2 SAMUEL 24 - THE COST OF PRIDE
2 Samuel 24
In the later years of King David’s reign, a certain kind of pride arose within the king’s heart. David saw how Israel had grown in strength and number under his leadership, and he wanted to take a census of Israel to stroke his pride. However, in the ancient world you only counted the things that belonged to you, and Israel belonged to the Lord. David had come to think the Israel’s prosperity was contingent on his leadership, and not God’s leadership. This disobedient pride kindled the anger of the Lord (v. 1)
We learn from 1 Chronicles 21:1 that “Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.” Pride was Satan’s fall, and he desires to move man’s heart toward that same sin. When man get their eyes off God’s glory and begin to look to their own glory, the temptation of pride comes in. David fell to this temptation, and he sent Joab to number the people. Joab had the discernment to question David’s motives and warned him not to conduct the census. But David prevailed, and Joab went out to number the people. Joab was faced with the challenge to obey God rather than man, and he failed. However, God would see David as the one responsible for this sin (v. 2-4).
As the census was taken from Dan to Beersheba the web of sin continued to build as pride grew within David’s heart. At the end of almost ten months the census report came back to Jerusalem: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000. This number would have pleased David and caused his pride glow hot within him. Yet, God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. God was going to humble the king (v. 5-9).
“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.” (v. 10).
God communicated to David through the prophet Gad. He gave him three options for discipline. The first option was seven years of famine, the second was for David to be pursued for three months by his enemies, and the third was to have three days of pestilence in the land. David rightly believed that the best option was the one where he would fall into the hands of the Lord, and not the hands of his enemies, for he knew that God is merciful (v. 11-14).
David chose the pestilence, and an angel was sent by God to bring destruction upon the people. Sadly, 70,000 men died in Israel because of David’s sin. Another story that shows that sin does not only hurt you - it also most certainly hurts those around you. When David saw how the people dying, he asked for the destruction to be directed toward him and not on the people. David came to a place that God wanted him to be – taking responsibility for his own sin, and seeking to make it right before the Lord. The God of mercy then relented (v. 15-17).
David was called upon by the prophet Gad to build an altar at the place where God’s punishment had come to an end. It was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Araunah offered the king his threshing floor with all his livestock, but David could not accept the offer. In words that demonstrate that David had been restored to a humble state, he said, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” (v. 18-25)
David bought the threshing floor and oxen for fifty shekels of silver, and that threshing floor would become the exact location of the temple in the years to come. David made sacrifices in that place to have reconciliation with God. For many years later, sacrifice after sacrifice would be made in the temple to bring mediation between God and man. But then Jesus came, the more perfect sacrifice, and the more perfect King, and he died for the sins of all people, so that we could be numbered in heaven. David learned a great lesson from that census, and we can learn from it too: that God is the true king to whom all people belong; we do not belong to ourselves.