Page 669 - The MacArthur Daily Bible

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JUNE 29
7 And God was displeased with this thing;
JUNE 29 therefore He struck Israel. So David said to
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God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have
done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the
iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very
1 Chronicles 21:1–22:19
foolishly.”
Now Satan stood up against Israel, and 9 Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David’s seer,
21 moved David to number Israel. So Da- saying, “Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says
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vid said to Joab and to the leaders of the peo- the LORD: “I offer you three things; choose one
ple, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to of them for yourself, that I may do it to
Dan, and bring the number of them to me that you.” ’ ”
I may know it.” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him,
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“Thus says the LORD: ‘Choose for yourself, ei-
ther three years of famine, or three months to
be defeated by your foes with the sword of
your enemies overtaking you, or else for three
21:1 Satan…moved. Second Samuel 24:1 days the sword of the LORD—the plague in the
reports that it was God who moved David.This land, with the angel of the LORD destroying
apparent discrepancy is resolved by under- throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now
standing that God sovereignly and permis- consider what answer I should take back to
sively uses Satan to achieve His purposes.God
uses Satan to judge sinners (Mark 4:15; 2 Cor. Him who sent me.”
13 And David said to Gad, “I am in great dis-
4:4), to refine saints (Job 1:8–2:10; Luke
22:31,32), to discipline those in the church tress. Please let me fall into the hand of the
(1 Cor. 5:1–5; 1 Tim. 1:20), and to further purify LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do
obedient believers (2 Cor. 12:7–10). Neither not let me fall into the hand of man.”
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God nor Satan forced David to sin (James So the LORD sent a plague upon Israel, and
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1:13–15), but God allowed Satan to tempt seventy thousand men of Israel fell. And God
David and he chose to sin.The sin surfaced his sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he
proud heart and God dealt with him for it. was destroying, the LORD looked and relented
number Israel. David’s census brought of the disaster, and said to the angel who was
tragedy because, unlike the census in Moses’ destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your
time (Num. 1; 2) which God had commanded, hand.” And the angel of the LORD stood by the
this census by David was to gratify his pride in threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
the great strength of his army and consequent 16 Then David lifted his eyes and saw the
military power.He was also putting more trust angel of the LORD standing between earth and
in his forces than in his God. He was taking heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword
credit for his victories by the building of his stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and
great army. This angered God, who moved the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their
Satan to bring the sin to a head.
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faces. And David said to God, “Was it not I
who commanded the people to be numbered?
I am the one who has sinned and done evil
And Joab answered, “May the LORD make indeed; but these sheep, what have they done?
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His people a hundred times more than they Let Your hand, I pray, O LORD my God, be
are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my against me and my father’s house, but not
lord’s servants? Why then does my lord against Your people that they should be
require this thing? Why should he be a cause plagued.”
of guilt in Israel?” 18 Therefore, the angel of the LORD com-
Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed manded Gad to say to David that David should
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against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and go and erect an altar to the LORD on the
went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusa- threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. So Da-
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lem. Then Joab gave the sum of the number vid went up at the word of Gad, which he had
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of the people to David. All Israel had one mil- spoken in the name of the LORD. Now Ornan
lion one hundred thousand men who drew the turned and saw the angel; and his four sons
sword, and Judah had four hundred and sev- who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan
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enty thousand men who drew the sword. But continued threshing wheat. So David came
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he did not count Levi and Benjamin among to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David.
them, for the king’s word was abominable to And he went out from the threshing floor, and
Joab. bowed before David with his face to the
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