“And David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. For when David was up in the morning, the word of the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men. And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite. And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house” (2 Samuel 24:10-17).
Introduction
It took David almost ten months to change his mind concerning the national census, but though he repented the sin still had to be punished.
Prayer
David was convicted over what he had done and so his troubled conscience drove him to prayer. It is a pity that he did not pray before ordering the census. He had expected to enjoy the comfort of knowing he had sufficient men to cover any enemy attack, but instead he was reaping the reward of sin. The Holy Spirit convicted him to bring him to repentance, but first he had to see the enormity of his evil. He confessed that he had “sinned greatly” before God. Basically, he could not live with himself until he got right with the Lord. He prayed that God would forgive him, and of course He did, but there were unavoidable consequences of the transgression. “Those who truly repent of their sins, and have them pardoned, are yet often made to smart for them in this world” (Matthew Henry).
Pestilence
The prophet Gad came to David with a message from the Lord. David had to choose between seven years of famine, three months exile and three days of pestilence. The first two could throw up other issues because of the prolonged nature of them, but by choosing the third he was not simply opting for the quickest form of punishment, instead he was putting himself in God’s hands.
So the Lord sent a plague on the people. Why would He do this if it was David’s fault? We need to remind ourselves that the Lord’s “anger was kindled against Israel” already (2 Samuel 24:1), and might have had something to do with the reason why He allowed Satan to inspire David’s heart regarding the census. It is possible that the “redemption money” had been ignored for several years. “When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them. This they shall give, every one that passeth among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one that passeth among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. And thou shalt take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shalt appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls” (Exodus 30:12-16). By leaving out the redemption money, the people did not think they were sinners in need of the Saviour. Therefore a plague was the corresponding punishment for failure in this area. It is possible that this requirement had simply been overlooked, but ignorance of the law does not make a person innocent.
Seventy thousand people died because of the pestilence, so how useless was the census now! This was not a natural plague, for it seems to burst upon the people suddenly. What was there left for David to delight in? Truly “Pride goeth before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18). The angel responsible for pouring out God’s wrath was hindered from afflicting Jerusalem. Here was a display of the mercy of the Lord which David trusted in. The place in which God ordered the cessation of the plague was Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). It was the place where Abraham offered up Isaac but was stopped from actually killing him (Genesis 22:2), and where the Temple would be built by Solomon, which housed the Mercy Seat. The significance of this cannot be lost on us. The punishment lasted nine hours, from six o’clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon. Jesus also paid the price for our sin at the ninth hour (Matthew 27:46).
Conclusion
The Scriptures teach that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). David understood his fault and the trouble he had brought upon Israel. Once again he had to learn that the consequences of sin are not limited to the one committing it. We should note in closing that specifically seventy thousand men died that day. Were these part of the army David numbered?
© 20/9/2010