,

and in Judah, 500,000.

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.

Before David got up the next morning,

the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet,

David's seer.

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.

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.

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.

So the Lord sent a plague on Israel

from that morning until the end of the time designated,

and 70,000 of the people died.

The people from Dan to Beersheba died.

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 Arunah the Jebusite.

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.

But these are but sheep.

What have they done?

Let your hand fall on me and my family.

On that day, Gad went to David and said to him,

Go up and build an altar to the Lord

on the threshing floor of Arunah the Jebusite.

So David went up as the Lord had commanded through Gad.

When Arunah looked and saw the king

and his officials coming towards him,

he went out and bowed down before the king

with his face to the ground.

Arunah said,

Why has my Lord the king come to his servant?

To buy your threshing floor, David answered,

so that I can build an altar to the Lord

so that the plague on the people may be stopped.

Arunah said to David,

Let my Lord the king take whatever he wishes

and offer it up.

Here are oxen for the burnt offering

and here are the threshing sledges

and ox yokes for the woods.

Your majesty, Arunah gives all of this to the king.

Arunah also said to him,

May the Lord your God accept you.

But the king replied to Arunah,

No, I insist on paying for it.

I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God

burnt offerings that cost me nothing.

So David brought the threshing floor

and the oxen and paid 50 shekels of silver for them.

David built an altar to the Lord there

and sacrificed burnt offerings

and fellowship offerings.

Then the Lord answered his prayer

on behalf of the land

and the plague on Israel was stopped.

Well, this is God's word for us this morning

and we're going to look at it together.

Let me pray very briefly

and ask for the Lord's help.

Father, we thank you for all that we have seen

in the book of 2 Samuel

and we pray even now

that as we consider it again together

that you might speak to us

by your spirit through your word.

More than just that,

we pray please that you might change us,

move our hearts which are slow to trust,

to trust you and love you.

Pray for those who maybe

have never really understood

who you are or never trusted you.

May you open their eyes.

May all of us,

me as I preach

and all of us as we listen,

encounter you in your word,

we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

I wonder whether you've watched this TV show.

A few of us in our family

have been watching it together.

It's called The Majorca Files.

Has anyone seen The Majorca Files?

It's kind of like a whodunit type series.

It's very kind of sedate.

It's a British and a German detective

both working in Majorca.

They're kind of a bit hapless,

so they don't really know what they're doing.

And in the episode that we watched the other day,

these two detectives had been asked

by a senior police officer from Madrid

to try and catch a conman.

So they did.

These two hapless detectives

managed to catch the conman

and they chased him through the town.

They cuffed him

and put him in the back

of the senior police officer from Madrid's car.

As they were driving away from it,

really feeling quite satisfied with themselves,

they realized and it dawned on them

that the conman was not the person

that they'd put in the back

of the senior police officer's car,

but the senior police officer himself.

So they were distressed.

What are we going to do now?

So they spun the car around

and they chased after

the senior police officer from Madrid.

Then they were chasing him down

and that involved speedboats

and trying to chase him down,

trying to shoot him,

all that sort of stuff.

And it looked like he'd got away.

And then what happened

was the woman in charge

of the Majorca police

turned up with a whole load

of police boats

and arrested the senior police officer

and the guy that they'd caught and cuffed.

And it turns out

that all along,

this Majorca commander

in charge of the police

knew exactly what was happening

and knew that her two hapless detectives

were after the wrong person.

So they'd let it happen.

Now, in a kind of bizarre

sort of roundabout way,

that is kind of what's happening

in 2 Samuel.

In 2 Samuel,

you discover, don't you,

that 70,000 Israelites

died in a plague, right?

But it's not the natural disaster

that you might have thought.

You know, you might just think,

oh, well, plagues happen,

don't they?

We know that.

And this one happens.

But it's not that

because this plague comes

as judgment against David's sin.

He chooses it, doesn't he?

Instead of three years of famine

or three months of military defeat,

he says,

I'll have three days of plague.

And when you see that,

you realize it's not just that either.

Rather, that we find

that behind all of that

is God and his plan.

God in sovereign power

who is executing judgment

on the people of Israel,

even against David's sin

that he had incited

and the plague that followed.

You might remember

that we're at the conclusion

of the book of 2 Samuel.

So basically,

these last few chapters,

picking it up

from chapter 21,

these chapters

are the conclusion,

the summary,

the epilogue

at the end

of the book of 2 Samuel.

And really,

the writer is trying

to round off

his whole book

and trying to tell you

what's been going on.

And it's not

an ordinary history book.

The book is not ending

with the death of David.

We've now

sort of leapt back

into the story of David

to an unidentified point

in David's history.

But the writer thinks

if you understand

this story

and what's happening here,

you will understand

the whole book.

This is the sort of summary.

And what the writer

wants us to understand

is that everything

that's been going on

in the book,

so Absalom's rebellion,

Joab's murders,

David's adultery,

Amnon's rape,

in all of that,

even though God

often was not

mentioned directly,

what the writer

now wants you

to understand

is that all the time,

God was there

and God was in charge.

God was ruling

and reigning.

God has been behind it all,

the good and the evil

accomplishing his purposes.

Let me try

and demonstrate that to you.

It's there in verse 1.

Look down at verse 1.

Let me read it to you again.

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.

Just keep your eyes

down on the verse

and work through it

backwards with me

for a moment.

Start at the end.

King David

is the speaker

of the words

in quotation marks.

He's declaring

that a census

of Israel and Judah

should be taken.

Specifically,

it turns out,

and we discovered this,

it's a census

of their fighting men.

There are 1.3 million

fighting men in Israel,

800,000 in Israel,

500,000 in Judah.

Now,

the whole point

of the chapter

rests on the idea

that you understand

that David's instruction

there to go

and take a census

is a sinful instruction.

It was a wicked thing

for him to do.

You see that,

don't you,

in Joab's response

and the commanders

in verses 3 and 4.

They're objecting,

aren't they?

Don't do this, David.

We don't want to do this.

Don't do this.

They try and persuade

David out of it.

But if you look down

at verse 10,

even David himself

acknowledges

that it was sinful.

David was conscience-stricken

after he counted

the fighting men.

And he said to the Lord,

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.

Now,

what you need to understand

is not that censuses

themselves are immoral

or wrong always.

The book of Exodus

in chapter 30

permits the leaders

of God's people

to take censuses

of the people of Israel.

It gives them

certain conditions

under which they're

to do it.

The book of Numbers

in your Bible

is actually centered

around two censuses

of God's people.

So it's not always wrong

to count the people,

but it is wrong

in certain circumstances

and for certain reasons.

And we're not told

exactly why that is here,

but still we're left

in no doubt

that David's intention

in taking the census

was a sinful one.

Perhaps it was pride.

I want to see

how big my army is.

Let me work out

how powerful

I really am,

maybe.

We're just not quite sure

what the intention was,

but we are told

that it is sinful.

Perhaps he didn't

collect the relevant tax

that God had told him to

in the book of Exodus.

Now it was sinful

and the people knew it.

Now despite that

and despite the fact

that by verse 10

David is conscience stricken,

still what you need

to notice

in the beginning

of the chapter

is that David

is really determined

to do this sinful thing.

Notice how verse 4

puts it.

David's word prevails

over the objections

of Joab

and his army commanders.

Joab and the army commanders

are saying,

please David,

don't do this,

don't do this.

But David's word prevails.

David gets his way.

Now if that's all

there was in verse 1,

if all you had

in verse 1

was David saying,

go and take a census

of Israel and Judah

and you knew it was sinful,

then what you would have

in some ways

is something a bit similar

to the rest of the things

going on in 2 Samuel

with the mess

that's meant.

You know,

Amnon desires Tamar

and makes a mess.

Absalom desires the nation,

makes a mess.

David desires a census,

makes a mess.

But there's more to it

than that

because there's a twist

here, isn't there?

It turns out

that the chief of police

knew all along

and knew exactly

what was happening

and was behind it all.

Verse 1,

above and behind,

overruling everything

that happens

is God.

The taking of the census,

David's desire

to take a census

is verse 1,

what?

Incited by God.

In other words,

God is leading David.

He's leading him

not against his will,

yet David wants

to do it as well.

He was willingly led,

but still,

chapter 24,

verse 1,

God incited David

to want to take

this census

to punish

the people of Israel.

Now,

God is angry,

isn't he?

He is burning with anger,

we find at the beginning

of verse 1.

He is heated up

against the people of Israel

for some sin or behavior

that's not directly recorded

for us in the chapter.

In other words,

the story is not just

the story of a sort of

hapless David

blundering into sin

by accident,

nor is it the story

of innocent Israel

getting caught up

in the wickedness of David.

Now,

here's God

in righteous anger,

burning against

the people of God,

inciting David

to take a sinful census

so that judgment

might fall

on all the people.

There's a parallel account

in 1 Chronicles 21,

1 Chronicles 21:1

verse 1.

You can turn to it

if you wanted to,

but there,

in 1 Chronicles 21,

1 Chronicles 21:1

verse 1,

you're told that actually

it is Satan

who incites David.

It says that Satan

rose up against Israel

and incited David

to take the census.

Now,

that's not because

1 Chronicles

and 2 Samuel

are contradicting

one another.

Rather,

it seems as though

God's incitement

of David

is done through Satan.

God is not the author

of David's sin.

He's not morally

responsible for it.

Instead,

while Satan desires

to ruin the people

and David desires

to count the people

in pride,

still God stands

behind it all

in his ruling

and reigning.

God incites David

against the people

of Israel

in punishment

for their sin

and 70,000 people die.

I don't know

how well you guys

remember Sermon Series.

Okay,

so I wonder

if you might

possibly remember

when we were looking

at 2 Samuel chapter,

I think it was chapter 10,

we talked about

the rollercoaster

of 2 Samuel.

We said that we'd

arrived at the top.

You know how rollercoasters,

they take you up,

don't they,

and up and up and up

and you get to the very top

and then they let you go

and you fly down.

Well,

that's what 2 Samuel does.

And chapter 8,

you achieve the high point

of 2 Samuel,

right,

and you're sort of

suspended there

for a couple of chapters

as we see David

and all his greatness

and then you fly down

the rollercoaster,

right,

and it's just plummeting

the depths of David's sin

and the chaos

that comes as a result.

But actually what you find

by the time you get

to chapter 24

is that that

was not a very good

illustration of what's going on

because it's not a rollercoaster

where there's no driver

and where you're just going

in an aimless loop.

Actually,

it's more like a proper train

and God himself

is the driver

and knows exactly

where he's going

and exactly what he's doing.

The train is going somewhere.

It's not going just the direction

of David's wicked desires.

Instead,

the direction is led

by the Lord himself.

Now,

I think if you're following

at this point,

you should at least

have some questions

flying around your head.

Not,

what are we going to have

for dinner,

but some questions

about the nature of God

and what he's like.

You should be thinking,

how can God

incite David into sin

without being wicked himself?

How can I believe

in a God

who is involved

like that

in David's life

and is still claiming

to be good?

Doesn't the Bible say

that God can't tempt

people to sin?

That every good

and perfect gift

comes from above?

How is it now

that in 2 Samuel 24 verse 1,

2 Samuel 24:1

I find God

inciting the king of Israel

to do something

which we know

was not a good thing to do?

Now,

those are brilliant questions

and they're not very easy

questions to answer,

but we must say

that it must be true

that God is good.

The Bible is so very clear

on that.

But whilst it doesn't

undermine God's goodness,

still,

2 Samuel 24 verse 1

2 Samuel 24:1

must also be true.

Which means that we

we live,

don't we,

in a world

which is ruled

and reigned

by a God

who is good.

A God who in his goodness

and his moral perfection

without ever undermining

any of it,

without becoming

wicked himself,

still,

in uncompromising goodness,

he rules and reigns

and sovereignly rules

even over

the sinful intentions

of wicked people's hearts

in order to accomplish

his purposes.

I know it's so easy

for me to say that

and it's easy for me

to look at you

and think,

I don't know

whether you've got that.

But let me say it again

because it's incredible.

God in moral perfection

rules and reigns

over our world

in such a way

that even the sinful

intentions of the hearts

of people who rebel

against him

are still in his hands.

Still in his hands.

He can still do

his purposes

and his plans.

So at the end of the book

which has catalogued

the disasters

of the sinfulness

of men and women,

mostly men to be fair,

but men and women,

here at the end of the book

you find that God

has not lost the plot,

he's not left the stage,

he's not given up,

rather God has been

driving it all along,

accomplishing his purposes.

And let me show you that

in two specific areas.

That God is sovereign

over our world

and the intentions

of human hearts

in judgment

and in salvation.

So let's start

with in judgment.

This is where verse one starts.

God rules over sin

in judgment.

God is angry, isn't he,

with the people of Israel.

We're not told why.

There are plenty of possibilities

as you read

the book of 2 Samuel.

Sort of depends

on when you think

these events happened.

But the point is

that God's desire

to judge Israel

leads him to incite David,

using David's desire

to sinfully count the army

against the people

so that they're judged.

I think as we watch

the things happening

in our world,

it's common for us

to feel there's a sort

of sense of hopelessness,

isn't there,

in our world?

Oh, there's never

any justice.

Evil people always seem

to be able to get away

with it.

Wicked people seem untouchable.

Good people seem

so inconsistent.

Wickedness seems spiraling

out of control.

But in 2 Samuel 24,

you're introduced

to this idea

that no,

God is in charge of it.

And he is able

to bring sin

back on itself.

He's able to sort of

pile up wickedness

in judgment

on sin itself.

Not necessarily always

in a kind of instant

karma kind of way

that if you rob a bank,

you'll get knocked over

by a bus

as you try and run away.

But rather that

in our world

that God has made,

there is a connection

between sin

and more sin

in God's righteousness

in the way

that he has hardwired

our world.

Now think about it.

If you're a person

who is sinfully angry

with people all the time,

you can expect

to experience

sinful anger

coming back at you,

can't you?

Because that's the way

that God has made the world.

Sin grows sin

in judgment at sin.

If you're full

of sinful self-interest,

you are insecurely

thinking about yourself

all the time,

you can expect

to experience

a sort of shallowness

in your relationships

or a sinful dismissiveness

of others in return

because that's the way

the world works.

Galatians 6

talks about it

in the context

of withholding support

from those

who teach the scriptures

and it says,

do not be deceived.

God is not mocked

for whatever one sows,

that will he also reap.

All of it which make us

sit up and think,

you know,

wow, God,

this is how you've wired

the world.

1 Corinthians 11

talks about people

in the church dying

because of the way

they treated one another

in the Lord's Supper.

Now, we might not be able

to always draw the lines

super clearly

and I don't think

we're supposed to.

I think the Bible says

that innocent people

suffer innocently as well,

but actually we live

in a world

that has been handed over

by God

to the sinful desires

of people,

not in an absence

of his control,

but in his judgments.

And so here in 2 Samuel 24,

sinful Israel

have a sinning king

because God

is judging them.

Interestingly,

the New Testament

talks about it

even more

than just a sort of

sowing and reaping.

In Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Paul says

that you can see

in our world today,

you can see

that God is angry

with our world.

You can see

that the word

it uses is wrath.

You can see

God's wrath

in the world.

God's wrath

is revealed

against the sinfulness

and wickedness

of our world.

Where might you expect

to see

God's wrath revealed?

Well,

if you look

at Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1 · chapter mention

you see it

in the wickedness

of the world.

So three times

in Romans 1,

you get this repeated,

the idea

that God gives people

over to their sinful desires.

That's what he is doing

in judgment

to their sinful desires,

handing them over

to do what they want.

So much so

that the anger

or wrath of God

is seen

in the sin

that it leads to

in the world.

So Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:28

verse 28,

says this.

It's on the slide

behind you,

but you might want

to turn to it

because it's so important.

It's page 1,129.

1,129.

Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:28

verse 28.

Paul writes this.

They are full of envy,

murder, strife,

deceit,

and malice.

They are gossips,

slanderers,

God-haters,

insolent,

arrogant,

and boastful.

They invent ways

of doing evil.

They disobey their parents.

They have no understanding,

no fidelity,

no love,

no mercy.

Although they know

God's righteous decree

that those who do such things

deserve death,

they not only continue

to do these very things,

but also approve

of those who practice them.

It's shocking,

isn't it?

Why is our world

so full of envy?

Why is it that people

in our world gossip?

Why is it that children

are disobedient

to their parents?

Why is it that people

are heartless and ruthless?

What is it that leads people

to such terrible actions?

Well,

Romans chapter 1

Romans 1 · chapter mention

is because God

in his judgment

has handed them over

to their evil desires

in judgment

on their evil desires.

Now,

understanding this,

that God judges wickedness

with more wickedness

should bring at least

two responses in us.

One,

I think,

is that it should bring

a sense of consolation.

This idea

that God is sovereign

over the wickedness

of our world

brings great consolation

because you know

that there is nothing

in our world

that is outside

of God's control.

the spiraling wickedness

of our world,

the spiraling wickedness

which you may have felt

personally,

is not outside

of God's control.

It's not a sign

of his absence.

Actually,

it's a sign

of his presence

and his involvement.

You're not to assume

just that because things

go disastrously wrong,

that must mean

that God's not there

or that he's forgotten.

Nor are we to ever imagine

that people get away

with sin.

No,

God sees it all

and is navigating

this world

in such a way

that we see

the consequences

of sin

in a world

that was made good

but ruined

by our rebellion.

That doesn't always mean,

does it,

that it's proportional.

We're not to assume

that it was the 70,000

worst people in Israel

who died in the plague.

David,

whose sin led to this,

remained alive.

There is a final judgment

yet to come

for sin

when all of this

will be finally resolved

and yet still

sin breeds sin

under the judgment

of God in his world

and no one escapes.

The second response though,

it should mean

that we realize

that the big problem

in our world

is that God

burns

with anger

at the sin

and wickedness

in our world.

God is not just,

I think sometimes

we imagine

that God might be

concerned with the injustices

that I'm concerned with

but not others.

But actually,

the message of the Bible

is that God is concerned

with all injustice

and all wickedness

including mine,

including yours.

So that the moral God

who has left

his fingerprints

all over you and me

has shown us

so that just in the way

that we get outraged

by injustice

and wickedness,

so God is outraged

at all injustice

and all wickedness

in the world

including mine

and including yours.

So that my big need,

your big need

is not so much

for comfort,

not so much

for a good night's rest,

not so much

for a refreshing holiday

in the Caribbean.

My great need,

your great need

in this world

of spiraling wickedness

is what?

Forgiveness,

reconciliation with God,

mercy,

grace,

a sacrifice for sin.

That's what I really need

because I live

in a world

of spiraling wickedness

under the judgment

of a just God

who sees it all

and knows it all.

I think we can be

even more clear on it

than just that,

though.

The point here

is that David

in 2 Samuel 24

gets to pursue

his desires.

You see that?

Verse 4,

chapter 24,

it is the king's word

that overrules

Joab and the army commanders.

David is getting

what he wants.

You know,

if you were

David's counselor

in 2 Samuel 24

in a kind of

modern day speak,

you'd sit down

with David

and you'd say,

listen David,

you do you.

You be who

you want to be.

You are the only person

who can do you,

so you do it.

You do what you want

to do, David.

Brilliant,

says David.

I want to count the people.

Well, go ahead.

Count the people.

But actually,

it is in the very process

of him doing

what he wants to do

that he faces

the judgment of God

for his sin.

We assume,

don't we,

that getting what we want,

doing what we want,

is a sign of success

and blessing.

But in 2 Samuel 24,

getting what you want,

doing what he wants,

is a sign of God's judgment.

Have you considered

that perhaps

getting what you want

might not be

the road to glory,

but might be

the road to hell?

But if what you're

living for

is simply the desires

of your own heart,

and you're getting them,

have you considered

that that might not

be the blessing

that you assume it is?

Our lives were given to us

not to live for

our own desires,

but to live for

God's glory.

And if you're living

simply for yourself,

and you're being

successful in it,

it might not be

a sign of God's blessing,

it might just be

that you're getting

the judgment

that God wants you to get.

That's the challenge

of 2 Samuel 24.

David does exactly

what he wants to do,

but he does so

under the hand

of God's judgment.

Secondly though,

God's power over sin

not only means judgment,

it also means salvation.

God rules over sin

in salvation.

This I think is perhaps

easier to miss

in the passage,

but this is where

it's leading to.

God's rule over David's sin

in judgment on the sin

of the people

steers all these events.

You see all of the events

of 2 Samuel 24

arrive at a particular

location,

and it might not

seem much to you,

it's the threshing floor

of Arunah the Jebusite.

That's where you end up.

In fact,

when you read

the story aloud,

you notice that

Arunah's name

gets mentioned

an uncomfortably large

amount of times

in these end verses.

The NIV,

just to make it

slightly easier to read,

has missed out

a few of them

just because

it's so awkward.

It's a strange

sort of emphasis.

Arunah,

Arunah,

Arunah,

Arunah,

Arunah.

Do you know

where you are?

You're at the threshing

floor of Arunah,

Arunah the Jebusite.

Do you know

where you are?

You're at the threshing

floor of Arunah the Jebusite.

Why that emphasis?

Well,

actually,

I think that would

have meant something

more to the people

of Israel

when they're reading it,

because this turns out

to be the site

of the temple

that gets built.

The point of this

is that David

ends up there

not with a sinful

desire to count

the people,

but with a desire

to pay for the sin

of the people,

doesn't he?

He calls them sheep

in verse 17,

and he asks that

he as the shepherd

might stand in their place.

Please judge me,

says David,

as shepherd,

may I stand

in the place

of the sheep

and face punishment

instead.

And Gad steps in

and says,

no,

build an altar here.

Again,

just think about

God's involvement.

David is following

God's lead

as he's instructed

by Gad,

and he builds

the altar,

which he pays

for himself,

and it leads

not just to

the salvation

of David

and the ending

of the plague,

but actually

it becomes

this great sign

of atonement

for years

and generations

to come

as the temple

is built there,

right up until

the age

of the New Testament.

So here,

God sovereignly

rules over

David's sin,

not just to

lead David

and the people

to judgment,

but actually

to lead

and steer

the people

to salvation

as well.

And not just

for the sin

of counting

the people,

but in the

ministry of

the temple

for generations

and generations

to come.

This is the

scene of

acted forgiveness

for generations.

Now,

of course,

what we're going

to find,

which we've been

finding over

and over again

in 2 Samuel,

is that David

is a picture

for us

of Jesus.

Now,

you know,

don't you,

that he's not

a perfect picture.

Jesus is not

proud.

He has no

sinful desire

to incite.

In fact,

in 2 Samuel 24,

for much of it,

David is the

opposite of

Jesus,

isn't he?

You see this,

don't you?

David's sin

leads to

judgment

on his people,

right?

That's the

opposite of

Jesus.

Jesus'

actions of

righteousness

lead to

life and

salvation

for his

people.

David is the

opposite in

much of this.

But you see,

don't you,

the echo of

Jesus in

verse 17,

where David

recognizes that

he,

as a king,

wants to be

representative for

his people,

that his death

might mean their

salvation.

Pointing forward

to Jesus.

And here at the

end,

the parallels are

so clear,

aren't they?

That the true

temple of God

is the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Standing in the

place of Arunah's

threshing floor

is the cross of

Jesus Christ.

As the great

shepherd of the

sheep stands in

the place of the

sheep,

the true

sacrifice for

sin,

not on an

altar,

but the cross.

And the parallels

are even clearer

than that only.

Think about what

happens at the

cross.

We were thinking

about this with

the kids.

The cross,

remember,

is the desire

of sinful men

and women.

Men and women

who have an

inexplicable hatred

for Jesus.

And they yell

for Jesus to be

killed,

don't they?

Despite the fact

they know Jesus

has done no

wrong.

Hard to think

of a more wicked

act than shouting

for the death of

the Son of God

in human flesh.

That's exactly

what the crowds

do,

don't they?

You know,

kill this man.

Oh,

he's had compassion

on the crowds

all of his

ministry,

yet they're

shouting,

kill him,

kill him.

He healed my

mum from a

disease.

Kill him

anyway.

I saw him

raised to death.

Kill him

anyway.

He fed

$5,000.

Crucify him.

Crucify him.

Now,

if you want

to know that

our sin problem

is its heart,

a hatred of God,

then look no

further than the

cross.

But still,

in all of that,

in God's

sovereign power

over the

sinfulness of

humanity,

what is God

doing?

He is

saving his

people.

He has a

plan to save.

So much so

that you could

say God

incites their

wicked cries

so that King

Jesus would

arrive at the

cross and

provide the

means for our

forgiveness in

his death on

our place.

In 2 Samuel,

all the roads

are leading,

aren't they,

to Arunah's

threshing floor,

to the place of

atonement.

Actually,

in the Bible,

all the roads

are leading to

the cross,

to the place

of forgiveness.

Now,

think about how

that applies

for us today.

I do think,

I'm no great

cultural commentator,

but I do think

there is a growing

sense of hopelessness,

isn't there,

in our world.

We live at a time

where climate

change has now

become the

climate crisis

and it makes it

sound even worse,

doesn't it?

We live at a time

when politicians

seem to think that

their job is basically

just to tell us the

bad news all the

time.

Let me tell you the

economy is in a

really terrible way,

they say.

Let me tell you that

public services are

in a really terrible

way.

Let me tell you the

bad news about the

NHS.

Let me tell you the

bad news about

global politics.

Now that's not a

political comment,

everybody's doing

that, aren't they?

And it's easy I

think for us just

to be swept along

with this tide and

then there's a

sense of hopelessness

in the church as

well, isn't there?

Oh look, we live in

a morally declining

nation, churches are

shrinking all the

time, they're getting

turned into box of

apartments.

Let me tell you,

it's terrible,

hopeless.

Think about the

loosening of Christian

values from public

life, we've seen

that this week,

haven't we?

But 2 Samuel 24

in its fulfillment

at the cross stands

there as a reminder

that the story of

our world is not the

story of uncontrolled

sin and chaos.

The story of our

world is the story of

a God who longs to

save and is

orchestrating all

things for the

salvation of his

people at the cross

of Jesus Christ.

One who brings

judgment and holds

to account, who

brings forgiveness

and reconciliation even

in the midst of sin

and wickedness.

So that for you and

me this morning, and

maybe this is for the

first time, my hope

and my prayer is that

through this series in

2 Samuel, you and I

might arrive at Arunah's

threshing floor.

Not Arunah's threshing

floor literally, but

its fulfillment in the

cross of Jesus Christ.

Have you been led

there by the book of

2 Samuel to see that

what you really need in

life and in death is

the forgiveness that is

only provided by the

cross of Jesus Christ?

Will you see that?

Will you discover it

maybe even for the

first time that God

has been behind all

the events of your

life, leading you to

turn from your sin and

to trust in him?

And if you're a

Christian this morning,

maybe that happened

years ago, well just

be reminded by 2 Samuel

24 that there is

nothing in your life or

your world that God is

not in charge of.

God will bring you

home because he is in

charge of all things and

you can trust him.

God is the driver of the

train of human history and

you and I trusting in

Christ get to be part of

what he's doing for his

glory and for our good.

Let me pray.

Let's just take a few

moments of quiet.

Maybe you pray in your

own hearts, thanking God

that he's in charge of

your life and all that

happens.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Heavenly Father, how

we thank you that you

are sovereign over all

things.

Thank you that there is

nothing in our world, good

or bad, which threatens you

and your plans and your

purposes.

Thank you that the

wickedness of our own

hearts and the wickedness

of the hearts of those

around us have only ever

been able to accomplish

your plans.

And thank you that while

we don't see complete

justice today in our world,

there is a day coming

when justice will be done,

when every wrong will be

put right, every evil will

be punished.

And we recognize that day

involves and includes us.

So we come trusting not in

ourselves but in Jesus

Christ.

Thank you that he died in our

place for our forgiveness,

that we might know you and

love you and belong to you.

Please we pray, give us great

confidence and joy in you.

In a hopeless world, help us

to hold on to this great

hope that you know what

you're doing and that you

rule and reign.

In Jesus' name, amen.