A Book Read Backwards - 2 Samuel 24

Introduction

To what extent is God in control? That’s a trickier question that you might think at first glance. Today, somewhere in our community, there are children being exploited and abused. Is God in control of that? A man will choose to abandon his family for a new life. Is God in control of that? Russia is on the edge of invading Ukraine with the potential of thousands of lives being lost. Is God in control? And, if God is in control of it all, if God is the ultimate cause behind the universe and nothing happens without his consent, does the evil that we see and the evil that we experience and the evil that we do make God morally culpable? So, who is responsible for what we see?

God’s Word

Our passage begs us to ask this question and compels us to wrestle with it. We’re not going to answer every question that you have, as there’s much room for mystery here, but we can begin to develop a framework to understand. Notice what it says in verse one. It says that Israel had sinned and so God was going to bring judgement against them. But, it’s how He chooses to do this that is so startling. God is bringing judgement to Israel, as the narrator says, by “inciting David against them”, by “inciting” David to sin. So, let’s zoom out and think about that for a second. 2 Samuel 24 describes how David sins and how David (and all of Israel for that matter) are held responsible and suffer the consequences of that sin. So, it presents David as making a sinful decision and a sinful action that brings about devastating consequences on one hand, but then, as a precursor to it all, it says that God “incited” or provoked or stimulated him toward this action. So, who is responsible? God or David?

Let’s add another wrinkle. 1 Chronicles 21 gives a parallel account to 2 Samuel 24, and look at what it says: “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” Now, this word “incite” is only used 18 times in the whole OT, and we have two of them right here. But, this muddies the water even more, doesn’t it? Does God incite David as 2 Samuel says, or does Satan incite David as 1 Chronicles 21 says? Who provokes David, and who is responsible for what happens? I want you to hold that question in the back of your mind until the end. What becomes clear about this strange story that comes out of seemingly nowhere at the end of this book that charts David’s life is that it’s a story of God’s control versus ours (headline):

We try to “control” what we “can’t”.

2 Samuel 24:2-4 “So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “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 word 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.”

David was determined to count.

2 Samuel 24:3 “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?””

David is at the end of his life, and he’s preparing to hand the kingdom over to his son. And, he wants to know that things are under control. It seems he wants to know the exact state and condition of his kingdom as he prepares for the transition. What’s interesting is that Joab, David’s cousin and commander, immediately has red flags going off. He’d been with David the whole time, and he was one of the few who would push back on David, and he does that here in a way that’s uncharacteristically gentle of him. He asks David, “Why? Why would you do this? Why would you undertake such an extensive and even dangerous exercise?” And, this seems fair. It’s an undertaking that would take Joab almost 10 months to complete. And, this show us something, doesn’t it? It shows us that this census was firmly in David’s heart, and he was determined to see it through. There can be no discussion of David being ignorant or even naive. He was warned. Red flags were raised. But, David pressed on any way. It was a determined, willful, clear-eyed decision by David to do what was clearly wrong to others.

David desired to see his security.

2 Samuel 24:2 “So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.””

There’s a lot of discussion among commentators as to the actual reason why the census was sinful. Some believe it’s not the census itself but rather David’s neglect of an Exodus 30 statute that required a census tax by the soldiers as a way of asking for God’s blessing in their effort. David has neglected that in the past, and the consequence was a plague. But, the evidence here seems to point to another reason, a reason of the heart. That is, there’s a faulty motive behind it all. Notice who David counts. It doesn’t seem he’s counting for taxation purposes. He’s counting his fighting men, men who are ready for war. David wanted to see how secure his kingdom was; he wanted to have a number he could point to, security he could see.

I recognize myself in David. It’s a “takes one to know one” type of thing, I think. Last year, I saw a biblical counselor. There are a lot of reasons that I did, and I’m sure that I’m likely to reveal more about that in the years ahead. But, one of the reasons that I went is that I had developed some really unhealthy habits. If I was worried about something, say a leak in the camper or an issue with my truck, or if I had to make a big purchase, I would obsess over it to the point of wearing myself threadbare. I would check and recheck and recheck and recheck. It began to control my thoughts and my ability to function as a person. My counselor described it as “hyper-vigilance”. Hyper-vigilance is the obsession to control every outcome, and when there’s an outcome that you can control, it unravels you as a person. In our lives, unbelief often manifests as hyper-vigilance. I see that in David’s life here. God had called David to base his security upon Him, his promises, and his faithfulness, but David wanted something that he could see. He wanted a security that he could count! How many times a week do you check your savings or retirement account? How often do you reach down to make sure that you have a pistol nearby? How many times do you check your FB or Instagram likes to make sure people still like you? Could it be the manifestation of unbelief in your life? Could it be that the reason that David’s sin doesn’t seem outrageous to us here is because it is so prevalent in us?

We test the “limits” of “mercy.”

Choose your switch.

2 Samuel 24:12-13 ““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? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.””

God sends the prophet Gad to David to make the clear the ramifications of his sin. And, it’s unlike anything else you’ll find. All of you southerners of my generation and older can relate to what God does here. Did your mom ever make you go and choose your own switch for a whipping? Like what kind of sadistic brutality is that? Well, God does something similar here with David. He presents David was three terrible options and tells him to choose his switch. Why would God do this? A couple of reasons stand out. First of all, God is making a point about David’s seeking of control. “Do you really want to control your own future, David? Do you really want to determine your own safety and security? Then, you’ll find there are no good options to choose from.” Any choice David made apart from God’s instruction would lead to similar destruction.

David’s response as a repeat offender.

2 Samuel 24:10 “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.””

2 Samuel 24:14 “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.””

But, that’s not the only reason that God would present David with these options. God presented him with options that would, by his choice, reveal whether David’s heart had changed. There’s some comfort to be found in David because he, like us, is a repeat offender. I mean, we’ve just dealt with the whole Bathsheba debacle and everything that’s happened in 2 Samuel between there and here has basically been the consequences as a result. So, you wonder: will David ever learn? But surprisingly, this passage, though it presents David’s sins and the steep consequences of that sin actually presents David in a positive light overall. In fact, if you think back to last week and Psalm 51, what we see here in David is that he far quicker to repent and follows essentially the same path that was laid out in Psalm 51 of his own accord. He is convicted of his sin (“his heart struck him”) showing that he has a heart that is soft toward God. He confesses his sin (“I have sinned greatly....I have done very foolishly”) rather than seeking to cover it up. And, significant to this morning, he concedes control of his life into the hands of God alone.

That’s the second point being made by the three options God presents. If he chose famine, it could be that he is relying on his diplomatic ability to bargain with other nations. If chose the pursuit of his enemies, it could be that he is taking his chances with his military prowess and strength. But, he chose the pestilence, the disease that he had no illusions of being able to control. David’s repentance was made clearest by the placing of his faith in God for the future. He made himself dependent upon God’s mercy, not his strength. Repentance that seeks to retain control isn’t repentance. You can’t be saved if you do not concede control of your life in trust to the Lord. And, as we see in David, that’s the beginning of a life of repentance in which you find yourself seizing control and then repenting and conceding again. Do you need to concede today?

God is drawing out David’s heart.

2 Samuel 24:16-17 “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 Araunah 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.””

And, that’s where we begin getting closer to they “why?” behind this passage. It says that “the Lord relented.” Your translation may even say that the Lord “repented.” How does God repent? He doesn’t repent in any sense of confessing wrongdoing. God repents in the sense of his mercy interrupting his justice. He changes his direction, not because He was wrong, but because He is merciful. Why did God allow David to be incited by Satan? Why would God stand behind that and permit it to be? Because it would draw out what was in David’s heart. That’s what it means to be “incited”. It’s to provoke a response, and the response reveals the heart. And then, that’s why God presented David with the three options: it would draw out what had changed in David’s heart. And then, David’s repentance would draw out what was in God’s heart — mercy. From the start, this has been about mercy. And, David reminds us of something that I want you to understand. There’s no limit on God’s mercy. This isn’t a three strikes and your out relationship. God doesn’t limit his mercy. David had sinned and then again and then again. And, what he finds is that God’s mercy is always greater than his sin. Some of you have heard us talk about repentance, and you think, “Maybe five years ago. Maybe before I went too far. Maybe before I got in too deep. Maybe if I hadn’t repented so many times before.” And, God is drawing you in to see — He hasn’t ran out of mercy for you.

We testify to the “sovereignty” of “God.”

Why was this story included?

1 Chronicles 22:1 “Then David said, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.””

This story is such an odd inclusion in the biblical narrative that it’s caused some commentators to question as to whether it was really a part of the first edition. But, it’s included because it explains how the temple ends up where it does. That is, it shows that there’s a reason behind the Temple’s location, and it was all part of God’s glorious plan. You can see this in 1 Chronicles 22:1.

Why here?

2 Samuel 24:16 “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 Araunah the Jebusite.”

When the Lord relented of his judgement and spared Jerusalem, the angel of the Lord was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. And, there David was to build an altar and cover it with the blood of a bull to atone for his sins. Araunah offers David the site and his animals at no cost, hoping to satisfy the Lord, but David refuses. Why? Because atonement isn’t cheap, and his forgiveness won’t come cheap. In fact, that’s not the first time this hill has testified to that reality. 2 Chronicles 3 calls this exact same spot Mt. Moriah. That’s the place where Abraham had marched his own beloved son, Isaac, up the hill and laid him on the altar. Just as Abraham was to plunge the knife into his son, God sent a ram who died in his place. And so, what we are to see is that this is the place where God’s mercy overcomes his wrath. This is the place where God relents that his people might know his limitless mercy. So, He says, “Build the temple right here!” Abraham had spilled the blood of a ram, and David would do the same. And, over the years, a lot of blood would be poured down that mountain to atone for the sins of men. But, that’s where this gets even better. That’s where David’s sin and then David’s repentance were going to be used by God forever to testify to his sovereign grace! Do you remember what David offered? He 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.” But, of course, one sinner can’t die in the place of others. A sinful substitute is not substitute at all. But, on another hill a stone’s throw away from this one, One from the House of David would take all of David’s sins and Israel’s sins and my sins and your sins upon himself, and He would absorb the punishment that was owed to us. And, no more blood needed to be spilled there in the temple. Why? Because Jesus became the new Temple, the place where God’s mercy overcame his wrath.

Who’s responsible?

That brings us back to our original question: Whose really responsible for the sin that we see? And, the answer is: it depends on your perspective. If you’re reading this story looking forward, Satan incites David to sin because he wants to destroy him. So, he’s responsible. David can only be incited to sin because it’s what’s in his heart. So, he’s responsible. But, if you flip the perspective and read this story backwards, then what you’ll see is that Satan did what he wanted to do, and David did what he wanted to do, but all along God was doing what He had planned to do. So much so that you would be wrong to say that God wasn’t in control every step of the way. But, what we learn is that God is so sovereign that Satan’s attempts to destroy are encompassed within the providence of God that he ends up hanging on self-built gallows. And, that’s the hope that we have with the mistakes that we’ve made, the pain that we’ve experienced, and the chaos that we see. Somehow, some way every bit of it is going to testify some day to the sovereign grace of our Lord. Sovereignty is book best read backwards.