11/14/2010 8:41:06 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: A repentant king
Bible Reading
& Meditation Reference: 2Sam. 24:15-25; 1Chron. 21:14-30
Message of the verses: “15 So
the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed
time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died.
16 When the angel stretched out his hand
toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to
the angel who destroyed the people, "It is enough! Now relax your
hand!" And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the
Jebusite. 17 Then David spoke to the
LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said,
"Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but
these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and
against my father’s house."
“18 ¶ So Gad came to David that
day and said to him, "Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing
floor of Araunah the Jebusite." 19
David went up according to the word of Gad, just as the LORD had
commanded. 20 Araunah looked down and
saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out
and bowed his face to the ground before the king. 21 Then Araunah said, "Why has my lord the
king come to his servant?" And David said, "To buy the threshing
floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be
held back from the people." 22
Araunah said to David, "Let my lord the king take and offer up what
is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing
sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 "Everything, O king, Araunah gives to
the king." And Araunah said to the king, "May the LORD your God
accept you." 24 However, the king
said to Araunah, "No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I
will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing."
So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 David built there an altar to the
LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus the LORD was moved
by prayer for the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.”
“14 So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel;
70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 And God
sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it; but as he was about to destroy it,
the LORD saw and was sorry over the calamity, and said to the destroying angel,
"It is enough; now relax your hand." And the angel of the LORD was
standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 Then David lifted up his eyes and saw the
angel of the LORD standing between earth and heaven, with his drawn sword in
his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, covered with
sackcloth, fell on their faces. 17 David
said to God, "Is it not I who commanded to count the people? Indeed, I am
the one who has sinned and done very wickedly, but these sheep, what have they
done? O LORD my God, please let Your hand be against me and my father’s
household, but not against Your people that they should be plagued."
“18 ¶ Then the angel of the LORD
commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to
the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 19 So David went up at the word of Gad, which he
spoke in the name of the LORD. 20 Now
Ornan turned back and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid
themselves. And Ornan was threshing wheat. 21
As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out from
the threshing floor and prostrated himself before David with his face to the
ground. 22 Then David said to Ornan,
"Give me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar
to the LORD; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be
restrained from the people." 23
Ornan said to David, "Take it for yourself; and let my lord the
king do what is good in his sight. See, I will give the oxen for burnt
offerings and the threshing sledges for wood and the wheat for the grain
offering; I will give it all." 24
But King David said to Ornan, "No, but I will surely buy it for the
full price; for I will not take what is yours for the LORD, or offer a burnt
offering which costs me nothing." 25
So David gave Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site. 26 Then David built an altar to the LORD there
and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And he called to the LORD and
He answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering. 27 The LORD commanded the angel, and he put his
sword back in its sheath. 28 At that
time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him on the threshing floor of
Ornan the Jebusite, he offered sacrifice there. 29 For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses
had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were in the high
place at Gibeon at that time. 30 But
David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was terrified by the
sword of the angel of the LORD.”
I
wish to begin the commentary on this section by quoting 2Samuel 24:1, “Now
again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against
them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.’”
Dr. Wiersbe points out that this plague was not entirely given because
David numbered the people because this verse tells that the anger of the Lord
burned against Israel. The question is
what had Israel done to have the anger of God be against them? Some has speculated that of those 70,000 men
who died had all been loyal to Absalom, but the Scriptures are silent on why
the Lord’s anger was against Israel.
This
is a very familiar story to most people who have read the Bible and there are
some familiar things that are known about it.
There were two sins that are famous sins that David committed the
adultery with Bathsheba and the numbering of the people of Israel. It is interesting to see that by the grace of
God that He used both of these sins to build His temple in Jerusalem, for
Solomon came from the union of David and Bathsheba, and he would build the
temple, and the land was purchased for the site of the temple to be built by
David in order to offer sacrifices to stop the plague and this is where the
temple would be built. “1 ¶ Then David said, "This is the house of
the LORD God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel." 2 So David gave orders to gather the foreigners
who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to
build the house of God.” (1Chronicles 22:1-2)
It
is also interesting that in verse eight of 2Samuel 24 that Joab stopped the
numbering of the people at Jerusalem and this is where the angel of the Lord
was stopped by the Lord in continuing the plague.
In
the passage in 2Samuel it is told that David paid 50 shekels of silver to buy
this place and in 1Chronicles it is told that he paid 600 Shekels of gold for
it. (I must say that this is the exact
place where Abraham was offering Isaac that is told about in Genesis 22). Dr. Wiersbe points out that the first payment
was for the things needed for the sacrifice and the amount in 1Chronicles is
for the land.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: David said that he would not offer a
sacrifice that cost him nothing and so he paid for the material to offer the
sacrifice. God paid for my sins with the
life of His Son, and this cost Him so very much and therefore I need to
remember this cost and live a life that is pleasing to Him.
Some
may think that it was because of David’s two sins that the temple was built,
but that would be wrong, for it was because of the grace of God that it was
done. “But where sin abounded, grace
abounded much more” (Romans 5:20).
My Steps of
Faith for Today:
1.
Remember the cost of my salvation, as it was not
free to the Lord.
11/14/2010 9:24:11 AM
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