A heart that is sensitive to sin

Footnotes

[1] 23:1 Or the favorite of the songs of Israel
[2] 23:4 Hebrew from rain
[3] 23:6 Hebrew worthlessness
[4] 23:7 Hebrew consumed with fire in the sitting
[5] 23:8 Or of the captains
[6] 23:8 Compare 1 Chronicles 11:11; the meaning of the Hebrew expression is uncertain
[7] 23:11 Or gathered together as a camp
[8] 23:18 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts three
[9] 23:18 Or slain ones
[10] 23:19 Compare 1 Chronicles 11:21; Hebrew Was he the most renowned of the three?
[11] 23:20 Or the son of Ishhai
[12] 23:20 The meaning of the word ariel is unknown
[13] 23:35 Or Hezrai
[14] 24:2 Septuagint to Joab and the commanders of the army
[15] 24:5 Septuagint; Hebrew encamped in Aroer
[16] 24:6 Septuagint; Hebrew to the land of Tahtim-hodshi
[17] 24:6 Septuagint; Hebrew they came to Dan-jaan and
[18] 24:12 Or hold over
[19] 24:13 Compare 1 Chronicles 21:12, Septuagint; Hebrew seven
[20] 24:24 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Richard. Great pull from Exodus 30:12. It seems to apply directly to David’s sin in taking the census and not doing it properly. LOVE your simple and powerful statement; “sin does not go unpunished”. Someone will pay for it. The passage is very clear that often the leader’s sin will cause many innocent people to suffer. What a sobering reality. Q1. Sins that need forgiving? Re:gen taught me how powerful this sequence is; confession-repentance-forgiveness-amends. Amy and I strive to “clean up our side of the street”. I am pretty sure I have missed some trash on my side. Q2. Repairing damage? My action negatively affecting others? A prodigal father raising prodigal children. This is about as sure a scenario as I know for pain and suffering. And that’s what I got, and so did they. In God’s mercy, he is working on us and the healing process is ongoing. Q3. The 1:1 convos with kids have been very healing for me and them. Same for friends and work peers. Lots of grace and lots of witness. It would be so much easier if I was a faster learner. Q4. Living a life that reflects the atonement for my sins? Oswald Chambers talks about repentance only being possible when I realize by complete helplessness and my total worthlessness. That process took quite a while. With a heightened awareness of the depth of my sin and depravity I was able to get a much better picture what it meant to for Jesus to die for all my sins past, present, and future.

Hugh Stephenson

In the early 1990’s Amy and I found ourselves with a newborn and a 2-year-old. Work was busy and life was very full. We had begun to really struggle. We were box-checking church goers so we did not really have place to go to help. Ultimately, we found ourselves in marriage therapy in a process that helped us get to the root. We came to understand that our upbringing gave us certain relationship patterns. Some good. Some bad. We married the one that mirrored those patterns. So all the problems we had with our parents were now being repeated in our marriage. That understanding formed the foundation of healing. Much later, in abortion recovery, I came to understand that a similar process had taken place forming my understanding who God is. As I have stated in prior comments, my mom and dad both lost their dads at age 11 during the Great Depression. They were both raised by single moms with some family help. They went to church but it never developed into a saving and surrendered faith. We never heard them talk about it. Growing up my dad was a good provider but that’s about it. He was distant and uninvolved. When I made mistakes, he was the disciplinarian and administered corporal punishment. Thus, my concept of God was formed. My concept of self was one of self-reliance and self-determination. Perseverance, endurance, and resilience was the key. (I ought these were attributes, not sins.) Regardless, it takes a longtime to unwind all this. ------------------------------------------------------------- In this passage I see David making the same mistakes I did. My confidence was in myself and my ability to survive and make money. The notes offer this about David- -“Quite clearly, David took the census to determine his military strength. Taking a census did not constitute sin (cf. Exodus 30:11-12; Numbers 1:1-2). David's sin was apparently placing confidence in the number of his soldiers rather than in the LORD.” “Joab wisely warned David of his folly (v. 3). Even such a man as Joab could see that what David planned to do was wrong. Nevertheless, David chose to ignore Joab's counsel (v. 4). He behaved as one who refuses to be accountable to anyone, which was easy for David to do, since he was the king. The thing that David had done displeased the LORD, and He struck Israel (1 Chron. 21:7).” “David offers personally to bear the punishment for this sin, but God does not accept the offer. This is, however, a worthy gesture on David’s part, and sets the pattern for his ultimate descendant, the Messiah, who will bear the punishment due his people.” ------------------------ As mentioned previously, the writer composed this last major section of Samuel (chs. 21—24) in a chiastic structure. https://www.gotquestions.org/chiasm-chiastic.html Here is a similar diagram of this section: A Famine from Saul's sin 21:1-14 (narrative) B Military heroes and victories 21:15-22 (list) C David's psalm of praise to God ch. 22 (poem) C' David's tribute in praise of God 23:1-7 (poem) B' Military heroes and victories 23:8-39 (list) A' Pestilence from David's sin ch. 24 (narrative) Note the importance is centered on C and C’ as the center of the chiasm. This is what draws my attention to chapter 22/Psalm 18 and to David’s last words.

Hugh Stephenson

Constable offers this detailed summary and conclusion of 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel. I find this extremely helpful as it recaps what is a long preamble to the rest of our reading this year. We will see these truths and themes play out in 1 and 2 Kings and beyond. Conclusion When 1 Samuel opened, Israel was a loosely connected affiliation of tribes with little unity and loyalty. The judges led her, many of whom were weak and not completely effective. Her worship was in disrepute, due to corruption in the priesthood and even among the judges. She was at the mercy of her surrounding enemies. She was weak in influence and was struggling economically. By the end of David's reign, 150 years later, Israel stood united as a nation behind a king who represented Yahweh's will faithfully. She had a revived priesthood that enjoyed support from the throne, and the prospect for a permanent temple located in the capital city was bright. She was militarily strong, and she controlled her environment politically and geographically. She enjoyed an influence in the world that was already powerful and still growing. Furthermore, her economy was strong. Most importantly she was led by a king who was normally submissive to Yahweh's authority. David's most important contribution was probably uniting the political and religious life of Israel. He symbolized this by setting up both the political capital and the worship center of Israel in one place: Jerusalem. This effectively united the covenant traditions of the patriarchs and Moses with the newer provision of a human monarchy. David realized that he was not only Israel's political head but also her representative before God. He persuaded Israel of this dual role and so prepared her to function as the servant of the LORD in providing salvation for the other peoples of the world.[528] These changes had taken place because Yahweh had brought fertility to Israel. When the Israelites followed the Mosaic Covenant, God's revealed will for them, obedience resulted in blessing and life. When they did not obey, they experienced discipline and death. The writer employed various literary devices to emphasize his main spiritual lessons. Primary among these was conflict and resolution. In every major section of the book there is at least one conflict, and often there are several, in which God either exalted the faithful, or put down the arrogant, or both. Another literary device is the reversal-of- fortune motif, by which the writer showed that Yahweh can and does change people's lives as they respond to His Word—for good or for ill. A major chiasm, beginning with Hannah's prayer and ending with David's prayers, ties 1 and 2 Samuel together. Other frequent chiasms help the reader appreciate the writer's emphasis, such as the one in 2 Samuel 21—24. "The broad theology of 1 and 2 Samuel is that God rules justly in the affairs of men. Furthermore, He requires that men live justly under His rule. The leader (whether judge or king) must represent Yahweh's justice in the rule of God's people. Failure to follow the patterns of righteousness established by God led to chastisement of the ruler and the people he ruled. This message was usually presented by a prophet who stood between God and the king as well as the people."[529]

Michael Sisson

Re: 2Sam 24:1 2Sam 24:1 (NASB) Now again >>>the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David<<< against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” c.f. Note the important difference in pp 1Chr 21:1. 1Chr 21:1 (NASB) Then >>>Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.<<< In his exposition of 2Sam 24:1, Constable summarizes the responsible parties thusly: “We can identify perhaps four levels of causality in verse 1: God was the final cause, the primary instrumental cause was Satan, the secondary instrumental cause was some hostile human enemy, and David was the efficient cause.” — Dr. T. Constable https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/2samuel/2samuel.htm Re: 2Sam 24:3 Joab has a history of acting rashly. However, in this instance, Joab is the voice of wisdom, and the census is taken over his objections. Re: 2Sam 24:10 2Sam 24:10 (NASB) Now David's heart troubled him after he had numbered the people. So 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 acted very foolishly.”<<< See Pr 3:34; Jas 4:6 Re: 2Sam 24:14 2Sam 24:14 (NASB) Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. >>>Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”<<< Wise advice. Re: 2Sam 24:16 2Sam 24:16 (NASB) 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.<<< Araunah’s (a.k.a. “Ornan”; 1Ch 21:15) threshing floor would become the site of both the First and Second Temple, and of the future, restored Temple. Re: 2Sam 24:25 2Sam 24:25 (NASB) 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.<<< See Pr 15:29; Jas 5:16b Eschatologically, it is also worth noting resumption of sacrifice on the Temple Mount would only require completion of the Altar to commence. It would not require completion of the Temple itself. (c.f. Ezra 3:3) SEASONAL NOTE: “Since Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, begins Sunday, Sept. 24th at sundown, I thought I would review some basics about what ‘atonement’ means and how the holiday relates to followers of Yeshua the Messiah... ==== “Atonement is about righting the wrong that separates us from God, repairing the breach caused by our sin, and being healed from the curse of death. We all desperately need this healing, yet our own hearts are the source of the trouble (Matt. 15:19-20). The holiness and justice of God (אלהִים) requires that sin be punished by death, but God is also merciful and gracious (יהוה), and therefore He instituted a system of animal sacrifices and blood rituals to provisionally “atone” for sin (i.e., restore the broken relationship with God). Since the life of the flesh is in the blood (Lev. 17:11), and the penalty for sin is death, the shedding of blood represents atonement (i.e., kapparah: כַּפָּרָה) for sin. “With regard to the chatat (‘sin offering’) or asham (‘guilt offering’), a person would bring a kosher animal (korban) to the entrance of the Tabernacle and place both hands on the animal's head to identify with it (Lev. 4:29). This act of ‘semikhah’ (סְמִיכָה) symbolically (i.e., ritually) transferred the penalty of sin and guilt to the sacrificial animal. Then, the person would slay the animal and confess that his sin caused the innocent to be slain in his place (Menachot 110a). The entire sacrificial system was intended to depict this ‘life-for-life’ (חיים לחיים) principle: God accepted the blood of a sacrifice in exchange for the life of the sinner... “The sacrificial system of the mishkan or ‘Tabernacle’ (and later the Temple) was a temporary arrangement until the coming of Messiah, the Promised Deliverer (Gal. 3:24-25; Rom. 10:4; Heb. 9:1-12). The atonement or purification obtained by animal sacrifices was provisional and symbolic, ‘for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins’ (Heb. 10:4; Micah 6:6). For eternal remedy, for the spiritual life of the soul, something far greater was needed, namely, the sacrifice of God Himself. Consequently, when Yeshua came into the world, he said, ‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body have you prepared for me,’ and 'Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book’ (see Heb. 10:5,7). “All this is profoundly mysterious, of course. After all, if the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) could enter the Holy of Holies only once a year to present sacrificial blood upon the kapporet, invoking the Divine Name YHVH, and interceding for God’s mercy on behalf of the people, how much more mysterious is Messiah’s intercession for us as he willingly shed his own blood and died in exchange for the curse of our sins (Gal. 3:13)? It was there - in the true Holy of Holies, the ‘greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands’ (Heb. 9:11), where the blood of Yeshua was poured out to pay the penalty for our sins, and it was there that we are given eternal life and healing (see 2 Cor. 5:21). Yeshua is the true Temple of God and the Central Sacrifice of God given on our behalf. In ways we simply cannot fathom, the sacrificial death of Yeshua delivers us from the curse of death and makes us alive together with God. We draw near to God through Him alone; he alone is the true High Priest of God, the One who finishes the work of redemption on our behalf in the Temple of his body... “Beware those who would have you return to the terms of the covenant at Sinai (Gal. 3:1). God made a new covenant, not like the covenant made at Sinai (Jer. 31:31-33). The New Testament teaches that Yeshua came to die ‘for our sins,’ to heal us from the plague of spiritual death (Heb. 7:27, 9:26; 1 John 3:5). Our sin separates us from God, but Messiah’s sacrifice draws us near (Heb. 7:19). The message of the gospel is that the Voice of the LORD - the very Word spoken from between the cherubim who hovered above the kapporet (the cover of the Ark of the Covenant) - ‘became flesh’ and ‘tabernacled among us’ (ἐσκήνωσεν ἐν ἡμῖν) for the purpose of becoming our substitutionary sacrifice for the guilt and defilement caused by our sins (John 1:1,14). Yeshua was ‘born to die’ (Heb. 10:5-7), and his life and mission was lived in relation to His sacrificial death (Mark 8:27-33). As the Apostle Paul put it: This is of ‘first importance’: Yeshua was born to die for our sins, to make us right with God, and was raised from the dead to vindicate the righteousness of God (1 Cor. 15:3-4). His sacrificial death eternally draws us near to God, and we can come boldly before God’s Presence on the basis of His shed blood for our sins... “The sacrificial system of Torah serves as a parable for us, or a metaphor of God’s great redemptive plan revealed in the life and death of Yeshua. The Mercy Seat (kapporet) represents both the Throne of God (Heb. 4:16; 2 Kings 19:15) as well as the cross of Yeshua, where propitiation for our sins was made (Rom. 3:25). Mercy and truth ‘met’ and were reconciled in the cross of Yeshua who serves as the everlasting Mediator of God’s grace (Psalm 85:10). The glory of the Torah of Moses was destined to fade away (2 Cor. 3:3-11), just as its ritual center (i.e., the Tabernacle/Temple) was a shadow (σκιά) to be replaced by the greater priesthood of Messiah (Heb. 10:1; 13:10). Yeshua is the Goal and the ‘Goel’ (i.e., גּאֵל, Redeemer) from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). ‘For the law made nothing perfect, but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, and that is how we draw near (karov) to God’ (Heb. 7:19). The sacrificial death of Yeshua caused the veil of the Temple to be torn asunder, revealing that access to the Presence of God is now available for all who come to God trusting in the finished work of God’s Son.” — John Parsons writing for HEBREW FOR CHRISTIANS on Facebook For more on Yom Kippur and Yeshua’s fulfillment of it, see: “Why the Sacrifices?” https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Vayikra/Zevachim/zevachim.html AND “Yom Kippur and the Gospel” https://www.hebrew4christians.com/Holidays/Fall_Holidays/Yom_Kippur/Gospel/gospel.html

Greg Jones

Good morning Sir. Thank you for your service. You might hear that a lot, but sincerely, thank you for your service. Another note. Ten verses into chapter 24 and I’m wondering what you did to someone on that JTJ team to have to explain chapter 24. First verse Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” Ten verses later 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. The Lord incited? David sinned? I’m stuck. I asked myself how does Chronicles handle this part of Samuel? Found this Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops… 1 Chronicles 21:1-2… Apparently bothered that writer too. To really make some kind sense out of 24 I had to read it going back and forth between 23 and 24. Thinking of the song 23:2-7 playing as a theme over verses 8-39 you have a tribute to David and his men. Applying the words of the theme song to chapter 24 it becomes a parody of something great to show a different truth. The process goes something like what follows. Now these are the last words of David: The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 2 Samuel 23:1-2 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.” 2 Samuel 24:1-2 The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. 2 Samuel 23:3-4 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?” 2 Samuel 24::3 “For does not my house stand so with God? 2 Samuel 23:5a But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. 2 Samuel 24:4 For he has made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure. For will he not cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 2 Samuel 23:5b Skipping some counting and logistical details and picking the account back up at But David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” 2 Samuel 24:10 “The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me; his word is on my tongue. 2 Sam 23:2 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad (aka good fortune) 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.’” 2Samuel 24:11 The Spirit of the Lord speaks by me: his word is on my tongue. 2 Samuel 23:2 Three choices pick one that I might do it to you 1. Three years famine in the land (you’ll have to be dependent on your neighbors) 2. Three months of retreat (everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and secure.) 3. Three days pestilence 2 Samuel 24:12-13 paraphrased with a added thought The God of Israel has spoken; the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God, he dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth. 2 Samuel 23:3-4 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.” 2 Samuel 24:14 At this point in the narrative I’m thinking “David” slap slap, let us fall into the hand of the Lord for his mercy is great, yeah do that and then just ask Him, “can we just pay the 1/2 schekel census tax along with a late fee since that seems to be the hiccup here (Exodus 30:12.) My takeaway by my reading there is a truth in chapter 23 that says But worthless men are all like thorns that are thrown away, for they cannot be taken with the hand; but the man who touches them arms himself with iron and the shaft of a spear, and they are utterly consumed with fire.” Sometimes you have to put your hands on some bad dudes. Another truth that says These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: And David knew some guys. Taking the two chapters together I see blended truths. In a fallen world some situations require the right kind of a SOB, or a group of them to show up to bring order to chaos. To that I hear 2 Samuel 23 saying go team. If you only see chaos in every situation you show up to, you’re probably a sorry SOB causing chaos and a bigger one than you is required to bring order to the situation. It can be pretty easy to fall into that. To that I hear 2 Samuel 24 say paradoxically David you’ve fallen into a trap, David meet the Angel of the Lord. I see these chapters together teaching the principle truth behind reaping and sowing. Just like what the deeper dive said when citing Galatians 6:7. I just see it more in the paradox created when blending the chapters.

Amy Lowther

1. Currently life is ok. When making choices of spending or making money, I currently stay close to God to make my choices in these areas. 2. My actions and ideas in the area of money have me seeking God’s help a lot. 3. God helps me know learning is ok, and we each get better as we learn and make positive adjustments from information we learn. 4. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross helps me know I have value.

Sue Bohlin

Thanks so much, Richard. Today's reading has two of my favorite stories concerning sacrifice. When David's friends snuck into enemy territory to fetch him some of the sweet water from Bethlehem, the gift of the water was wrapped in their sacrifice of risk for David. When David poured it out before the Lord (no doubt as a private act of worship, so he would not offend the men who risked their lives to get the water), that cost him what was dear to his heart. Then, at the end of the book, David makes this profound statement: "I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” Oh man. Sacrifice has to cost us something in order to qualify as sacrifice. But our flesh is selfish, and we can easily drift to the hope that we can offer a low-cost or no-cost sacrifice. (Like in elementary school, when we were challenged to donate a portion of our Halloween candy to "the poor kids," and I'd pick out what I didn't really want anyway. #candycorn Or when the Boy Scouts come to my door looking for donations to a canned food drive and I see what I have that I don't really need or want.) I am sent to Romans 12:1--"present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship." Sacrifice has to cost me something. Saying no to myself is costly to my pride and entitlement. Thank you, brother David.

Michael Scaman

This is an example of the Bible consistently self authenticating when David said “The Spirit of the LORD speaks by me; his word is on my tongue." It would also be an encouragement to read the Psalms. A further encouragement to read the Psalms is that David's songs calmed a troubled king and they can calm you too. David sinnd as as a result the temple is built He starts buying a threshing floor for the altar but parallel accounts show purchase of even more and larger land around it and then the temple.

Jason Cromwell

It seems to me these Chapters should swap places. The Census and Plague should be Chapter 23 and David's last words and acts of his brave men should be Chapter 24. When I worked for the Government there was a term that we used frequently that I will change here to "Save Your Own Skin." David once again makes the choice to save himself but lets 70,000 of his subjects die because of his mess up. Had I been David I would have chosen to flee from my enemies for 3 months. This chapter is definitely a sober reminder that our sins don't happen in a bubble, and how grateful we all should be for the Empty Tomb.