But where is the king?
He has stayed in Jerusalem, leaving the attack to Joab. (1).
Although not mentioned here in Chronicles, we know that these circumstances led to David's grievous sin :
He saw Bathsheba from his rooftop, wanted this beautiful woman for himself, took her, and caused the death of her husband Uriah to cover up his crime when she fell pregnant.
Meanwhile, at Rabbah Joab was having great success, and thinking his sin had been entirely concealed, David came to Rabbah to complete the conquest, taking "a vast amount of spoil from the city".
The crown of Malcam (or Molech) was placed (seemingly momentarily according to the research notes, because of its weight) on David's head, signifying total victory over both the Ammonites and their god. (2).
As for the city's inhabitants, they were "put to work at sawing stones and working with sharp iron instruments ". (3).
Some earlier scholars have described David's actions as cruel and barbaric, having misunderstood the original text.
However, we now have more accurate modern translations that make it clear these people were simply put to use as labourers. (See research notes).
This is entirely in accordance with what we know of David's character and temperament.
War now breaks out at Gezer with the Philistines, and Sippai, one of the Repha-im is killed by Sibbecai, one of David's mighty men. (4).
And when war again breaks out, we learn that Goliath, whom David killed as a boy, had a brother named Lahmi. He is killed by Elha'nan the son of Jair.
At Gath "a man of extraordinary size, with 6 fingers on each hand and 6 toes on each foot", also a descendant of the Repha-im, "kept taunting Israel ". (4-7).
The research notes say these digits (24 in all) "pictured Satan's visible dictatorial organization...it attaches to the visible organization of men under Satan, the god of this world ".
Neither their extraordinary size and strength, nor being under the aegis of Satan, saved these men;
"they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants ". (8).
Ch 21.
The census.
Why was Jehovah so angered?
The research notes say "we simply do not know ".
Of itself, a census was not against the law. Israel had been legitimately numbered in the past, and this at Jehovah's direction ; Ex 30:11-16, Num 1:1-3, and Num 26:1&2.
But in this case, for some unspecified reason, it definitely was a sin.
Even Joab recognized this and protested. He actually said to David "why should he (David) become a cause of guilt to Israel?"
In the opening words of the chapter we read "Then Satan stood up against Israel" and incited David to this action. (1-3).
The research notes, and QFR 69 3/15, say Jehovah was displeased with the Israelites and allowed Satan (or possibly someone under Satan's influence) to bring this upon them.
Rotheram's translation reads "He suffered David to be moved against them ".
David's order prevailed, and Joab took the count, but with reluctance.
Levi was exempted by law (Num 1:49),
and Joab didn't include Benjamin "because the king's word was detestable to him ", and he evidently either stopped or delayed the count until David came to his senses. ( It's also possible he didn't want to stir up trouble with the tribe of Saul).
The count amounted to 1,100,000 men in Israel, and 470,000 in Judah.
This differs somewhat from the account in Samuel, but different methods of reckoning harmonize the figures.
"Now this was very displeasing to the true God ", and David became very well aware of this. He said "I have sinned...I have acted very foolishly ", and he pleads for forgiveness. (7&8).
Jehovah sends Gad to David with 3 choices:
Three years of famine, three months of being swept away by his enemies, or three days "of the sword of Jehovah - pestilence...with Jehovah's angel bringing destruction ". (11&12).
David chooses to "fall into the hand of Jehovah", and 70,000 people die in the pestilence. (13&14).
Even Jerusalem is in peril; " the true God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it". (15).
But before that occurs, Jehovah says "It is enough!".
One commentator says :
"The pestilence, terrible as it was...was shortened from three days to less than a day, 'from the morning to the time of the evening sacrifice '".
Josephus corroborates this:
" Now there perished of this disease, which began in the morning and lasted to the hour of dinner, seventy thousand...but David had put on sackcloth and lay on the ground, entreating God, and begging that the distemper might now cease and he would be satisfied with those that had already perished ".
The bible says David "raised his eyes" and "saw Jehovah's angel" and he and the elders "at once threw themselves down with their faces to the ground ".
He says "I am the one who sinned...but these sheep, what have they done?" (16
70,000 deaths for David's sin?
It's clear from the parallel account in 2 Sam 24:1 that something that predates the census had been done to cause Jehovah's anger to blaze against Israel.
Since this was near the end of David's reign, it is suggested in the research notes that their rebellions against Jehovah and his appointed king when they supported Absalom, and later Sheba the son of Birchri, could have been responsible for Jehovah's anger.
Furthermore, as sinners, no one has any special right to life. Additionally, those who died could have been guilty of some serious but unmentioned sin. The bible simply doesn't say.
With David having asked for the punishment to "come against me " rather than upon his people, Jehovah's angel tells Gad to tell David to go and erect an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
David offers to buy the site, but Ornan wants to give it to David.
However David says he will not "take what is yours" and offer sacrifices to Jehovah when it has cost him nothing.
So he pays Ornan 600 gold shekels for the site, and builds an altar to Jehovah there.
This becomes the place where the temple will be built,
and Jehovah "answered him with fire from the heavens on the altar of burnt offering ". (16-26).
Jehovah orders his angel "to return his sword to its sheath ", and when David sees that "Jehovah answered him at the threshing floor ", he continues to sacrifice there.
The Tabernacle remains at Gibeon, but such had been David's terror "because of the sword of Jehovah's angel ", he'd not been able to go there "to consult God ". (27-30).
Ch 22.
David's life and reign is drawing to a close, and he gives thought to how he can help Solomon after he's gone.
He assigns the foreign residents to cut and shape the stones for the temple, he accumulates iron and cedar timbers, because "Solomon is young and inexperienced, and the house...for Jehovah is to be exceedingly magnificent ".
"So David prepared materials in great quantities before his death ". (1-5).
He gives Solomon instructions, and says "As for me...Jehovah's word came to me...'You will not build a house for my name, for you have shed a great deal of blood...You will have a son who will be a man of peace...and I will grant Israel peace and quiet in his days. He is the one who will build a house for my name'".
(6-10).
So David says to Solomon "May Jehovah be with you, and may you...build the house of Jehovah your God, just as he has spoken concerning you ".
David asks for Solomon to be given "discretion and understanding ",
and says that if Solomon keeps the law of Jehovah his God, and carefully observes "the regulations and the judgments that Jehovah ordered Moses to give to Israel", then he will be successful.
He exhorts his son to be courageous and strong, to not be fearful, and to "get up and begin the work ".
The princes of Israel are ordered to help Solomon,
and David reminds him ;
"Is not Jehovah your God with you, and has he not given you rest on every side?...
Now determine with all your heart and soul to seek Jehovah your God, and start building the sanctuary of Jehovah the true God ". (11-19).
Lesson for us.
My grandmother used to say "the devil makes work for idle hands"! And it appears David's hands were much too idle, he should have been at Rabbah instead of strolling around on his rooftop.
We tend to get into trouble when we're not as busy in the truth as we could be.
Furthermore, David's successes seem to have blinded him to the gravity of his sin when he eventually turned up at the end of the siege. The conquest was completed, but in no way did the victory over Ammon and their god Malcam cancel out the sin.
We have our successes in the work Jehovah has given us to do, just as David did, but how many times has it been stressed that our Christian conduct must measure up to our efforts in the ministry? We cannot willfully sin, and yet fool ourselves into thinking that can be compensated for by the hours we put in, the success we enjoy.
Ch 20 relates how the inhabitants of Rabbah were put to work, not treated with barbarity, as some think.
Our precious modern translation is so very valuable in "setting things straight ", and the research notes are worth their weight in gold.
We can use these wonderful resources to bring honor to Jehovah's name and teach people the truth.
We read of three of the Repha-im in this chapter; Sippai, Lahmi, and the man with the extra fingers and toes.
They were all of extraordinary size and strength, and the third man was like Goliath in that he kept taunting Israel.
This tactic of Satan, and those he uses, is familiar to us :
In Prov 27:11, Jehovah says "Be wise, my son...So that I can make a reply to him who taunts me",
and Rev 12:10 speaks of "the accuser of our brothers...who accuses them day and night before our God!"
These huge men, enemies of Jehovah God and of Israel, were killed by men of ordinary stature and strength who, although among David's mightiest warriors, didn't come close to them in size or strength.
Why were they able to be taken down?
The 89 WT 1/1 says "Satan's world continues to produce political champions, comparable to Goliath's kinsmen...these taunt Jehovah...but as always, the battle and the victory belong to Jehovah ".
Since we have no explanation recorded in the bible as to why the census so displeased Jehovah (and as well as the possibilities mentioned earlier, a wrong motive on David's part might have also been a factor), we need to have total trust in Jehovah, knowing he always does what is right.
And Jehovah showed mercy, cutting the punishment short. If we have sinned, we can take great comfort from this. We are only ever disciplined to the proper degree.
And although we don't see fire coming down from heaven signifying Jehovah's acceptance of our repentance and sorrow, he does show us in so many ways that he hasn't cast us off.
Solomon was young and inexperienced, but he was Jehovah's choice to build the temple.
It's worth remembering that David wasn't prevented from this because Jehovah disapproved of the wars he'd had to fight, the blood he'd been forced to spill.
On the contrary, David was never condemned for the wars he'd fought.
He was hard pressed by Jehovah's enemies for most of his reign, enemies who wanted to wipe Jehovah's people off the face of the earth.
He was courageous and loyal, he was the king Jehovah used to firmly establish the nation from which the Messiah would come.
He said Jehovah "handed the inhabitants of the land over to me " (22:18).
His reign prepared the way for the peace to come.
And Jehovah loved him and rewarded him greatly.
This post is by Ludwika of JWT
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