Bible Tuesday - David Part 28

So David wants a census. 

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like a big deal.  Israel has had a census before.  But this census was not God’s idea.  And David’s commander, Joab, seems to sense that this is a colossally bad idea. (Did I mention that I need to write a post about Joab?) And he asks David not to do it. Here is another big clue into David's character.  David has not surrounded himself with ‘yes men’.  Joab feels completely comfortable questioning David’s decision.  Nevertheless, David decides to go forward anyway.

But God was displeased with this thing. 
1 Chron 21:7

And God gives David a choice of punishments

And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”  And the Lord spoke to 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 said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will:  either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.”  Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
1 Chronicles 21:8-13

So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.  And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people.”
1 Chronicles 21:14-17

A couple of things stand out to me here.

1^st – David is taking responsibility. He is trying to save his people from the consequences of his actions.

2^nd- The angel of the Lord.  Here’s another "The" angel moment.  Might be Jesus.  Might not be.  Fascinates me nonetheless.

3^rd – The angel is standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.  Spoiler Alert:  This is going to be the site of the temple.  So think about all the things you have ever heard about the temple mount.  Past, present and future.  The most coveted piece of real estate in the world. And here is your first introduction to it. 

4^th – Here is the big one.  God allowed 70,000 men of Israel to be killed as punishment for David’s census.  I can hear you already.  “THAT’S NOT FAIR!!!”  And here is the truth.  God is always right and God is always good.  He is not measured by your opinion.  We see a moment in time while God sees the panorama of ALL time from the beginning until the end.  Yes, our human sensibility recoils from the idea that 70,000 innocent men died for David’s mistake.  But the Bible says “there is a way that seems right to man and in the end it leads to destruction.” (Proverbs 14:12)  The point I am trying to make (albeit badly) here is that time and again, naysayers will point out these type of biblical incidents where God seemingly does something that they just think is wrong.  It usually goes something like: "How could a loving God allow…fill in the blank with whatever.”  And the hard answer is that God is love and you don’t get to define what love means.  We are fallen people who live in a fallen world.  You can go back less than 100 years in history and find a completely different set of moral dictates.  Go back 100 more years and they will change again.  But God does not change. You’ll notice that David does not shake his finger in the face of God here.  He begs for mercy.  And the funny thing is, he begs for mercy after God has already granted it.  “and He relented from the calamity."

When I said earlier that God doesn’t change, I should have added this caveat.  Sometimes God relents.  It happens quite abit throughout the Old Testament.  The Israelites do something horrible.  God rightly judges them and decrees annihilation, destruction, etc. But then His love for His people stops him.  And the ultimate manifestation of this love forestalling destruction is Jesus.  God rightly judges and condemns all of us.  But, through Jesus, He relents.