Good evening, church.
Tonight, we will look at the last chapter of 2 Samuel, chapter 24.
We'll come to the conclusion of our series on Book of Samuel.
Last week, a group of kids from Bridges of Hope mentoring program told me that I speak
with an accent.
And jokingly, I told the kids, you guys are breaking my heart.
I've been practicing past 30 years trying to perfect my English.
So pardon my accent and put up with my accent for a little while.
So this chapter has three sections.
First section is about David's census.
And then the second section is the Lord's judgment of David's sin.
And then the third section, David builds on altar.
And as we study this chapter, we will see what does this...
You may think this is just a moment in ancient history, but it's not.
It teaches us many things.
And we will look into this tonight.
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus, thank you for gathering us here tonight.
Lord God, we ask for your grace and mercy.
And Lord, we pray that your words will touch each one of us in different ways.
For those who need hope, give them hope.
For those who need healing, give them healing.
But Lord, teach us about our perfect King, Jesus, tonight.
In your mighty name we pray.
Amen.
All right, let us turn to...
In your pew Bible, it's page 277.
Page 277.
2 Samuel chapter 24.
Again, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel.
And he incited David against them, saying,
Go number Israel and Judah.
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 war 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.
They crossed the Jordan and began from Aror and from the city that is in the middle of the valley
toward Gad and onto Jazar.
Then they came to Gilead and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites.
And they came to Dan and from Dan they went around to Sidon
and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites.
And they went out to the Negev of Judah at Beersheba.
So when they had gone through all the land,
they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king.
In Israel there were eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword.
And the men of Judah were five hundred thousand.
Now the beginning of this chapter, it was a little confusing.
Why would God incite David against Israel?
Why would God tell David to go number his people?
And then it was counted as great sin.
It was hard to comprehend.
But if you look at the parallel account in 1 Chronicles chapter 21,
we may have a better understanding.
So let's turn to page 350 in your pew Bible.
And like I said, this is the parallel account of the same event.
And let's see how this was recorded in 1 Chronicles.
1 Chronicles chapter 21.
Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.
So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army,
go number Israel from Beersheba to Dan.
And then I'm going to skip down to verse 6.
But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering.
For the king's command was abhorrent to Joab.
King's command was so offensive and detestable.
Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin.
And we'll come back to this.
So in God's sovereignty,
he may have allowed Satan to incite David.
Because God neither tempts men or neither get tempted.
And that's in James chapter 1 verses 13 through 15.
It is our own desire.
When we are lured and enticed by our own desire.
And when our desire gives birth to sin.
And then when sin fully grows,
it brings death.
So when you look at this account of what happened,
I believe King David,
I was trying to figure out why did King David
go against his military commander's advice.
Joab said, my Lord, don't do this.
You are committing sin.
Was it King David to pride?
That he wanted to number the military men
and to see how much he has accomplished?
Or was it because he,
for the moment,
did he lack faith in God?
Or did he not trust God completely?
Maybe he was worrying about another invasion
and wondering,
do I have enough military power
to defend my country?
Whatever the reason was,
whether he did this out of pride,
whether he did this out of,
you know, lacking trust in God,
it was counted as a great sin.
His commander, Joab,
fully understood that.
And in 1 Chronicles account,
he asks King David,
why do you cause our nation
to be guilty by doing this?
And yet King David,
maybe he was so blinded
by his own pride and his sin,
he just pushed forward.
So his word prevailed against Joab
and the rest of the commanders of the army.
Now, the first census was done
in the time of Moses.
The first census,
God told Moses to number all the people
except the tribe of Levi.
The second census,
God told Moses the same thing.
Number the people
except the tribe of Levi.
Because he wanted to know
how he can divide the land
and give inheritance
according to the number of tribes.
Now, King David here,
he tells Joab,
go number all tribe.
In 1 Chronicles,
Joab purposely excluded Levi.
So Joab knew
that was also wrong,
that you are not,
when you do the census,
you are not supposed to include Levi.
But King David's command was,
go ahead
and go through all the tribe.
Now, I think we can relate to this
because we also,
out of our own desire,
we conceive an idea
and that can be totally against God.
And sometimes,
just like Joab advised King David
not to do this
because you're about to bring guilt
guilt of this entire nation.
We sometimes hear the same kind of advice
through our brothers and sisters in Christ
when you listen to a sermon
or when you are reading scripture.
You get this kind of conviction.
And yet,
a lot of times,
don't we just ignore that
and just push forward
because we are enticed
by our own desire.
So I think we can relate to
what David did here.
Moving on to
verse 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.
And when David arose
in the morning,
the word of the Lord
came to the prophet Gad,
David's seer,
saying,
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?
David must have said,
Oh no,
not again.
I've been chased by Saul.
I've been chased by Philistines.
I've been even chased
by my own son Absalom.
So he must have
shook his head.
Or shall there be
three days pestilence
in your land?
Now consider and decide
what answer
I shall return to him
who sent me.
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.
So the Lord sent
the pestilence
on Israel
from the morning
until the appointed time.
And there died
of the people
from Dan to Beersheba
70,000 men.
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 Arona 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.
So when you
read this part,
you know,
you can't help
but wonder
70,000 men
died
because of what
King David did.
So Pastor Matt
and I were
talking about this
the other day
and he
brought out
a really
excellent point.
we're living
in such
an individualistic
culture
and society.
You know,
we immediately
we think
as long as
I didn't do
the wrong,
you know,
why should I suffer?
King David
did this wrong
and what
these 70,000
people have
to do with it.
But if you
think in a more
communal sense,
for example,
let's use
a sports team.
If a head
coach
makes
a really
poor,
almost
ridiculously
dumb decision
at a championship
game against
his three
assistant coaches
and let's
say they
lost the
championship
game,
who takes
the consequences?
Who suffers?
Is it just
the head
coach
or the
whole team
or even
the fan base?
Another
example
will be
say
a father
of family
of six.
This
dad
gets
really
greedy.
He
overcomes
with
greed
and then
he makes
really bad
financial
decisions.
He decides
to invest
in some
get-rich-quick
scheme,
invest all
his savings,
all the
kids'
college
savings,
even takes
out a
home equity
loan and
just put
everything
into that
investment
and then
the money
starts to
bleed.
Now,
who suffers
the consequences?
Is it
just the
dad or
is it
the whole
family,
his wife,
his children?
So,
when the
head of
the nation,
like King
David,
when he
commits
this sin,
unfortunately,
it's the
70,000
of men
got killed
by the
pestilence.
man
and
he
is
the
king
of
the
king
David,
when he's
confronted
by the
prophet,
he doesn't
give out
excuses.
He
immediately
humbles
himself
and then
he starts
to repent.
a few
chapters
ago,
when he
killed
Riah,
when he
took his
wife,
prophet
Nathan
came and
confronted
David
and King
David
did not
give any
excuse.
He
told
prophet
Nathan
he has
committed
sin against
God and
he started
to repent.
and he
does the
same
thing
here.
When you
read
verse
17,
King
David
says,
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.
So he
owns up
to his
problem
and
he
throws
himself
at the
mercy
of
God.
Verse
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.
Are we
ready to
do that?
when we
falter,
when we
fall,
when we
commit
sin against
God,
are we
ready?
When
somebody,
when God
points it
out to
us,
that you
have done
this wrong,
you know,
whether through
reading a
scripture,
again,
whether while
you're listening
to a sermon,
whether through
your brothers
or sisters in
Christ,
point something
out to you.
are we
ready to
humble
ourselves
like King
David
immediately
and then
start to
seek God's
mercy?
What he
said here
is really
amazing,
that he
wants to
fall into
hand of
God for
his mercy
is great,
but don't
let me
fall into
the hand
of man.
in the
third
section,
verse
18,
and Gad
came that
day to
David and
said to
him,
go up,
raise an
altar to
the Lord
on the
threshing
floor of
Arona
the Jebusite.
David went
up at
Gad's
word as
the Lord
commanded,
and when
Arona
looked down,
he saw the
king and
his servants
coming on
toward him,
and Arona
went out
and paid
homage to
the king
with his
face to
the ground,
and Arona
said,
why has
my lord
the king
come to
his servant?
David
said,
to buy
the threshing
floor from
you in
order to
build an
altar to
the Lord,
that the
plague may
be averted
from the
people.
Then Arona
said to
David,
let my
lord the
king take
and offer
up what
seems good
to him.
Here are
the oxen
for the
burnt
offering,
and the
threshing
sledges and
the yokes
of the
oxen for
the wood.
All this,
O king,
Arona
gives to
the king.
And Arona
said to
the king,
may the
lord your
god accept
you.
But the
king said
to Arona,
no,
but I
will buy
it from
you for
a price.
I will
not
offer
burnt
offerings to
the lord,
my god,
they cost
me nothing.
So David
bought the
threshing
floor and
the oxen
for 50
shekels of
silver.
And David
built there
an altar
to the
lord and
offered
burnt
offerings
and peace
offerings.
So the
lord responded
to the
plea for
the land.
And the
plague was
averted
from people.
temple.
So where
David
builds the
altar
and this
is where
Solomon
would build
God's
temple
later on.
And here
if you look
at verse
24,
King David
said,
I will
not
offer
burnt
offerings
to the
lord,
my god,
that cost
me
nothing.
Does this
remind you
of something?
That it
cost?
Well,
the sacrifice
for our
atonement
costed
God,
his son's
life.
As I was
reading this
verse,
yes,
just like
David
wanted to
bring an
offering
that cost
something.
Our
atonement
came at
a great
price to
God,
his son's
life.
Now,
King David,
as we
have studied
the book
of Samuel,
was a
great king,
just like
Pastor Nick
preached this
morning.
He was
a man
after God's
own heart.
Israelites
maybe,
you know,
they thought
this is
the king.
But he
had his
flaws,
he had his
faults.
And this
particular
incident,
look what
happened to
his people.
Because of
his sin,
70,000
people have
died.
Now,
let's
look at
our king,
King Jesus.
We
certainly
don't
pay any
consequences
of his
wrongdoing.
There is
no wrongdoing.
But he,
the king,
took all
our sin,
all our
flaws,
all our
shortcomings,
all our
wickedness,
he took
all that
upon himself
and took
the consequences
of our
sin
on himself.
Now,
here
is the
perfect king.
so,
where
are you
on this
chapter?
I would
like for us
to think
about that
this week.
Are you
on,
like David,
something
is conceived
in your
heart
and that
it's against
God's
will?
And are you
struggling with
it?
Or did
somebody like
Joab
approach you
and pointed
that out to
you already
saying,
please don't
do this?
Or are you
at a stage
where
you're
struggling
with this
sin
and not
knowing
what to
do?
No matter
where you
are,
be like
King David.
Seek
God's
mercy.
And where
can we
find God's
mercy?
Bring it
to Jesus.
Bring it
to the
feet
of Jesus
at the
cross.
Because
he
die for
us.
He took
all our
sin,
all our
shortcomings.
Romans
said,
we all
fall short
of glory.
And that
gap between
us and
God
was filled
by Jesus.
He's the
perfect
mediator.
So no
matter where
we are,
no matter
where you
are,
whatever
you're
struggling
with,
bring it
to Jesus.
And if
you look
at this
chapter,
it starts
out,
King David
committing
this sin.
And then
there comes
God's
mercy.
And then
at the
end,
where King
David builds
the altar,
where he,
God,
receives his
burnt offering
and peace
offering as
a sign of
reconciliation.
That's
where Solomon
builds God's
temple.
Now,
isn't that
sort of
like us,
our pattern?
You know,
we bring
our sin.
We struggle
with our sin.
We bring
this.
Jesus.
But then
God,
through his
mercy,
through Jesus'
blood,
he will
transform that
into something
beautiful.
Gives us
eternal life,
salvation,
promise for
the future.
But we
need to
come to
the feet
of Jesus
at the
cross.
So,
this morning
we
celebrated
Palm Sunday,
our Lord
entered
Jerusalem
riding a
donkey.
And
Jesus
is a
humble
king.
And I
would just
like to
read from
2nd
Philippians
verses
5 to
11.
Have this
mind among
yourselves,
which is
yours in
Christ Jesus,
who,
though he
was in
the form
of God,
did not
count equality
with God
a thing
to be
grasped,
but emptied
himself by
taking the
form of a
servant,
being born in
the likeness of
men,
and being
found in
human form,
he humbled
himself by
becoming
obedient to
the point
of death.
Even death
on a cross,
therefore God
has highly
exalted
him and
bestowed on
him the
name that
is above
every name,
so that at
the name of
Jesus,
every knee
should bow,
in heaven
and on
earth and
under the
earth,
and every
tongue
confess,
that Jesus
Christ is
Lord,
to the
glory of
God,
the
Father.
So my
brothers and
sisters in
Christ,
are you
longing for
something like
the Israelites
hoped that
King David
would be the
king,
kind of like a
perfect king?
are we
putting our
hopes in
something like
that?
Or are you
ready to put
your hopes in
Jesus, who
is truly the
perfect king,
who is a
humble king,
who died for
us?
Jesus, and
but it
didn't just
end there.
Next
Sunday, we
will celebrate
the risen
Lord,
resurrection
of Christ.
and when you believe
in Jesus
we will rise
just like he did
and that's what he promised us
so this
Palm Sunday
think about our perfect king
think about what he did
for all of us
and how he promised
that he will come back
with his saints
in glory
to take us home
that we'll be with him eternally
where there will be no
condemnation
no more tears
no more sickness
and this is
the message
of the
the perfect king
let us pray
Lord our God
we thank you Lord
thank you for sending your son
Jesus
to take away
the sin of the world
to take away all
our sin
and give us salvation
and eternal life Lord
Father as we
think about
our Lord Jesus
this week
Lord please
help us to
commit our lives
to you Lord
Lord
thank you
and Lord
we pray all this
in Jesus name
Amen