Bird's-eye view
This chapter, along with the previous three, serves as a thematic appendix to the books of Samuel. It is not placed in strict chronological order, but rather it is set here to teach us some foundational truths about sin, sovereignty, judgment, and atonement. The narrative opens with a difficult statement about the anger of God, which results in David being incited to take a census of Israel. This act, motivated by pride and a trust in military numbers rather than in God, is immediately recognized as sinful by Joab, David's hardened general. But David's word prevails, and the census is taken over the course of more than nine months.
Once the deed is done, David's conscience smites him, and he repents before the Lord. But sin has consequences. The prophet Gad is sent to David to offer him a choice of three judgments from the hand of God: famine, flight before his enemies, or pestilence. In a moment of profound, chastened faith, David chooses to fall into the hands of a merciful God rather than the hands of men. The resulting pestilence is devastating, killing seventy thousand. The climax of the passage occurs when David sees the destroying angel poised over Jerusalem. He intercedes for the people, taking the full responsibility for the sin upon himself and his house, a striking picture of a king standing in the gap for his sheep. This act of intercession takes place at the threshing floor of Araunah, the very place where the Temple would one day be built, the place of sacrifice and atonement.
Outline
- 1. David's Sin of Pride (2 Sam 24:1-9)
- a. The Lord's Anger and David's Incitement (v. 1)
- b. David's Command and Joab's Protest (vv. 2-4)
- c. The Census is Conducted (vv. 5-9)
- 2. David's Repentance and Judgment (2 Sam 24:10-17)
- a. David's Heart Convicts Him (v. 10)
- b. A Choice of Three Punishments (vv. 11-13)
- c. David Chooses God's Mercy (v. 14)
- d. The Pestilence and David's Intercession (vv. 15-17)
Clause-by-Clause Commentary
v. 1 And again the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
The text begins with a theological thunderclap. We must not dodge what is plainly stated. The anger of the Lord was kindled, and He incited David. The parallel account in 1 Chronicles 21:1 tells us that "Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel." There is no contradiction here. We must learn to think in terms of ultimate and proximate causes. God is sovereign over all things, including the malicious actions of the devil. God, in His righteous anger against Israel for some unstated sin, withdrew His restraining grace and gave David over to a temptation that Satan was more than happy to provide. God is not the author of sin, but He is the sovereign who ordains all that comes to pass, using even the sinful choices of men and devils to accomplish His own holy purposes. He did not force David to sin, but rather He sovereignly directed the situation such that David's own pride would be the instrument of judgment against Israel.
v. 2-4 So the king said to Joab... “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and take a census of the people, that I may know the total count of the people.” But Joab said to the king, “Now may Yahweh your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are... but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” Nevertheless, the king’s word stood strong against Joab...
The sin here was not in the act of counting itself. Moses had conducted a census at God's command (Numbers 1). The sin was entirely in the motive. David wanted to know the number of his fighting men. This was a sin of pride, of self-reliance. It was a desire to glory in the strength of his own military machine, to trust in the arm of flesh rather than in the living God who had given him every victory. What is remarkable here is that Joab, a man not known for his tender conscience, immediately sees the sin for what it is. Even this bloody-handed general knows that Israel's strength is not in numbers but in the Lord. He protests, but David, blinded by his pride, overrules his wise counsel. When a man as worldly as Joab is your voice of conscience, and you ignore him, you are in deep trouble.
v. 5-9 And they crossed the Jordan... and they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. And Joab gave the total count... in Israel 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000 men.
The census was a massive undertaking, requiring the better part of a year. This was no fleeting sin, but a deliberate, sustained act of disobedience. The numbers are staggering: 1.3 million fighting men. This was the data David wanted. This was the source of his pride. He could now look at his spreadsheets and feel secure. But this is the kind of security that the world offers, a security built on human strength, which is no security at all. It is a paper-thin wall against the judgments of God.
v. 10 Then David’s heart struck him after he had counted the people. So David said to Yahweh, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Yahweh, please take away the iniquity of Your slave, for I have acted very foolishly.”
The fog of pride lifts, and David's conscience, which God had graciously reawakened, convicts him deeply. "His heart struck him." This is the language of sharp, sudden conviction. True repentance follows. David does not make excuses. He does not blame Joab or his circumstances. He confesses directly to God: "I have sinned greatly." He calls his action iniquity and acknowledges his foolishness. This is the pattern of all genuine repentance: a clear admission of guilt and a plea for God's mercy to remove the stain of that guilt.
v. 11-14 Then David arose in the morning, and the word of Yahweh came to the prophet Gad... “I am offering you three things; choose for yourself one of them...” Shall seven years of famine come... Or will you flee three months before your adversaries... Or shall there be three days’ pestilence... Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of Yahweh, for His compassions are abundant. But do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
God hears David's prayer, but forgiveness does not remove all consequences. Sin leaves scars in the real world. God, through his prophet Gad, offers David a choice of discipline. This is a severe mercy. All three options are terrible, affecting the entire nation. This is the principle of federal headship: the king sins, and the people suffer the consequences. Adam sinned, and we all fell. David sinned, and Israel was judged. David's choice here is the theological core of the story. He is in great distress, but his thinking is crystal clear. He knows the character of his God. Men are cruel. Famine and war place the people at the mercy of fallen men. But pestilence is a direct judgment from the hand of God. David chooses to cast himself and his people entirely on the mercy of God, whose compassions, he knows, are great. Even in judgment, he would rather be in God's hands than anywhere else.
v. 15-17 So Yahweh sent a pestilence... and 70,000 men of the people... died. Then the angel sent forth his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, and Yahweh relented... And the angel of Yahweh was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to Yahweh... “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done unrighteousness; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and my father’s house.”
The judgment is swift and horrific. Seventy thousand men die. The destroying angel, the agent of God's wrath, reaches the outskirts of Jerusalem. At this point, two things happen. First, God relents. His justice is satisfied for this offense, and His compassion comes to the forefront. Second, David sees the angel. And in that moment, he acts as a true king, a true shepherd. He doesn't protest the injustice of the people dying for his sin. He understands federal headship. Instead, he intercedes. He places himself between the judgment and the people. "Let Your hand be against me." He offers himself as the substitute. This is a magnificent foreshadowing of the Lord Jesus Christ, the true Son of David, who would one day see the wrath of God poised over His people and say, "Let it fall on Me." And it is no accident that this happens at the threshing floor of Araunah, which David would purchase as the future site of the Temple, the place of sacrifice and atonement.
Key Issues
- God's Sovereignty and Sin: The passage forces us to grapple with the biblical truth that God is sovereign over all events, including the sinful acts of men. God does not cause men to sin, but He sovereignly ordains the circumstances in which they, following their own sinful desires, fulfill His ultimate purposes.
- The Sin of Pride: David's sin was not an administrative task but a disposition of the heart. He trusted in numbers, in military might, in the "arm of the flesh." This is a perennial temptation for all leaders and all believers. We are constantly tempted to find our security in our resources rather than in our Redeemer.
- Federal Headship: The king represents the people. His sin brings judgment upon them, and his repentance provides a way for their deliverance. This principle is woven throughout Scripture and finds its ultimate fulfillment in the two Adams. The first Adam's sin brought condemnation on all his posterity. The last Adam, Jesus Christ, brings righteousness and life to all who are in Him.
- Costly Grace: David's repentance was genuine, and God's forgiveness was real. But grace is not cheap. The consequences of sin were still enacted. The judgment demonstrates the holiness of God and the seriousness with which He views sin, even the sins of His beloved children.
Application
This chapter is a stark reminder that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. David, at the height of his power, forgot where his strength came from. He looked to his armies instead of to his God. We do the same thing when we trust in our bank accounts, our resumes, our political affiliations, or our own abilities. The first application is to repent of all such self-reliance. We must learn to glory in the Lord, not in our own strength.
Second, we see the nature of true repentance. When confronted with his sin, David did not equivocate. He confessed his sin and his foolishness plainly. And when offered a choice of judgment, he threw himself utterly upon the mercy of God. This is the heart of a broken and contrite spirit, which God will not despise. We must learn to confess our sins honestly and to trust God's character even when we are under His fatherly discipline.
Finally, we see in David a type of Christ. As king, he stood in the gap for his people, offering to take their judgment upon himself. This points us to the cross. We are the sheep who have gone astray. Our sins have earned us a pestilence far worse than the one in this story, the eternal wrath of God. But our King, Jesus Christ, saw the destroying angel and stood in our place. He took the full force of God's hand against sin upon Himself. The judgment that should have been ours fell on Him. Therefore, because He was numbered with the transgressors, we can stand in His righteousness, forgiven and free.