Numbers Aren't Important

Introduction

A. “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.” Paul writes to the church in Corinth about not paying attention to what has happened in the past and believing that they are above sinning. We are in trouble when we think of ourselves as being super spiritual. The moment we begin to believe that we have it all together is the moment that Satan has won. Pride and arrogance work against us. Satan uses our victories to convince us that we are actually better than others. And once a crack in the foundation is made, it will not be long before the entire structure falls.

B. As we come to the end of our study on the life of David, we are struck by a number of things. David loves God. David messes up. God loves David and restores him. David’s sin hurts a lot of people. David cannot undue what he has done nor the consequences of what he has done. David loves God. David loves God with all his heart and yet his heart at times isn’t focused on God. Now put your name in the place of David’s and you will get a picture of your life. We can love God with all our heart and still mess up. Our sin, unfortunately, cannot be undone and the consequences cannot either. But God loves us and restores us and wants us to be his people anyway. Our God is faithful when we aren’t.

C. We are going to look at 2 Samuel 24 tonight. Those who know their Bible fairly well, know that there is a parallel text in 1 Chronicles 21. And there are some differences between these two texts. These differences have provided much fodder for scholarly discussion and debate. Some questions concerning those differences are not easily answered. But our purpose tonight is not to discuss the different texts or the reasons why there are differences. I will say this. If this whets your appetite for study—good. We ought not to be afraid of being challenged and ought to be thankful for challenges to our faith. Tonight we are going to stick with the 2 Samuel 24 passage and see the mercy of God.

The Story

A. In the latter part of David’s life, he wants to number his army. Such a census is not wrong in and of itself because God ordained such in Numbers 1 and 26. So the problem must be in David’s motivation in numbering the men. These motivations would be speculation on our part, but we can make a fairly reasonable guess and will do so later. The first thing that hits us in this story though is verse 1. God’s anger burned against Israel and he incites David to count the people. Why was God angry? We don’t really know why, but the Bible just tells us that God is angry. Thus, he uses David to bring about judgment against his people. As we will notice later, David takes full responsibility for his sin and does not blame God at all.

B. This makes us uncomfortable because we believe God doesn’t lead us to do evil. In the 1 Chronicles 21 passage, Satan is the instigator of this census. This difference has been explained in a variety of ways. But let’s make this simple. God and Satan are both working in this world. The story of Job demonstrates that; as well as Jesus’s death; and Paul’s thorn in the flesh. The real difference is the motivation of God and Satan. God works to make us better; Satan works to bring us down. It appears to me, that David has a motivation which is not godly in numbering. God uses that motivation to judge his people for some sin which is not explained to us.

C. Joab resists David’s desire to number the fighting men but is overruled. We are not told why Joab opposes David. The men are numbered: 800,000 in Israel and 500,000 in Judah. It is after the numbering that David realizes he has sinned. Why did David want to number the fighting men? There could be several reasons but a good guess would be pride. David looks out and sees his kingdom. He is proud of where he sits and what he has. He numbers to show his strength and when the numbers are brought back he realizes that his pride has gotten in the way. Because his heart is set on God then he is able to repent. But David is going to be punished for his sin.

D. God gives David three options: three years of famine, three months of enemy attacks; or three days of plague. David chooses God’s mercy rather than his enemy. Which basically means option 3. God sends a plague killing 70,000 people. God stops the angel from killing even more as the angel draws his sword to destroy Jerusalem. God allows David to see the angel. David begs for God to be merciful. David is instructed to offer sacrifice at a specific place. David does and the plague ends.

Lessons

A. There are several spiritual lessons from this text. First, David has a pliable heart. David numbers the men. He is conscience-stricken. This led him to repent. How we need to have pliable hearts. Hearts that are willing to admit sin. Hearts that are willing to change. Hearts that are willing to acknowledge our pride. Too often we want to defend our actions even though we know that we have sinned. Too often we strike out at those who try to correct us. When there is no humility, we not only sin but we fall. David once again reveals his very human side, but in the end he demonstrates his willingness to admit his sin and to repent. Only those with pliable hearts can do this.

B. Second, God doesn’t deal with David in the way he deserves but through grace and mercy. David sinned, but God gave him a choice about the consequences. David sinned, but God even stopped the destruction. Even God was touched by the suffering of his people and relented. He stops the affliction before David’s sacrifice. The sin had to be punished, but it was done so through the grace and mercy of God. God is merciful to us. We get better than we deserve and even in our sin, God’s mercy reaches out allowing us to be forgiven and redeemed. Our God is full of grace and mercy.

C. Third, David’s actions reveal the seriousness of being right with God. David goes to Araunah and buys the threshing floor. Araunah’s offer to give it to David is a customary way of conducting commerce. Abraham’s buying the cave to bury Sarah in Genesis 23 is a similar account. But David is serious about honoring God with his life. He wants once again to demonstrate his desire to be connected to God. His decision to number the people separated him from God’s will. But David will pay any price necessary to be back in fellowship with God. May God give us hearts who want to be with God more than anything it may cost us. Is it fair to ask what are we sacrificing to follow God? Interesting enough, the piece of property which David buys and uses as a place of sacrifice becomes the temple mount in the next generation. For David this place of sacrifice becomes more than just a way to appease God. It becomes a place where he rededicates himself to God. A place where he acknowledges his need for God and a willingness to pay any price to be back with him. May we carve out our hearts so that we can have that kind of determination and dedication. Invitation.

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