2 Samuel 24

Good evening, church.

Tonight, we will look at the last chapter of 2 Samuel, chapter 24.

2 Samuel 24 · chapter mention

We'll come to the conclusion of our series on Book of Samuel.

Last week, a group of kids from Bridges of Hope mentoring program told me that I speak

with an accent.

And jokingly, I told the kids, you guys are breaking my heart.

I've been practicing past 30 years trying to perfect my English.

So pardon my accent and put up with my accent for a little while.

So this chapter has three sections.

First section is about David's census.

And then the second section is the Lord's judgment of David's sin.

And then the third section, David builds on altar.

And as we study this chapter, we will see what does this...

You may think this is just a moment in ancient history, but it's not.

It teaches us many things.

And we will look into this tonight.

Let us pray.

Lord Jesus, thank you for gathering us here tonight.

Lord God, we ask for your grace and mercy.

And Lord, we pray that your words will touch each one of us in different ways.

For those who need hope, give them hope.

For those who need healing, give them healing.

But Lord, teach us about our perfect King, Jesus, tonight.

In your mighty name we pray.

Amen.

All right, let us turn to...

In your pew Bible, it's page 277.

Page 277.

2 Samuel chapter 24.

2 Samuel 24 · chapter mention

Again, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.

And he incited David against them, saying,

Go number Israel and Judah.

So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army who was with him,

Go through all the tribes of Israel.

Go through all the tribes of Israel.

From Dan to Beersheba,

and number the people that I may know the number of the people.

But Joab said to the king,

May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are,

while the eyes of my lord the king still see it.

But why does my lord the king delight in this thing?

But the king's war prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army.

So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king

to number the people of Israel.

They crossed the Jordan and began from Aror and from the city that is in the middle of the valley

toward Gad and onto Jazar.

Then they came to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites.

And they came to Dan and from Dan they went around to Sidon

and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites.

And they went out to the Negev of Judah at Beersheba.

So when they had gone through all the land,

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

And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king.

In Israel there were eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword.

And the men of Judah were five hundred thousand.

Now the beginning of this chapter, it was a little confusing.

Why would God incite David against Israel?

Why would God tell David to go number his people?

And then it was counted as great sin.

It was hard to comprehend.

But if you look at the parallel account in 1 Chronicles chapter 21,

1 Chronicles 21 · chapter mention

we may have a better understanding.

So let's turn to page 350 in your pew Bible.

And like I said, this is the parallel account of the same event.

And let's see how this was recorded in 1 Chronicles.

1 Chronicles chapter 21.

1 Chronicles 21 · chapter mention

Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army,

go number Israel from Beersheba to Dan.

And then I'm going to skip down to verse 6.

But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering.

For the king's command was abhorrent to Joab.

King's command was so offensive and detestable.

Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin.

And we'll come back to this.

So in God's sovereignty,

he may have allowed Satan to incite David.

Because God neither tempts men or neither get tempted.

And that's in James chapter 1 verses 13 through 15.

James 1:13–15

It is our own desire.

When we are lured and enticed by our own desire.

And when our desire gives birth to sin.

And then when sin fully grows,

it brings death.

So when you look at this account of what happened,

I believe King David,

I was trying to figure out why did King David

go against his military commander's advice.

Joab said, my Lord, don't do this.

You are committing sin.

Was it King David to pride?

That he wanted to number the military men

and to see how much he has accomplished?

Or was it because he,

for the moment,

did he lack faith in God?

Or did he not trust God completely?

Maybe he was worrying about another invasion

and wondering,

do I have enough military power

to defend my country?

Whatever the reason was,

whether he did this out of pride,

whether he did this out of,

you know, lacking trust in God,

it was counted as a great sin.

His commander, Joab,

fully understood that.

And in 1 Chronicles account,

he asks King David,

why do you cause our nation

to be guilty by doing this?

And yet King David,

maybe he was so blinded

by his own pride and his sin,

he just pushed forward.

So his word prevailed against Joab

and the rest of the commanders of the army.

Now, the first census was done

in the time of Moses.

The first census,

God told Moses to number all the people

except the tribe of Levi.

The second census,

God told Moses the same thing.

Number the people

except the tribe of Levi.

Because he wanted to know

how he can divide the land

and give inheritance

according to the number of tribes.

Now, King David here,

he tells Joab,

go number all tribe.

In 1 Chronicles,

Joab purposely excluded Levi.

So Joab knew

that was also wrong,

that you are not,

when you do the census,

you are not supposed to include Levi.

But King David's command was,

go ahead

and go through all the tribe.

Now, I think we can relate to this

because we also,

out of our own desire,

we conceive an idea

and that can be totally against God.

And sometimes,

just like Joab advised King David

not to do this

because you're about to bring guilt

guilt of this entire nation.

We sometimes hear the same kind of advice

through our brothers and sisters in Christ

when you listen to a sermon

or when you are reading scripture.

You get this kind of conviction.

And yet,

a lot of times,

don't we just ignore that

and just push forward

because we are enticed

by our own desire.

So I think we can relate to

what David did here.

Moving on to

verse 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.

And when David arose

in the morning,

the word of the Lord

came to the prophet Gad,

David's seer,

saying,

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.

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?

David must have said,

Oh no,

not again.

I've been chased by Saul.

I've been chased by Philistines.

I've been even chased

by my own son Absalom.

So he must have

shook his head.

Or shall there be

three days pestilence

in your land?

Now consider and decide

what answer

I shall return to him

who sent me.

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.

So the Lord sent

the pestilence

on Israel

from the morning

until the appointed time.

And there died

of the people

from Dan to Beersheba

70,000 men.

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 Arona the Jebusite.

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.

So when you

read this part,

you know,

you can't help

but wonder

70,000 men

died

because of what

King David did.

So Pastor Matt

and I were

talking about this

the other day

and he

brought out

a really

excellent point.

we're living

in such

an individualistic

culture

and society.

You know,

we immediately

we think

as long as

I didn't do

the wrong,

you know,

why should I suffer?

King David

did this wrong

and what

these 70,000

people have

to do with it.

But if you

think in a more

communal sense,

for example,

let's use

a sports team.

If a head

coach

makes

a really

poor,

almost

ridiculously

dumb decision

at a championship

game against

his three

assistant coaches

and let's

say they

lost the

championship

game,

who takes

the consequences?

Who suffers?

Is it just

the head

coach

or the

whole team

or even

the fan base?

Another

example

will be

say

a father

of family

of six.

This

dad

gets

really

greedy.

He

overcomes

with

greed

and then

he makes

really bad

financial

decisions.

He decides

to invest

in some

get-rich-quick

scheme,

invest all

his savings,

all the

kids'

college

savings,

even takes

out a

home equity

loan and

just put

everything

into that

investment

and then

the money

starts to

bleed.

Now,

who suffers

the consequences?

Is it

just the

dad or

is it

the whole

family,

his wife,

his children?

So,

when the

head of

the nation,

like King

David,

when he

commits

this sin,

unfortunately,

it's the

70,000

of men

got killed

by the

pestilence.

man

and

he

is

the

king

of

the

king

David,

when he's

confronted

by the

prophet,

he doesn't

give out

excuses.

He

immediately

humbles

himself

and then

he starts

to repent.

a few

chapters

ago,

when he

killed

Riah,

when he

took his

wife,

prophet

Nathan

came and

confronted

David

and King

David

did not

give any

excuse.

He

told

prophet

Nathan

he has

committed

sin against

God and

he started

to repent.

and he

does the

same

thing

here.

When you

read

verse

17,

King

David

says,

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.

So he

owns up

to his

problem

and

he

throws

himself

at the

mercy

of

God.

Verse

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.

Are we

ready to

do that?

when we

falter,

when we

fall,

when we

commit

sin against

God,

are we

ready?

When

somebody,

when God

points it

out to

us,

that you

have done

this wrong,

you know,

whether through

reading a

scripture,

again,

whether while

you're listening

to a sermon,

whether through

your brothers

or sisters in

Christ,

point something

out to you.

are we

ready to

humble

ourselves

like King

David

immediately

and then

start to

seek God's

mercy?

What he

said here

is really

amazing,

that he

wants to

fall into

hand of

God for

his mercy

is great,

but don't

let me

fall into

the hand

of man.

in the

third

section,

verse

18,

and Gad

came that

day to

David and

said to

him,

go up,

raise an

altar to

the Lord

on the

threshing

floor of

Arona

the Jebusite.

David went

up at

Gad's

word as

the Lord

commanded,

and when

Arona

looked down,

he saw the

king and

his servants

coming on

toward him,

and Arona

went out

and paid

homage to

the king

with his

face to

the ground,

and Arona

said,

why has

my lord

the king

come to

his servant?

David

said,

to buy

the threshing

floor from

you in

order to

build an

altar to

the Lord,

that the

plague may

be averted

from the

people.

Then Arona

said to

David,

let my

lord the

king take

and offer

up what

seems good

to him.

Here are

the oxen

for the

burnt

offering,

and the

threshing

sledges and

the yokes

of the

oxen for

the wood.

All this,

O king,

Arona

gives to

the king.

And Arona

said to

the king,

may the

lord your

god accept

you.

But the

king said

to Arona,

no,

but I

will buy

it from

you for

a price.

I will

not

offer

burnt

offerings to

the lord,

my god,

they cost

me nothing.

So David

bought the

threshing

floor and

the oxen

for 50

shekels of

silver.

And David

built there

an altar

to the

lord and

offered

burnt

offerings

and peace

offerings.

So the

lord responded

to the

plea for

the land.

And the

plague was

averted

from people.

temple.

So where

David

builds the

altar

and this

is where

Solomon

would build

God's

temple

later on.

And here

if you look

at verse

24,

King David

said,

I will

not

offer

burnt

offerings

to the

lord,

my god,

that cost

me

nothing.

Does this

remind you

of something?

That it

cost?

Well,

the sacrifice

for our

atonement

costed

God,

his son's

life.

As I was

reading this

verse,

yes,

just like

David

wanted to

bring an

offering

that cost

something.

Our

atonement

came at

a great

price to

God,

his son's

life.

Now,

King David,

as we

have studied

the book

of Samuel,

was a

great king,

just like

Pastor Nick

preached this

morning.

He was

a man

after God's

own heart.

Israelites

maybe,

you know,

they thought

this is

the king.

But he

had his

flaws,

he had his

faults.

And this

particular

incident,

look what

happened to

his people.

Because of

his sin,

70,000

people have

died.

died.

Now,

let's

look at

our king,

King Jesus.

We

certainly

don't

pay any

consequences

of his

wrongdoing.

There is

no wrongdoing.

But he,

the king,

took all

our sin,

all our

flaws,

all our

shortcomings,

all our

wickedness,

he took

all that

upon himself

and took

the consequences

of our

sin

on himself.

Now,

here

is the

perfect king.

so,

where

are you

on this

chapter?

I would

like for us

to think

about that

this week.

Are you

on,

like David,

something

is conceived

in your

heart

and that

it's against

God's

will?

And are you

struggling with

it?

Or did

somebody like

Joab

approach you

and pointed

that out to

you already

saying,

please don't

do this?

Or are you

at a stage

where

you're

struggling

with this

sin

and not

knowing

what to

do?

No matter

where you

are,

be like

King David.

Seek

God's

mercy.

And where

can we

find God's

mercy?

Bring it

to Jesus.

Bring it

to the

feet

of Jesus

at the

cross.

Because

he

die for

us.

He took

all our

sin,

all our

shortcomings.

Romans

said,

we all

fall short

of glory.

And that

gap between

us and

God

was filled

by Jesus.

He's the

perfect

mediator.

So no

matter where

we are,

no matter

where you

are,

whatever

you're

struggling

with,

bring it

to Jesus.

And if

you look

at this

chapter,

it starts

out,

King David

committing

this sin.

And then

there comes

God's

mercy.

And then

at the

end,

where King

David builds

the altar,

where he,

God,

receives his

burnt offering

and peace

offering as

a sign of

reconciliation.

That's

where Solomon

builds God's

temple.

Now,

isn't that

sort of

like us,

our pattern?

You know,

we bring

our sin.

We struggle

with our sin.

We bring

this.

Jesus.

But then

God,

through his

mercy,

through Jesus'

blood,

he will

transform that

into something

beautiful.

Gives us

eternal life,

salvation,

promise for

the future.

But we

need to

come to

the feet

of Jesus

at the

cross.

So,

this morning

we

celebrated

Palm Sunday,

our Lord

entered

Jerusalem

riding a

donkey.

And

Jesus

is a

humble

king.

And I

would just

like to

read from

2nd

Philippians

verses

5 to

11.

Have this

mind among

yourselves,

which is

yours in

Christ Jesus,

who,

though he

was in

the form

of God,

did not

count equality

with God

a thing

to be

grasped,

but emptied

himself by

taking the

form of a

servant,

being born in

the likeness of

men,

and being

found in

human form,

he humbled

himself by

becoming

obedient to

the point

of death.

Even death

on a cross,

therefore God

has highly

exalted

him and

bestowed on

him the

name that

is above

every name,

so that at

the name of

Jesus,

every knee

should bow,

in heaven

and on

earth and

under the

earth,

and every

tongue

confess,

that Jesus

Christ is

Lord,

to the

glory of

God,

the

Father.

So my

brothers and

sisters in

Christ,

are you

longing for

something like

the Israelites

hoped that

King David

would be the

king,

kind of like a

perfect king?

are we

putting our

hopes in

something like

that?

Or are you

ready to put

your hopes in

Jesus, who

is truly the

perfect king,

who is a

humble king,

who died for

us?

Jesus, and

but it

didn't just

end there.

Next

Sunday, we

will celebrate

the risen

Lord,

resurrection

of Christ.

and when you believe

in Jesus

we will rise

just like he did

and that's what he promised us

so this

Palm Sunday

think about our perfect king

think about what he did

for all of us

and how he promised

that he will come back

with his saints

in glory

to take us home

that we'll be with him eternally

where there will be no

condemnation

no more tears

no more sickness

and this is

the message

of the

the perfect king

let us pray

Lord our God

we thank you Lord

thank you for sending your son

Jesus

to take away

the sin of the world

to take away all

our sin

and give us salvation

and eternal life Lord

Father as we

think about

our Lord Jesus

this week

Lord please

help us to

commit our lives

to you Lord

Lord

thank you

and Lord

we pray all this

in Jesus name

Amen