Notes: October 3, 2008 – 2 Samuel 24 / 1 Chronicles 21

Part I (vs 1-15 of 2 Samuel, vs 1-14 of 1 Chronicles 21)

 

God was angry with Israel again (vs 1)

  • God can be angry
  • God can be angry with those who appear to be His people
  • God can be angry with the same people more than one time

David was moved to order a census (vs 1)

  • Men can be influenced by others
  • Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1) influenced David for evil
  • Men who know God can make bad choices
  • Men with wisdom can reject wise counsel
  • Why order a census of fighting men unless David intended to attack (which God had not ordered) or to defend (which God had not required)?

Joab, captain of the host, was commissioned to execute the census order (vs 2)

  • Joab lost this position at one time
  • Joab protested that a census was not in order (vs 3)
  • Joab ceded to the King’s will (vs 4)
  • Joab did not fully comply with the King’s wishes (1 Chronicles 21:6)
  • Joab took over 9 months to complete his work (vs 8)
  • Joab reported a total of 1,300,000 men qualified for military service (or was it 1,570,000 as in 1 Chronicles 21?)

David’s orders displeased God (1 Chronicles 21:7)

  • David was convicted that he had sinned
  • David confessed his sin to the Lord
  • David was allowed to choose his own punishment from among (a) famine, (b) war, and (c) pestilence, with durations from 3 years, to 3 months, to 3 days.
  • David rejected the 2nd option and deferred to the Lord’s choice, which was 3 days of pestilence.
  • David’s sin brought about the deaths of 70,000 men from throughout the land of Israel.

Meditation Points:

Joab seemed to know God’s will better than David did.

What is wrong with counting potential troops? Is the modern fixation on counting church attendance any less offensive to God?

Is partial obedience any less than complete disobedience?

Note how quickly David was convicted of his sin. It’s almost as though the moment he heard the accounting he realized his sin.

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