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1
Chronicles Chapter Twenty-one
1 Chronicles 21
Chapter Contents
David's numbering the people.
No mention is made in this book of David's sin in the
matter of Uriah
neither of the troubles that followed it: they had no needful
connexion with the subjects here noted. But David's sin
in numbering the
people
is related: in the atonement made for that sin
there was notice of the
place on which the temple should be built. The command to David to build an
altar
was a blessed token of reconciliation. God testified his acceptance of
David's offerings on this altar. Thus Christ was made sin
and a curse for us;
it pleased the Lord to bruise him
that through him
God might be to us
not a
consuming Fire
but a reconciled God. It is good to continue attendance on
those ordinances in which we have experienced the tokens of God's presence
and
have found that he is with us of a truth. Here God graciously met me
therefore
I will still expect to meet him.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on 1 Chronicles》
1 Chronicles 21
Verse 1
[1] And
Satan stood up against Israel
and provoked David to number Israel.
Satan stood —
Before the Lord and his tribunal to accuse David and Israel
and to beg God's
permission to tempt David. Standing is the accusers posture before men's
tribunals; and consequently the holy scripture (which useth to speak of the
things of God
after the manner of men
to bring them down to our capacities)
elsewhere represent Satan in this posture.
Verse 3
[3] And Joab answered
The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more
as they be: but
my lord the king
are they not all my lord's servants? why
then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to
Israel?
Why
… —
Or
why should this be a cause of trespass
or an occasion of punishment to
Israel? God commonly punishes the people for the sins of their rulers
because
they are for the most part guilty of their sins in one kind or other; or at
least God takes this occasion to punish people for all their sins.
Verse 6
[6] But
Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable
to Joab.
Counted not —
Partly for the following reason; and principally by God's gracious providence
to Levi
because they were devoted to his service; and to Benjamin
because
they were the least of all the tribes
having been almost extinct
Judges 21:6
and because God foresaw that they
would be faithful to the house of David in the division of the tribes
and
therefore he would not have them diminished. And Joab also presumed to leave
these two tribes unnumbered
because he had specious pretences for it; for
Levi
because they were no warriors
and the king's command reached only of
those that drew sword. And for Benjamin
because they
being so small a tribe
and bordering upon Jerusalem
might easily be numbered afterward.
Verse 7
[7] And
God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.
Displeased —
Because this was done without any colour of necessity
and out of mere
curiosity
and ostentation.
Verse 14
[14] So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy
thousand men.
There fell
… — He
was proud of the number of his people
but God took a course to make them
fewer. Justly is that we are proud of so
taken from us
or embittered to us.
Verse 16
[16] And
David lifted up his eyes
and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth
and the heaven
having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem.
Then David and the elders of Israel
who were clothed in sackcloth
fell upon
their faces.
Sackcloth — In
mourning garments
humbling themselves before God for their sins
and
deprecating his wrath against the people.
Verse 18
[18] Then
the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David
that David should go up
and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Set up an altar
… —
The commanding of David to build an altar
was a blessed token of
reconciliation. For if God had been pleased to kill him
he would not have
commanded
because he would not have accepted a sacrifice at his hands.
Verse 20
[20] And
Ornan turned back
and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid
themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
Hid themselves —
Because of the glory and majesty in which the angel appeared
which mens weak
natures are not able to bear; and from the fear of God's vengeance which now
seemed to be coming to their family.
Verse 25
[25] So
David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.
Six hundred — We
read
2 Samuel 24:24
he gave fifty shekels of gold:
that is
he gave in gold the value of six hundred shekels of silver.
Verse 26
[26] And
David built there an altar unto the LORD
and offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings
and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire
upon the altar of burnt offering.
By fire —
Heb. by fire sent from heaven: which was the sign of God's acceptance. The fire
that might justly have fastened on the sinner
fastened upon the sacrifice and
consumed it. Thus Christ was made sin and a curse for us
and it pleased the
Lord to bruise him
that through him God might be to us
not a consuming fire
but a reconciled Father.
Verse 28
[28] At
that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor
of Ornan the Jebusite
then he sacrificed there.
Sacrificed —
When he perceived that his sacrifice was acceptable to God
he proceeded to
offer more sacrifices in that place.
Verse 30
[30] But
David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of
the sword of the angel of the LORD.
Afraid —
When he saw the angel stand with his drawn sword over Jerusalem
he durst not
go away to Gibeon
lest the angel in the mean time should destroy Jerusalem:
for the prevention whereof he thought it proper to worship God in that place
which he had consecrated by his special presence and acceptance.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on 1 Chronicles》
21 Chapter 21
Verses 1-30
And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number
Israel.
Under a spell
(Compare 2 Peter 1:21):--
I. All the world
seems to be under a spell or charm; inward influences move men as steam moves a
ship. There am
three spells.
1. One is that of parentage. The spell of a virtuous parentage
influences its children’s children
like a good charm
for thousands of
generations; but
on the other hand
the wickedness of a parent generally
ceases to influence his offspring at
as the Second Commandment says
“the
third and fourth generation.”
2. Another spell is the outward influence of our surroundings.
Faithful parents
wise teachers
inspiring books
virtuous companions
healthy
atmosphere
and suitable food will train up a child in the way God and men
would have him go; but many a bright apprentice lad has been cursed by bad
example.
3. The third spell is that of inward influences. One of these is said
in the Bible to be the movement of the devil
and the other that of the holy
God.
4. What can be greater than the spell which moves the human appetite
to intoxicating drink? To obtain drink people will sometimes descend to the
lowest degradation of meanness. Yes; the evil spell of the appetite for drink
upon its victims is great and overpowering. Drink may be no temptation to you
and me
but many people find it a spell which moves them as the tide and wind
sometimes drives a feeble ship on the rocks. And what stronger spell can there
be than the inclination to war between men
and churches
and nations?
5. Again
is there a stronger spell than the desire for money
the
greed of gold? See how men under the spell of an insane ambition for wealth
sometimes forget honour
and become actual thieves!
II. Now
let us
consider the good spell over mankind. One of these is the heaven-born spell of
true love; it is a most powerful influence for good. Thus love will reform the
prodigal life. There is no stronger spell than true love; God is love. It is by
the wisdom of love that He converts mankind. God’s object in winning men to
love Him is that they may be prompted to self-denial in themselves and to do
good works to others. (W. Birch.)
David’s sin and repentance
I. David’s sin.
1. Its occasion: pride and vainglory--“that I may know it.”
2. Its unseen but real source: Satan (1 Samuel 24:1).
II. The Lord’s
displeasure because of his sin (1 Chronicles 21:9-17).
III. The atonement
for his sin
made on the site of the Lord’s house (chap. 20:1-2; 1 Kings 6:1-38; 1 Kings 7:1-51; 1 Kings 8:1-66); as the foundation
of the spiritual house (2 Corinthians 6:16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-5; Ephesians 2:21-22). The temple therefore
rests as it were on--
1. An atonement for sin (Romans 5:11).
2. Sin put away
1 Chronicles 21:17 (Daniel 9:24).
3. Wrath averted by sacrifice (verse 16:26-27; 2 Samuel 24:16; Isaiah 42:21; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 1:20; Colossians 2:14-15). (Clergyman’s
Magazine.)
David’s self-confidence
I. The sin of
David in numbering the people was self-confidence
pride in his own strength
and forgetfulness of the source of all his strength
even of God. It was the
greater sin in him because he had had such marvellous
such visible
witnesses
of God’s love
and care
and guidance. Past experience might and should have
taught him that his strength
was not in himself
but in his God.
II. The sins of
pride
and self-confidence
and forgetfulness of God are only too common
amongst ourselves. When men dwell securely
in full peace and health
they grow
careless in religion. God is not much present with them; they seem sufficient
of themselves to keep themselves and to make themselves happy. (R. D. B.
Rawnsley.)
David numbering Israel
I. Man
through
the devil
bringing tremendous evils on the world. “Satan stood up
” etc. The
existence and influence of this grand chief of evil agencies are here
and
everywhere through the Bible
stated as facts too well authenticated to require
argument. He tempted the progenitor of the race; he assailed the Redeemer of the world; and he
leads humanity captive by his will. He now had access
by means not stated
to
the mind of the monarch of Israel. One might have thought that age
which had
cooled in him the fires of life
would also have extinguished all the fires of
worldly ambition; but Satan can rekindle the smouldering embers of evil within
us: he did so now. The ambitious feeling awakened was not one of those passing
waves of emotion that rise from the depths of the soul and break upon the shore
and are no more; it took the form of an obstinate purpose.
1. That Satan’s influence on man
however successful
interferes not
with man’s personal responsibility. David was held responsible for the crime
which the devil suggested to his mind. Great is the might of Satan
and great
are the influences which he can bring to bear upon us; albeit he has no power
to break down our wills by force
no power to coerce us into the wrong. We feel
we are not mere engines in what we do
that our actions
good or bad
are our
own.
2. That one man’s sins may entail misery on thousands. It was so now:
David’s sin brought death on thousands and agony into the heart of the nation.
3. That the Eternal has agents ever at hand to execute His judgments.
(Homilist.)
Sinful counting
It is easy for us to rise in petulant indignation against David
and to declare that he ought not to have counted his men; but let us beware
lest in so doing we provoke the spirit of David to retort that it is possible
for us to count our money so as to disclose the very motive and intention which
in him we condemn as vicious. Yes there is an atheistical way of counting
money. A man may go over coin by coin of his property
and look at it in a way
which
being interpreted
signifies
this is my strength
this is my
confidence; so long as I have all these coins it is impossible that I can get
far wrong
or know much trouble
these will be my answer and defence in the day
of accusation and adversity! (J. Parker
D. D.)
The impotence of numbers
Palestine fills a large place in history
but a very insignificant
one on the map. David’s enemies were on every side
and they were all mighty in
war. He had the sea to his west but did not command the coast. That (with its
harbours of Tyre and Sidon) belonged to the Phoenicians
who overlapped him
also on the north. To the east were the barriers of Moab; to the south the plains
cities
and hosts of the Philistines. We do not wonder that he wished to know
upon what swords he had to depend. And yet we are told that it was an ungodly
thing for him to number Israel.
I. What made this
deed ungodly? The answer is that it was a departure from the place he held in
the kingdom of God. He was losing the heart which could make him say
“I am
small and of no reputation
yet do I not forget Thy commandments.” Such a mood
such a ranging of himself with neighbouring powers
was a grievous departure
from David’s position as king of a chosen race. Think for a moment how unique
that race was. Nothing is so wonderful in history as the survival of the Jews.
They were set in the midst of mighty nations which far outnumbered them
but
which all lost their place and power in the world while the Jews remained. And
yet in the early days of this race they were in danger of being spoilt
and
really degraded
by an attempt to set themselves on the level of the nations
around. David’s act was a forgetfulness of
a departure from
God’s purpose. In
seeking to realise his material resources
and count the swords which he could
draw
he so far gave up that unseen vital force
which distinguished his people
the most
and descended to the meaner level on which those around him took
their stand.
II. What is the
lesson to be learnt from this incident? That in the conduct of society and of
our lives
dependence on mere numbers may prove disastrous.
1. In national economy. The consent and unanimity of a thousand fools
does not render the folly of one man harmless; it may arm it with the power to
do a thousand-fold more harm. We should be specially cautious in finding our
course by that weathercock public opinion.
2. On a small as well as a large social scale. A prominent tendency
to-day is to uphold the value of company and co-operation. In many respects
this is well. Union is strength. But along with this may grow up a new tyranny.
In passing from a selfish individualism to the recognition of a righteous
socialism
we are in danger of having our personal convictions overridden. In
presence of all the associations
societies
and committees in the world
we
must not forget
that some of the greatest things the world owns and cherishes
have taken their
beginning and drawn their power from solitary source
some halfhidden spring
which the crowd would pass by or trample down. The Bible would point to Noah
Daniel
and Job
and above all to the “lonely cross.”
3. In the religious life. No persuasion may be taken as true because
it is accepted even by all. There was a time when the whole world believed that
the sun moved round the earth. The great convictions and changes in history are
irrespective of numbers. They come like little seeds which spread until they
cover the land. Faith in numbers is a slavery worse than Egyptian
which shows
itself in the discharge of our business and the profession of our faith. It is
the deadly hindrance to which David exposed himself and his people. It is the
temptation which besets us in the formation of our opinions and the doing of
our work. We are all tempted to number the people. It is of the first
importance that we should be true to the voice of our Father in heaven
who
never leaves His children to walk alone if they will only take His hand. (Harry
Jones.)
Census reflections
I. References to
and reflections on two official numberings of the children of Israel (Numbers 1:26.).
II. Some general
reflections on our national census.
1. The number of inhabitants of England and Wales at this moment is
definite.
2. The number of the living inhabitants at this moment on the earth
is definite.
3. The number of individuals who compose the whole human race is
definite.
4. The number of the elect
or of those who shall ultimately be saved
is definite.
Application: I would address--
1. Those who were numbered at the last census.
2. I would call to your remembrance those who have appeared and again
disappeared during this interval.
3. The object of numbering suggests consolation. “The very hairs of
your head are all numbered
” this is one of the sweetest pledges of our
heavenly Father’s personal care over us.
4. It also suggests warning. “Lord
let me know mine end and the
number of my days.” For what purpose? “That I may know how frail I am.” (W.
Bramley Moore
M. A.)
Man
through God
arresting the great evils that have come upon
the world
1. Profound contrition for sin. “And David said unto God
I have
sinned greatly
because I have done this thing; but now
I beseech Thee
do
away with the iniquity of Thy servant
for I have done very foolishly.” In
Samuel it is said
“David’s heart smote him.” His conscience was aroused to a
sense of his crime and became his chastiser. It allowed him to make no excuse;
it prevented him from charging the crime even on the devil who tempted him. “I
have sinned greatly
” “I have done this thing
” “Is it not I that commanded the
people to be numbered?” “Even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed.”
Conscience
the deepest power within us
ever vindicates our personality
our
freedom
our responsibility. An awakened conscience detaches us from the
universe
from all
and places us as guilty personalities in conscious contact
with Him who is the Eternal Judge of right and wrong. The first step to true
prayer is this.
2. Unbounded trust in God. When Jehovah
through Gad
David’s seer
proposed to the monarch the choice of one of three judgments--famine
war
or
pestilence--what was David’s reply? “I am in a great strait: let me fall into
the hand of the Lord; for very great are His mercies: but let me not fall into
the hand of man.” His sin had consisted in some measure in placing trust in
men; why else did he require a census? Was it not because he thought that
numbers were power for defence and conquest? That confidence is gone now
and
God appears to him as the only object of trust. Wonderful trust is this. When
all things go well and fortune smiles
when providence showers its blessings
upon our path
skirting our way with verdure and flowers
we may feel some
trust in Him; but when all is dreary
dark
and tempestuous
when we see
as
David saw
in the black heavens the destroying angel with a sword drawn in his
hands about to smite us
then to trust Him is to have a trust of the highest
sort.
3. An atoning self-sacrificing benevolence.
1. The solemnity of man’s existence on this earth. Man here is the
subject and organ of spiritual and invisible agents. The same man
as in the
case of David
might be the organ of the devil and the organ of God. Under the
influence of the devil
David became proud and rebellious
incurring the
displeasure of his Maker and bringing ruin on his country; under the influence
of God
he became profoundly contrite
trustful
and most benevolently
prayerful; arresting the progress of evil and securing again for his country
the mercy of Heaven. How terribly solemn is our life!
2. The ruinous and restorative dispositions in man. Selfish pride and
self-sacrificing prayerfulness are the two grand dispositions which David
displays in this portion of his history; the former was at once the product and
instrument of the devil
bringing ruin upon his country; the latter was the
product and instrument of God
counteracting the evils. (Homilist.)
Verses 1-30
And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number
Israel.
Under a spell
(Compare 2 Peter 1:21):--
I. All the world
seems to be under a spell or charm; inward influences move men as steam moves a
ship. There am
three spells.
1. One is that of parentage. The spell of a virtuous parentage
influences its children’s children
like a good charm
for thousands of
generations; but
on the other hand
the wickedness of a parent generally
ceases to influence his offspring at
as the Second Commandment says
“the
third and fourth generation.”
2. Another spell is the outward influence of our surroundings.
Faithful parents
wise teachers
inspiring books
virtuous companions
healthy
atmosphere
and suitable food will train up a child in the way God and men
would have him go; but many a bright apprentice lad has been cursed by bad
example.
3. The third spell is that of inward influences. One of these is said
in the Bible to be the movement of the devil
and the other that of the holy
God.
4. What can be greater than the spell which moves the human appetite
to intoxicating drink? To obtain drink people will sometimes descend to the
lowest degradation of meanness. Yes; the evil spell of the appetite for drink
upon its victims is great and overpowering. Drink may be no temptation to you
and me
but many people find it a spell which moves them as the tide and wind
sometimes drives a feeble ship on the rocks. And what stronger spell can there
be than the inclination to war between men
and churches
and nations?
5. Again
is there a stronger spell than the desire for money
the
greed of gold? See how men under the spell of an insane ambition for wealth
sometimes forget honour
and become actual thieves!
II. Now
let us
consider the good spell over mankind. One of these is the heaven-born spell of
true love; it is a most powerful influence for good. Thus love will reform the
prodigal life. There is no stronger spell than true love; God is love. It is by
the wisdom of love that He converts mankind. God’s object in winning men to
love Him is that they may be prompted to self-denial in themselves and to do
good works to others. (W. Birch.)
David’s sin and repentance
I. David’s sin.
1. Its occasion: pride and vainglory--“that I may know it.”
2. Its unseen but real source: Satan (1 Samuel 24:1).
II. The Lord’s
displeasure because of his sin (1 Chronicles 21:9-17).
III. The atonement
for his sin
made on the site of the Lord’s house (chap. 20:1-2; 1 Kings 6:1-38; 1 Kings 7:1-51; 1 Kings 8:1-66); as the foundation
of the spiritual house (2 Corinthians 6:16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-5; Ephesians 2:21-22). The temple therefore
rests as it were on--
1. An atonement for sin (Romans 5:11).
2. Sin put away
1 Chronicles 21:17 (Daniel 9:24).
3. Wrath averted by sacrifice (verse 16:26-27; 2 Samuel 24:16; Isaiah 42:21; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 1:20; Colossians 2:14-15). (Clergyman’s
Magazine.)
David’s self-confidence
I. The sin of
David in numbering the people was self-confidence
pride in his own strength
and forgetfulness of the source of all his strength
even of God. It was the
greater sin in him because he had had such marvellous
such visible
witnesses
of God’s love
and care
and guidance. Past experience might and should have
taught him that his strength
was not in himself
but in his God.
II. The sins of
pride
and self-confidence
and forgetfulness of God are only too common
amongst ourselves. When men dwell securely
in full peace and health
they grow
careless in religion. God is not much present with them; they seem sufficient
of themselves to keep themselves and to make themselves happy. (R. D. B.
Rawnsley.)
David numbering Israel
I. Man
through
the devil
bringing tremendous evils on the world. “Satan stood up
” etc. The
existence and influence of this grand chief of evil agencies are here
and
everywhere through the Bible
stated as facts too well authenticated to require
argument. He tempted the progenitor of the race; he assailed the Redeemer of the world; and he
leads humanity captive by his will. He now had access
by means not stated
to
the mind of the monarch of Israel. One might have thought that age
which had
cooled in him the fires of life
would also have extinguished all the fires of
worldly ambition; but Satan can rekindle the smouldering embers of evil within
us: he did so now. The ambitious feeling awakened was not one of those passing
waves of emotion that rise from the depths of the soul and break upon the shore
and are no more; it took the form of an obstinate purpose.
1. That Satan’s influence on man
however successful
interferes not
with man’s personal responsibility. David was held responsible for the crime
which the devil suggested to his mind. Great is the might of Satan
and great
are the influences which he can bring to bear upon us; albeit he has no power
to break down our wills by force
no power to coerce us into the wrong. We feel
we are not mere engines in what we do
that our actions
good or bad
are our
own.
2. That one man’s sins may entail misery on thousands. It was so now:
David’s sin brought death on thousands and agony into the heart of the nation.
3. That the Eternal has agents ever at hand to execute His judgments.
(Homilist.)
Sinful counting
It is easy for us to rise in petulant indignation against David
and to declare that he ought not to have counted his men; but let us beware
lest in so doing we provoke the spirit of David to retort that it is possible
for us to count our money so as to disclose the very motive and intention which
in him we condemn as vicious. Yes there is an atheistical way of counting
money. A man may go over coin by coin of his property
and look at it in a way
which
being interpreted
signifies
this is my strength
this is my
confidence; so long as I have all these coins it is impossible that I can get
far wrong
or know much trouble
these will be my answer and defence in the day
of accusation and adversity! (J. Parker
D. D.)
The impotence of numbers
Palestine fills a large place in history
but a very insignificant
one on the map. David’s enemies were on every side
and they were all mighty in
war. He had the sea to his west but did not command the coast. That (with its
harbours of Tyre and Sidon) belonged to the Phoenicians
who overlapped him
also on the north. To the east were the barriers of Moab; to the south the
plains
cities
and hosts of the Philistines. We do not wonder that he wished
to know upon what swords he had to depend. And yet we are told that it was an
ungodly thing for him to number Israel.
I. What made this
deed ungodly? The answer is that it was a departure from the place he held in
the kingdom of God. He was losing the heart which could make him say
“I am
small and of no reputation
yet do I not forget Thy commandments.” Such a mood
such a ranging of himself with neighbouring powers
was a grievous departure
from David’s position as king of a chosen race. Think for a moment how unique
that race was. Nothing is so wonderful in history as the survival of the Jews.
They were set in the midst of mighty nations which far outnumbered them
but
which all lost their place and power in the world while the Jews remained. And
yet in the early days of this race they were in danger of being spoilt
and
really degraded
by an attempt to set themselves on the level of the nations
around. David’s act was a forgetfulness of
a departure from
God’s purpose. In
seeking to realise his material resources
and count the swords which he could
draw
he so far gave up that unseen vital force
which distinguished his people
the most
and descended to the meaner level on which those around him took
their stand.
II. What is the
lesson to be learnt from this incident? That in the conduct of society and of
our lives
dependence on mere numbers may prove disastrous.
1. In national economy. The consent and unanimity of a thousand fools
does not render the folly of one man harmless; it may arm it with the power to
do a thousand-fold more harm. We should be specially cautious in finding our
course by that weathercock public opinion.
2. On a small as well as a large social scale. A prominent tendency
to-day is to uphold the value of company and co-operation. In many respects
this is well. Union is strength. But along with this may grow up a new tyranny.
In passing from a selfish individualism to the recognition of a righteous
socialism
we are in danger of having our personal convictions overridden. In
presence of all the associations
societies
and committees in the world
we
must not forget
that some of the greatest things the world owns and cherishes
have taken their
beginning and drawn their power from solitary source
some halfhidden spring
which the crowd would pass by or trample down. The Bible would point to Noah
Daniel
and Job
and above all to the “lonely cross.”
3. In the religious life. No persuasion may be taken as true because
it is accepted even by all. There was a time when the whole world believed that
the sun moved round the earth. The great convictions and changes in history are
irrespective of numbers. They come like little seeds which spread until they
cover the land. Faith in numbers is a slavery worse than Egyptian
which shows
itself in the discharge of our business and the profession of our faith. It is
the deadly hindrance to which David exposed himself and his people. It is the
temptation which besets us in the formation of our opinions and the doing of
our work. We are all tempted to number the people. It is of the first
importance that we should be true to the voice of our Father in heaven
who
never leaves His children to walk alone if they will only take His hand. (Harry
Jones.)
Census reflections
I. References to and
reflections on two official numberings of the children of Israel (Numbers 1:26.).
II. Some general
reflections on our national census.
1. The number of inhabitants of England and Wales at this moment is
definite.
2. The number of the living inhabitants at this moment on the earth
is definite.
3. The number of individuals who compose the whole human race is
definite.
4. The number of the elect
or of those who shall ultimately be saved
is definite.
Application: I would address--
1. Those who were numbered at the last census.
2. I would call to your remembrance those who have appeared and again
disappeared during this interval.
3. The object of numbering suggests consolation. “The very hairs of
your head are all numbered
” this is one of the sweetest pledges of our
heavenly Father’s personal care over us.
4. It also suggests warning. “Lord
let me know mine end and the
number of my days.” For what purpose? “That I may know how frail I am.” (W.
Bramley Moore
M. A.)
Man
through God
arresting the great evils that have come upon
the world
1. Profound contrition for sin. “And David said unto God
I have
sinned greatly
because I have done this thing; but now
I beseech Thee
do
away with the iniquity of Thy servant
for I have done very foolishly.” In
Samuel it is said
“David’s heart smote him.” His conscience was aroused to a
sense of his crime and became his chastiser. It allowed him to make no excuse;
it prevented him from charging the crime even on the devil who tempted him. “I
have sinned greatly
” “I have done this thing
” “Is it not I that commanded the
people to be numbered?” “Even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed.”
Conscience
the deepest power within us
ever vindicates our personality
our
freedom
our responsibility. An awakened conscience detaches us from the
universe
from all
and places us as guilty personalities in conscious contact
with Him who is the Eternal Judge of right and wrong. The first step to true prayer
is this.
2. Unbounded trust in God. When Jehovah
through Gad
David’s seer
proposed to the monarch the choice of one of three judgments--famine
war
or
pestilence--what was David’s reply? “I am in a great strait: let me fall into
the hand of the Lord; for very great are His mercies: but let me not fall into
the hand of man.” His sin had consisted in some measure in placing trust in
men; why else did he require a census? Was it not because he thought that
numbers were power for defence and conquest? That confidence is gone now
and
God appears to him as the only object of trust. Wonderful trust is this. When
all things go well and fortune smiles
when providence showers its blessings
upon our path
skirting our way with verdure and flowers
we may feel some
trust in Him; but when all is dreary
dark
and tempestuous
when we see
as
David saw
in the black heavens the destroying angel with a sword drawn in his
hands about to smite us
then to trust Him is to have a trust of the highest
sort.
3. An atoning self-sacrificing benevolence.
1. The solemnity of man’s existence on this earth. Man here is the
subject and organ of spiritual and invisible agents. The same man
as in the
case of David
might be the organ of the devil and the organ of God. Under the
influence of the devil
David became proud and rebellious
incurring the
displeasure of his Maker and bringing ruin on his country; under the influence
of God
he became profoundly contrite
trustful
and most benevolently
prayerful; arresting the progress of evil and securing again for his country
the mercy of Heaven. How terribly solemn is our life!
2. The ruinous and restorative dispositions in man. Selfish pride and
self-sacrificing prayerfulness are the two grand dispositions which David
displays in this portion of his history; the former was at once the product and
instrument of the devil
bringing ruin upon his country; the latter was the
product and instrument of God
counteracting the evils. (Homilist.)
Verses 11-15
Thus saith the Lord
choose thee.
The awful judgments
I. Judgments
entailed by one man’s sin.
II. Judgments
easily prepared for execution.
III. Judgments sent
according to human preference.
IV. Judgments
arrested by earnest prayer.
David’s choice
I. As the result
of an awakened conscience.
II. As the
revelation of a principle of Christian life. He left himself confidently with
God.
III. As a picture of
future doom to all. (J. Wolfendale.)
David’s choice of chastisements
David’s preference justified when we Consider--
1. The harsh judgments which men pronounce on each other.
2. The harsh treatment of the guilty who are in men’s power.
3. The absence of sympathetic kindness in human warfare.
4. That when God punishes He does so in righteousness.
5. That in the
treatment of the guilty God always shows mercy.
Lessons:
1. Submission to God
2. Hopeful trust. (J. Wolfendale.)
God an emblem of the true minister
Let us look at God as representing every true minister of Jesus
Christ.
I. God’s message
was Divine. The gospel is a message from God. This is attested--
1. By the facts of history
2. By its congruity with the spiritual constitution of men.
3. By the experience of thousands of every age who have felt it to be
the power of God unto salvation.
II. God’s message
was an appeal to choice. “Advise thyself.” Deliberate
choose for thyself. The
gospel message is submitted to your choice.
1. You can accept it.
2. You can reject it.
III. God’s message
was to be accounted for.
1. He was responsible for its delivery. So with every gospel
minister
and woe be to him if he declares not the whole counsel of God.
2. David was responsible for its results. So are also the hearers of
the gospel. (Homilist.)
Religious lessons of pestilence
I. Pestilences are
striking witnesses to the majesty of God’s law.
II. Pestilences are
striking illustrations of the moral connection between men. Epidemics run
rapidly from one to another. No man can live alone to himself. Every one who
comes near us is the better or the worse for our influence upon them.
III. Pestilences may
be the agency for executing Divine judgments. Nowadays men hesitate to believe
that there can be any connection between a nation’s sin and a nation’s suffering.
With eye fixed upon the natural and physical laws and conditions out of which
disease comes
men fail to see Him who overrules all physical conditions
and
controls all laws. What
then
is the attitude which Christians should take in
relation to epidemic disease 7
Alternative judgments
The whole story is mysterious. We feel at each step that much is
kept back from us.
1. The fault of the king is mysterious. It is not enough to say that
there was pride and vainglory in his heart. If this were all
it might have
made the act sinful in the sight of God
but it would not account for the view
taken of the act either by the minister or by the historian. There are many
things in Scripture
as there are many things in life
which we must leave in
the hands of God.
2. The mode of his punishment is full of mystery. A choice of
punishments is offered him; but the punishments are all national. “Rulers sin
and peoples suffer” has passed into a proverb. Scripture and Providence are at
one in this matter. On a king’s edict of passion or foolishness may hang a
nation’s misery or a nation’s dishonour. A king’s caprice or a king’s
miscalculation may hand over a nation to a bloody and ruinous war of which it
may be the occupation of a century to bear or repair the consequences.
3. The peculiarity of David’s penalty is the choice offered him. The
day of Divine alternatives is not ended. Every example of a sin brought face to
face with its suffering presents an aspect of choice as well as of compulsion.
The mere question of confession or denial
with the consequences of either
is
such an alternative in the case of individual wrongdoing. The adoption of this
expedient rather than that
in the way of avoidance or mitigation of
consequences
is an alternative. The way of bearing punishment
the language of
regret or of hardness
the tone
of submission or of defiance
most of all the spirit of repentance or of
impenitence
is an alternative for the individual transgressor. The question of
stopping or continuing a hopeless struggle
of accepting a defeat
of
submitting to abduction
of “desiring conditions of peace
” or on the contrary
of persisting in warfare for the chance of a turn of fortune--the question of
renewing a struggle
years or generations afterwards
on the plea of a hereditary
title or a popular invitation--is an alternative
real or responsible
on the stage of kings and
nations.
4. How shall we read the words
“Let me now fall into the hand of the
Lord”? Is it a choice made? or is it a choice referred back to the offerer? Is
it
I choose pestilence? or is it
Let God choose? “So the Lord sent the
pestilence upon Israel” indicates perhaps on the part of our translators a
preference of the former. I choose that punishment which has no human
inflicter. But
whatever the application
the principle stands steadfast. In
everything let me be in God’s hands. Anything which God inflicts is preferable
to any suffering which comes through man. But if this be the force of David’s
words considered as a choice
there is at least an equal interest in them
regarded as a refusal to choose. Yes
let us love to live these lives
absolutely under God’s direction. War
famine
pestilence--if He sees any one
necessary
leave Him to choose. Let us not fall into the hands of man--our own
or any other’s. We are ill judges--worst of all for ourselves. Our mercies to
ourselves are not God’s mercies. We are self-sparers as well as self-excusers.
If we had our choice
no nerve would ever throb
no hair would ever turn grey.
We should grow up
we should go to the grave
we should wake from the dust of
the earth spoilt children--with all the irregularities
and all the
selfishness
and all the unhappiness
which cling to and cluster round that
name. What are we to one another? How does selfishness warp our
judgments--selfish love first
then selfish fear. (Dean Vaughan.)
The choice of troubles
Who is there that has not wished that God would give him the
choice of the evils which he had to suffer; and who is there that would not
have been seriously embarrassed if that wish had been fulfilled? But
it may be
said
the text does not support that view. Does it not?
1. David was very much troubled when the time for decision came: he
was “in a great strait.”
2. His choice was more devout in form than in substance; for
had he
chosen defeat in war
he would still have been “in the hand of God.”
3. It is highly probable that
after the choice was made
David was
doubtful of its wisdom. We may consider--
I. The element of
choice in the evils of life.
Two things are open to us here.
1. One relates to the measure of trouble we experience. By healthy
habits
by obedience to the laws of our spiritual and our physical nature
by
keeping within the lines of wisdom and virtue
by commending ourselves to the
approval of man and also of God
we may materially reduce the measure of evil
which otherwise we should endure.
2. The other relates to the kind of trouble we are called to face. It
is often left to our choice to decide whether we will meet the dangers
the
difficulties
the temptations
the trials of our condition in life
or those of
the opposite condition--whether those of ignorance or of learning
of
loneliness or of society
of obscurity or of conspicuousness and
responsibility. It may be timidity or cowardice that inclines us to the one
and high-minded courage that incites us to the other; or it may be modesty and
wisdom that urge us to the one
and nothing better than an unhallowed ambition
or even an exaggerated sense of importance
that allures to the other. Ii;
behoves us
as we stand in front of the future
with our path in life before
us
very earnestly to seek the guidance of God
that we may choose that course
the perils of which we may face with hope
the evils of which we shall endure
with calmness and fortitude.
II. The working of
the Divine hand in them. The measure and the nature of our troubles is
uncertain. That they will come is as certain as anything can be. No “good
fortune
” no sagacity
no caution will exclude them from the experience of
life.
1. Our preference in regard to their form. Like David
we prefer to
feel ourselves in the hand of God rather than in the hand of men. We feel that
our burden is heavier when it is due to human carelessness
and heavier still
when due to human heartlessness and malignity. The severest aggravation of
trouble is where the evil that has been wrought is the work of some near
relative or some familiar friend
or some old colleague from whom we had a
right to expect quite opposite treatment (see Psalms 55:12-14). We feel that if we are
to have suffering or sorrow we should much prefer the unaccountable sickness
or the unavoidable loss
or the inevitable bereavement which we can refer at once
to the ordinary will of God.
2. The truth we recognise when we consider it. As we think on this
subject we realise that all trouble is ultimately of God.
3. The attitude we should assume toward it. Even when we have to
reproach ourselves
or even when we are obliged to condemn our neighbours or
our ancestors as the immediate authors of our trouble
we may and we should
accept it as that which comes in the providence of God.
Let me fall now into the
hand of the Lord.--
Falling into the hand of the Lord
The doctrine is
that as sinners
as sinners before God
and as
sinners towards each other
our highest hope is not in the incomplete and
perverted mercy of men
but in the infinite mercy which is founded upon the
infinite righteousness of God. We may perhaps help ourselves to a clearer
understanding of this doctrine by first considering that it is better to fall
into the hands of the highest class of men than into the hands of the lowest.
1. Take a legal case. In the first instance it may be brought before
the local magistracy; but very possibly the result may be considered
unsatisfactory by one party or the other
hence the case may be moved to the
court above; there again dissatisfaction may be the result
and an appeal may
be carried to the highest court in the land. The result even then may not be
satisfactory; still by so much as the case has been carried to the highest
tribunal and pronounced upon by the highest wisdom
there is strong ground to
rest upon. Not only so
but there is a point beyond this; for by so much as a
man wishes that there were yet another superior court to which an appeal might
be made does he show how deeply graven upon the heart is the law that it is
better to fall into the hands of the highest than into the hands of the lowest;
that it is better to fall into the hands of God than into the hands of men.
2. What is true in the law is equally true in all criticism.
3. Take the case of the young speaker. It will be for the advantage
of such a man to be judged by the greatest orators which the country can
supply. (J. Parker
D. D.)
Why is it better that the sinner should fall into the hand of God
rather than into the hands of men
Good use might be made of the many pleasing considerations which
arise in connection with God’s wisdom
God’s righteousness
and God’s perfect
knowledge of facts; but we shall include all these in a higher answer
viz.
because in His whole treatment of human sin God is constantly seeking not the
destruction
but the salvation of the sinner. (J. Parker
D. D.)
David falling into the hand of God
We shall look at David’s exclamation here in three aspects.
I. As indicating
what is a. Natural tendency in all souls. There is a strong propensity in all
men to “fall into the hand” of others
giving up their judgment
freedom
individuality to others. This shows itself in the exercise of unbounded trust.
Man is essentially dependent. Hence his existence is one of trust in others.
This trust is the very base and bond of social life. Trusting others within
certain limits is right and necessary
but when the principle carries us to the
entire subjection of ourselves to our fellow-men
we have gone wrongly and
ruinously.
II. As revealing
the true spirit of life. David’s tendency to trust took the right direction.
1. His preference was right.
2. This preference is expedient. It is far better to fall into the
hand of God than man.
III. As
foreshadowing the inevitable doom of all. In one of two ways every man must
fall into the hand of God.
1. Voluntarily
by the influence of His grace.
2. Compulsorily
by the force of justice. (Homilist.)
The hand of God and the hands of men
I. David’s strait.
II. The grounds of
his choice.
III. Divine
punishment and human punishment. Human punishment is necessarily to a great
extent for self-protection
and therefore selfish. When the laws of society
punish the crime of murder or of theft
it is primarily with the object of
preventing the committal of more murders and more thefts. God’s laws have
penalties attached to them
but when God punishes He seeks not the destruction
of the sinner
but his healing and reformation. While man’s punishments are in principle
revengeful
or at best for the defence of society
God’s punishments are
remedial and reformatory; and therefore it is better to fall into the hand of
God than into the hands of men. Application:
1. God in human redemption.
2. Human legislation directed to the repression of wrong incomplete
because it can only reach the outward action. God’s laws deal with motives
and
are therefore complete and perfect (1 Samuel 16:7; Hebrews 4:12). (Literary Churchman.)
Man’s inhumanity
There is more mercy in the fang of a rattlesnake and in the tooth of a wolf than
in the heart of men and women for a poor soul who has gone astray; and if she
try to swim ashore and finally come up to the rock and get the tips of her
fingers on the rock and try to climb up
then you will come out and with your hard
heels smash the tips of her fingers until she falls off. (H. W. Beecher.)
Verse 15
And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it.
The destroying angel
Lessons:
I. That idleness
is the parent of sin. It was when David was living as king in ease at Jerusalem
that he was tempted of Satan.
II. That one of the
best remedies for woe is work. The angel of destruction stayed his steps at the
threshing-floor of Ornan
even as the angel of salvation visited Gideon as he
was threshing wheat.
III. That prayer
even at the eleventh hour
may be by God’s grace efficacious. When the sword
was actually drawn in the hand of the destroyer it was kept from further
execution when David and the elders of Israel
who were clothed in sackcloth
fell upon their faces.
IV. That our gifts
to God
as to men
should be bestowed in a generous spirit.
V. That we should
not offer to God what costs us nothing.
VI. That God
sanctifies efforts
however weak they may be
if they be sincerely made;
accepts gifts
however humble they may be
if bestowed from the heart.
VII. That the best
proof that we can have that our offering is accepted by God is not that we experience
a sense of inflated importance or self-satisfaction
but that we are filled
with an abiding sense of peace.
VIII. That though we
may worship God anywhere and everywhere
yet that in His duly consecrated
sanctuary
it is fittest to do Him reverence. (R. Young
M. A.)
Man
through the devil
bringing tremendous evils on the world
That men suffer for the sins of others is a fact written in every
page of history
obvious in every circle of life
and recognised as a principle
in the government of God. “The fathers eat sour grapes
and the children’s
teeth are set on edge.” That this principle is both just and beneficent
consider--
1. That no man is made to suffer more than he deserves on account of
his own personal sins.
2. The men of Israel now for their own sins deserved this stroke of
justice.
3. That the evil which descends to us from others is not to be
compared to that which we produce ourselves.
4. The sufferings that come to us from others can give us no remorse
which is the very sting of the judgment--our own sins do this.
5. That the knowledge that we can injure society by our own conduct
has a strong tendency to restrain vice and stimulate virtue. (Homilist.)
David and Israel
I. The progressive
course of sin.
1. Temptation. Satan the black fountain of all transgression.
2. Transgression (1 Chronicles 21:2). In face of
warning (1 Chronicles 21:3). Its desperate
folly seen by others (1 Chronicles 21:6). The deadening
hardening power of any lust.
3. Punishment (1 Chronicles 21:10-12). As soon will
the magnet escape the influence of the pole
the sea the influence of the moon
an atom the binding force of gravitation
as the sinner escape punishment. “Be
sure your sin
” etc.
II. The progressive
course of reconciliation with God.
1. The messenger
God’s afflictive stroke (1 Chronicles 21:7). The prophet
Gad
(1 Chronicles 21:9). Every person or
circumstance that reproves is God’s messenger.
2. Conviction. (1 Chronicles 21:8). The true
convict
always confesses
never excuses. Not only owns the sin
but
acknowledges its greatness.
3. Penitence (1 Chronicles 21:16).
4. Acceptance.
5. Grateful acknowledgment (1 Chronicles 21:24).
III. Underlying
truths.
1. Though man be tempted
sin is his own act.
2. Our sins affect others. How many widows and orphans!
3. Though sin be pardoned
it leaves terrible scars behind. In
David’s memory. Gaps in the families and homes of the people. Avoidance of sin
is infinitely better than pardon. Christ the only sin-healer. (R. Berry.)
The sin of one may involve the suffering of others
When the father of the house goes down in character he carries
down with him
to a considerable extent
the character of his innocent
children. The bad man is laying up a bad fortune for those whom he has brought
into the world; long years afterwards they may be told how bad a man their
father was
and because of his iniquity they may be made to suffer loss and
pain. (J. Parker
D. D.)
Suffering through others
Our sin affects others as well as ourselves. A man whose garden
was injured by a troublesome weed said it was due to a neighbour’s neglect. He
had let his garden run wild
and when the seeds of this particular weed were
ripe
the wind blew them over the
fence. So one sin may make many innocent people suffer.
Verses 22-24
Then David said to Ornan.
The cost and self-sacrifice of religion
Contemplate this subject--
I. In reference to
the spiritual expansion of the intellectual powers. We may be Christians
without much knowledge
but our honour
glory
and felicity to abound in
knowledge--
1. Of God.
2. Of Christ.
3. Of theology generally. The cost must be paid in the attainment.
II. Apply the
subject to the spiritual cultivation of the moral nature. The soul before
conversion like a barren heath or desert. It must be cultivated. Much labour
needful. Evil habits to be abandoned. Holy habits to be formed.
III. To the
influence of self-denial in adorning the Christian profession. Self-denial not
merely the abandonment of sin. It involves the surrendering even of what might
be lawfully retained. Our will must be sacrificed
that God’s may be done.
IV. To the
importance of usefulness in the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The heart must be given to Christ.
2. Then life
talents
influence
time
wealth.
3. To pay this cost grace is both necessary and provided. (J.
Burns
D. D.)
A cheap religion no religion at all
This incident teaches us--
I. That true
religion is spirituality in contradistinction to formalism. The spirit of love
which now inspired David was something distinct from all outward service
something
that could not be expressed by the most valuable of offerings that cost him
nothing. Personal sacrifice was required. “The sacrifices of God are a broken
spirit.” “Circumcision or uncircumcision availeth nothing.”
II. That true
religion is enthusiasm in contradistinction to prudence. David rejected the
offer of Ornan. He repudiated the securing of the higher interests of the soul
without any detraction from secular resources. It is ever so where love
reigns--all personal interests are in the background; God is the one
all-commanding
all-absorbing object of thought.
III. That true
religion is nobility in contradistinction to meanness.
IV. That true
religion is progress in contradistinction to stationariness. The man inspired
with this spirit would never rest with present attainments.
1. There will be a delight in studying truth. The creed of a true
religious man has cost him something.
2. There will be a delight in doing all that is commanded.
V. That true
religion is reality in contradistinction to falseness. That the spirit of David
is the only true spirit of religion will appear if you consider--
1. What God is.
2. What He has done for us.
3. That all we have and are are His. (Homilist.)
Sin and mercy as grounds of gratitude
Observe the laudable strife of two noble minds.
I. Ornan’s
conduct. Ornan
a Jebusite
and so by birth a heathen
but by choice a
proselyte (see his prayer
2 Samuel 24:23). A pledge of the Gentiles
coming in: the very site of the temple belonged to one. Thankful for his
privileges
and therefore liberal in his gifts.
II. David’s
conduct.
1. His sense of sin (1 Timothy 1:12-15).
2. His sense of mercy. God’s direction about the altar was an
indication of forgiveness. David looked beyond this to the Redeemer. All he had
was too little to express his gratitude. “Much forgiven
loving much.” If
religion be real it will be self-denying. Does your religion cost you anything?
Has it led you to give up your own will; to sacrifice your own inclinations? to
crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts? What do you give to God of
your time
your influence
your means? (W. Pakenham Welsh
D. D.)
The threshing-floor of Ornan
I. That externally
there is nothing in any place why God should there meet with men. Why was the
threshing-floor of Ornan to be the meeting-place of David with his God
and the
spot where prayer was to be heard?
1. Certainly it was a very simple
unadorned place. Yet when the
temple
with all its glory
crowned the spot
God was never more conspicuously
present than on that bare
ungarnished threshing-floor. A tasteful building may
be a way of showing your pious regard for the Lord
but take care that you do
not regard it as essential
or even important
or you will make an idol of it.
2. It was a place of ordinary toil.
3. It was
also
in possession of a Jebusite. The Jebusites were
among the nations doomed for their iniquities. Herein the Lord showeth that He
is no respecter of persons. The Jews wrapped themselves up within themselves
and said
“The temple of the Lord; the temple of the Lord are we”; but the Lord
seemed to rebuke their national pride by saying
“And your temple is built upon
the threshing-floor of a Jebusite.” If you happen to have been born of parents
who did not train you in the fear of the Lord
yet do not despond; but say to
thy soul
“The Lord shall have a dwelling within my heart
Jebusite though I
be.”
4. Before it could be used it had to be bought with money. In
connection with all true worship of God in the olden time there was always the
offertory.
II. Spiritually
this threshing-floor of Ornan was an admirable type of how God meets with men.
1. Its extreme simplicity enters into the essence of the type.
2. The threshing-floor is the exact type of affliction. The temple of
glory is built on the threshing-floor of affliction.
3. This was the place where justice was most clearly manifest. Above
this place
in mid-air
stood a dreadful apparition. Conviction of sin
wrought
by the Spirit or God
is more powerful than argument. It some men had more
fully felt that they were sinners
they would have made better saints.
4. It was the place where sin was confessed.
5. It was the place where sacrifice was offered and accepted.
6. It was where David beheld the sign of peace.
III. I close by
heartily exhorting you to use this place. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The altar built and the plague stayed:--Observe--
I. A fearful evil.
II. The divine
remedy.
III. A generous
proposal.
IV. A noble and
self-sacrificing spirit. (J. Burns
D. D.)
The propitiation
The altar and sacrifice as means of propitiation illustrates the
atonement of Christ.
I. The moral
condition which it is designed to meet.
II. The provision
made for this condition.
III. The results
which it accomplished. (J. Wolfendale.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》