You may be seated. Our lines are in the back if you don't have one. Lessons from the Life of David, David's Sinful Folly. This is titled 2 Samuel chapter 24, just the first nine verses of that. 2 Samuel chapter 24, verses 1 through 9. Give me a moment while I turn there. So David, this is the end of David's life. David is in his 70s now at this point in time. We do not know exactly how long David lived. However, this is definitely his latter years as king. And David stands at a remarkable junction in history. You know, there's times in history we can see them, in the past. We're not so good at seeing them in the present, but a junction in history, a time when things were about ready to change. In fact, they already were changing, a remarkable junction. The Jews, I want to say Israel's ancient enemy, the Philistines, been, at least at this point in time, overcome, have been overcome after centuries of conflict. We went through 500 years of the judges and the Philistines were always there, a thorn in the side, but now David's enemies have been put to rest. The Philistines have been overcome. The descendants of Goliath, those powerful giants, they've been subdued. A number of descendants have been killed, so the giants have been subdued, and God has granted David deliverance from all his enemies, 2 Samuel 22, verse one. Wow, not only were the surrounding nations subdued, they were plundered. Vast quantities of gold, precious metals have been gathered by David, dedicated to the Lord. Those are detailed in 1 Chronicles 18, 1 Chronicles 20. Much of that material was used in the building of the temple. The sword of battle was about to be sheathed, and the reign of Solomon was about to be inaugurated, Solomon's reign of peace. David was a man of warfare, but Solomon his son would be a reign of peace, and the reign of Solomon was at hand, a glorious reign. The temple was about to be built. The materials were like stacked up there, big piles of things that they were gonna use to build the temple with. David had gathered much. for the temple, and God's house would be filled with His glory. A bright and blessed era was coming. It was only a shadow, though, of things to come. Only a shadow of things to come. I'm referring to our future and not David's future. The eye of faith, you know, there's two ways we can look at the world around us. We can look at it with the eye of faith, and the eye of faith as looking at this conjunction in David's history at this junction. The eye of faith sees the unfolding of the future that's provided, a strengthening of our faith, an encouragement for endurance. All these blessings have been given to us. The eye of faith sees those and grasps those and holds those tight. But there's also another way of looking at the world, and that's with the eye of sense, the eye of our perceiving things. And as we see Our successes, they can become our snares. Successes can become a snare. And so it was with Israel and with David in particular, a failure to recognize these gifts as God's undeserved mercy will result in pride and self-exaltation. You know, I've, not always been a flower gardener. Some of you may be surprised at that, but I only started working on the gardens, the church gardens, when we fired the ground crew. Before that, the ground crew took care of the gardens, and I didn't do it, I just walked past them, like perhaps you do as well. Occasionally I would throw a glance at that direction. But you know, flowers are just flowers. I was not raised or I didn't grow up as a flower gardener. I was a vegetable gardener. And that's why I grew vegetables, because vegetables are something you can eat. I mean, a flower is just kind of frivolous. It just sits there. So I grew vegetables. So I knew nothing about flowers. I've had to learn everything about the plants out there. I've made changes every year in what we grow. Some things grow better. I look things up on the internet. I even take pictures of flowers and do a Google search to find out what it is that's in our gardens. But anyway, so I've learned a lot. And you may notice me out there sometimes before or after church, and I'm just kind of standing and looking. I mean, watchfulness is what it's called. I'm looking at the plants. I'm seeing how they're doing, see if there might be some kind of pest that's infecting them. And I'm looking for weeds, weeds. You know, weeds flourish. in the sunshine, in the sprinkler system out there. The weeds just love it. So I'm always on the lookout for weeds. The eye of sense, you know, when success strikes, we must be on the lookout because, see, with our sinful nature, our sinful nature in the sunshine of God's mercies, weeds start to grow. We become forgetful of what God has done, and our carnal nature sprouts, germinates. We have to be on the watch for it. We need to be watchful. You know, watch and pray are the watchwords. Keep your eyes, especially in times of success. We see David's orders, first of all, point one you outlined, then David's opposition, and then this delayed outcome in his orders. But David's order, first of all, it's really just one order. It's a curious passage, one that's puzzled perhaps many people, 2 Samuel chapter 24. Let's read the first two verses. And again, it says, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And he moved David against them to say, go number Israel and Judah. "'For the king said to Joab, the captain, the host, "'which was with him, "'Go now through all the tribes of Israel, "'from Dan even to Beersheba, "'and number ye the people, "'that I may know the number of the people.'" We see this order that David gave, and it's a puzzling passage in two ways, really. First of all, what exactly was the sin of David? There's no doubt that there was a sin involved here, but what was it? And so that's the first puzzle, what was the sin? And then the source, where was it from? It says, the Lord moved David. And so where was the source from? After all, let's talk about the sin itself. What was the harm in numbering his men? What really was the harm in numbering his fighting men? Hadn't Moses counted the people twice? Shouldn't a shepherd know the number of his sheep? Shouldn't a military commander know his forces? I mean, after all, what evil has been done? And commentators have wrestled with this and have proposed a number of solutions. We won't talk about all of those today, but we may be sure It was a sin. We're sure it was a sin, a very great sin. David's heart told him so. Verse 10, it says, and David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David confessed, said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done. Wow. And God's judgment told us it was a very serious sin. It says 70,000. fell in three days, verse 15. So the Lord sent a pestilence among Israel from the morning until the time appointed, three days. There died of the people of Dan, even to Beersheba, 70,000 men. Now, to put that just in perspective, in our day, that would be equivalent to roughly two and a half to three million men. died in three days, three days. I mean, like COVID was like nothing when there's 3 million dead. I mean, there must've been panic everywhere, widespread fear. God's judgment was heavy upon Israel. Why was the numbering then such a great sin? You know, that's the puzzling part because we're not told. It doesn't tell us. anywhere in scripture why it was a sin. Many possibilities have been proposed. Perhaps there was even a combination of several of these. I will talk about a few of them this week and next week, but we do have a clue. We do have a clue. Verse one, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. Against Israel. Indicating this fault is not David's alone. The Lord was angry with Israel. Israel had indeed sinned grievously. First, they followed Absalom. They said, David, you know, Absalom's much younger. He looks more fit to be a king. He's riding those horses. He's got those 50 runners in front of him. I mean, Absalom's our man. So they followed Absalom. And then after David, the Lord delivers David, and David returns in victory, they follow Sheba. It's like, ah. Israel, what are you doing? Israel had sinned grievously twice, but this wasn't David's sin. David didn't follow Absalom, David didn't follow Sheba. One suggestion, I think it's an accompanying suggestion, is that David's sin, and Israel's in part as well, was pride. Pride, you see, it's one of those sins that seems to kind of worm its way in almost everything, pride. It just infiltrates, infuses our actions. In David's waning years here in his 70s, he'd achieved such success as had never been seen before in Israel's history. 1 Chronicles 4.17 tells us, and the fame of David went out into all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of him, of David, upon all nations. And with his great victories came forgetfulness, forgetfulness of the Lord. Instead, it's just natural, your heart is gonna be swelled with a sense of self-importance. It's just natural. You actually have to do something. You have to take out the wood mallet and kind of hammer that eagle back into place because eagle sprouts. It's just like one of those weeds there. You got to be on the watch for that sin that's going to pop up in the sunshine of God's mercies. So Israel then, as Israel now, was not filled, sadly, with men and women who walked by faith, who held fast to godly practices. Israel has been through 500 years through the judges, and they don't seem to be much different than what, well, they do seem, they were with, when Joshua and his descendants, Israel was walking with the Lord. It was after Joshua that Israel fell away from the Lord, and Israel has never really returned. So in David's day, Israel was not where God wanted them to be. David himself cried out in Psalm chapter 12, verse one, he says, help, Lord, for the godly man seeth, godly man seeth, seeth, for the faithful fail among the children of men. David had difficulty finding those who were faithful, even amongst his own family. Satan, indeed, find an easy target. amongst the men and women of Israel. And David now appears to have fallen into this trap, pride of heart, that may have moved him to commit this folly of numbering his men. David's desire to number his men, this is David's sinfulness, was just a natural action of a man who believed Israel had endured a period of rest, really had entered a period of rest and stability. And how many fighting men do we have? It's a kind of a natural action, but it's also an act of ownership. David was sadly, I believe, regarding Israel as his strength. And let's take inventory and see what we have here. Regarding Israel as his strength, it's indicative of a heart that appears to be, again, we're not told, so we're speculating a little bit. We're not told what David's sin was or specifically what Israel's sin was. But David's sin of numbering is indicative of a heart relying more upon men than upon God. What we have recorded here, I believe, is a warning against the dangers of success. The dangers of success, the perils of prosperity, you might call it. Perils of prosperity, they're a greater menace to our spiritual lives than adversity. Adversity drives us to the Lord. Success allows us to drift. away from him. Success. The perils of success, perils of prosperity. Here's a quote I got from somebody. I didn't write who it was. The fuller be our cup of joy, the steadier the hand required to hold it. The fuller our cup of joy, the steadier the hand required to hold it. If the time of our youth is dangerous because of hot passions, the season of old age is dangerous because of pride. Watch and pray are always our watchwords, lest we too enter into temptation. We see David's order, it's sinfulness, but now let's look at its source. We're told the Lord, move David to number the men. The Lord, the Lord made me do it. Well, we know right away that that's wrong. If you put that on your exam, you're gonna get a big red X on that one, because God is not the author of sin. This is not the author of sin. And actually, Scripture itself clarifies this quite a bit, because in 1 Chronicles chapter 21, and turn there for just a moment, keep your finger in 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles chapter 21. tells us, and Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel. Whoa, Satan did it, Satan did it. Well, God, well, God permitted Satan. God permitted Satan to tempt David. David was left to himself and without seeking the Lord, David yielded. to Satan's temptation, he sinned. He fell away quickly and rejected his servant's counsel. Out of hand, he says, Job, get busy. Wow. You see, God is the controller. God is the director of the universe. And when it serves his purposes, even Satan is summoned into the throne room. The Lord says, Satan, get in here. Satan comes dragging his feet. He has to come quickly, of course, so he's running. But Satan is summoned to the throne room. The Lord says, Satan, I have a job for you to do. Satan, it says in 1 Chronicles, Satan stood up against Israel, stood up, that's a strong word used there, the accuser of the brethren, he presented Israel's condition or state to the Lord. Here Satan is in fact, Satan is the chief prosecutor. And he's, how may I say, he has an excellent case as chief prosecutor. After all, Israel has repeatedly rebelled against David. I mean, Satan is saying, Israel did this, look at this. And Israel has not experienced a religious reformation. despite judge after judge, mercy after mercy, victory and deliverance after deliverance. Israel has not experienced religious reformation. Satan, the prosecutor says, their prosperity instead has resulted in pride, ungodliness. Look at the state of the nation. Whoa, this is looking really bad for Israel. And three years of famine. Remember those three years of famine earlier because of the Gibeonites? That failed to make any lasting changes in Israel either. So, Satan makes his case. He stood up, says his prosecutor, and God left David to be tempted by Satan because God, the Lord, was displeased with Israel. Wow. So here's the million-dollar question. Did David have to sin? because it was God's will. I mean, after all, it was God's will to judge determination. He was going to judge Israel. And now he's using David, allows David to be tempted by Satan, to carry all this out. So is David just a pawn in the hands of the Lord? No way, absolutely not. But Israel's sin did contribute to David's fall. And David was tempted by Satan because of Israel's sin, and then David fell. Does that not perhaps sound a bit familiar? You know, last year, it seemed like, last summer in particular, it seemed like every time I opened up the paper, I saw another pastor in the Dallas, Fort Worth area, falling. Pastors falling, not just, not pastors from churches we don't care about, pastors from Baptist churches. Maybe they weren't independent, but they were still Baptists or cousins. Wow, pastors falling. Perhaps more than one pastor. You know, we'd look at this and we'd say, well, that man, that no good, that rotten scoundrel, well, how'd he get away with that? But perhaps we've been too quick to judge that pastor. They've been tripped up by the devil, but perhaps it's because the Lord had a grievance with the congregation. Whoa. I mean the church, when a pastor leaves under that kind of a cloud, the church is in a sorry state. This church is placed into a bad state. I mean the church is scrambling to try to fill the gaps and people, members are leaving and things are dissolving and falling apart. Perhaps the Lord had a grievance against the congregation. We don't know, all right. I'm not in any of those churches. I'm just saying don't be so quick to put all the blame on the pastor. Let's you know, do our best to be good church members. The Lord doesn't grieve with us and allows our pastor to be tempted, such he can't handle, and he falls, and then our church is thrown into disarray. I mean, it started with us. That's how it started with Israel. God wanted to judge Israel. So he used David. Many solemn principles are illustrated here. David didn't have to sin. David could have said, no way, Satan. I'm not going to number the people. I mean, the Lord would have judged Israel by another means. The Lord still would have judged Israel, that was His determination, but it would have been through another means. We'll see that same thing, same principle being played out in David's opposition. Point two in your outline, David's opposition, back to 2 Samuel, verse three. 2 Samuel 24, and Joab said unto the, well, let's read verse two. For the king said to Joab, the captain of the host, which was with him, go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people. Here's the opposition. Job said unto the king, now the Lord thy God add unto the people how many so ever there be, a hundredfold, and that the eyes of my Lord the king may see it. But why doth my Lord the king delight in this thing? Job's concern, a point two A. Another surprise twist here. David's commander, army commander, his general, objects. to these orders. Wow, a surprise twist here. His first, Job's first objection is pretty simple. There's no need for a census. I mean, you could say Job trying to get out of a job. There's no need to mow the lawn, dad. It's only a half inch high, higher than the homeowners association allows. You know, there's no need to mow it yet. We can wait till next week. You know, I used to mow my lawn every week, every week. But then I realized, hey, And, like, June and July, it doesn't grow that fast. And in St. Augustine, it grows straight up. It doesn't look scraggly. It can go every two... Actually, my next-door neighbor says, I cut back my lawn service every two weeks. I said, hey, I could do the same thing. So middle of summer, I go every other week, save some time. But, you know, maybe jobs just trying to get out of a job. There's no need for a census here, David. There's no enemy, after all. We don't need to take... a census now. I mean a census is, it has limited value after all. I mean we could say okay we have a hundred fighting men, we take our census, but next year it's not going to be the same. I mean some have moved, some have died, some are no longer fit. So you need to continually, so there's no need to take a census. And David gives no reason for his orders. Therefore Job's pretty sure it could only be pride, pride driven. Job's second objection is a little more complex. You see, there's no reason we have, in scripture, I don't believe any reason to believe Job was a righteous man. In fact, I believe the opposite. Job was a totally unrighteous man. So we have no reason to believe Job was righteous. But that doesn't mean he wasn't religious. Job was not righteous, but he almost certainly was religious. That is, he believed in a God of some sort, and Job was also very politically astute. In fact, he was brilliant, may I say, in maneuvering and choosing the most advantageous path for himself. Job was brilliant at that, and his concern is David, You might make God angry here. You might make God angry. David had no orders, and indeed he didn't, from the Lord. Therefore, his only motivation was likely pride. And Job could see, with the eyes of the world, Job could see that David was rocking the boat. You know, that means like, hey, don't stand up in the boat when we're trying to go somewhere. The canoe, I mean, get down, keep the center of gravity low in the canoe. If you're standing up, you're liable to tip over. The entire canoe. David's rocking the boat here. His proposal, Job can see, is fraught with danger. And Job's counsel here, point to be, is simple. Cease and desist, David. Let God alone. Don't provoke him. David, what are you doing? What are you doing provoking God? The principle here is an important one. The man of the world, many a man of the world, exercises more common sense than a saint who's out of communion with God. A man of the world here exercising more common sense than a saint out of communion with God. The child of the world here, Job, I believe, perceived what David could not. Don't bring divine judgment down upon us." We see then point 2C, Job's captains. They were also united. It says, Verse four, notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against Job and against the captains of the host. Wow. David, they were united in their opposition. Should have been a warning to David. Hello, David. Job, your commander, says it's a bad idea. And all your captains say it's a bad idea too. You see, the Lord allowed David to be tempted. And certainly he did. He said, Satan, Go ahead, work on David. But the Lord did not forsake David. The Lord here is sending a warning to David through his captains, like this is a dumb idea, David, don't do it, don't do it. Unexpected obstacles are placed in David's path that he should have heeded. So David's sin here is doubly inexcusable. We see this interweaving here, in the limited time I have, I want to work this one point. We see this interweaving of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. We see it, it's a tapestry, if you would, and we're never going to be able to unweave it in this life and understand it. But we can admire it, this interweaving of human responsibility and divine sovereignty. It was God's purpose to chastise Israel through David's folly. Yet, God rebuked David through, of all men, Joab, his hated general. God rebuked him, wow, human responsibility, divine sovereignty, and this interweaving of them. When God in his merciful providence places a hindrance in our path, so I'm taking this principle and bringing it up forward to the present day, when God in his merciful providence places a hindrance in our path, even if it be a rebuke from an unbeliever, We should pause and consider whether perhaps a folly of our ways is placing us and others in imminent danger. When there's a hindrance, when we're rebuked, pause and consider, seek the Lord. David didn't seek the Lord. David didn't ask the Lord, is this a good idea, Lord? The Lord would have surely given him some direction. But David, when a hindrance is placed, pause. and consider. A delayed outcome, verses four through nine. We read verse four, verse five, and they passed over Jordan and pitched in Eor on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad toward Gaza. And they came to Gilead unto the land of Ta-Temud, that's an interesting land, and they came to Danjan and to Zidon, and about to Zidon, and came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites, and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beersheba, So when they had gone throughout all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and 20 days, and Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king. And there were in Israel 800,000 valiant men that drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000 men. A delayed outcome, but Joab was strongly opposed to this action. In fact, 1 Chronicles 21, verse six, tells us the king's word was abominable. to job. Abominable. Yet, And so maybe perhaps because of that, Joab carries out the king's orders, but very slowly. Nine, almost 10 months here, Joab goes throughout the land slowly. It was after all of the Lord, it says, the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. It was of the Lord and what God decreed will come to pass, but that doesn't excuse Joab. Joab, what are you doing? If the king's word is abominable, you should have said, no, I'm not going, David. I quit. I quit. Send me to the firing squad. I'm not going to be a general. I'm not doing it. Joab didn't have to follow the king's orders. Joab should have refused. You see, the guilt of this wicked deed rests upon both the one that ordered it and the one that carried it out. The guilt is wicked deed. You see, it's never right to do wrong, Joab. It's never right to do wrong. The king is telling you to do wrong. It's abominable. You know it's wrong. Don't do it. Don't do it. Well, that's an interesting challenge, isn't it? Because the military are taught to obey orders without question, but hey, Not every order is right. Not every order is right. So you say, I could be court-martialed. Well, take it like a man, all right? It's never right to do wrong. 10 months pass. Job slowly makes his way around Israel. We saw that long list of places he went. The Lord is giving David time to repent. 10 months, David's saying, you know, where is Job? I mean, they didn't have internet in those days. Maybe messengers came back from time to time, Job's entire, Job's and Zidon. I said, why he's going so slow? Come on, Lord. I want to know how many men there are. He's going to have to go back and recount them by the time he gets back. The Levites were exempted. from military service, as they should have been. The Benjamites, Saul's tribe, and the stuff we read, part we read, were also exempted. They couldn't be really trusted. Saul's tribe, we've seen how they, Sheba was from Saul's tribe. They led the rebellions again and again. They were slow to respond. So they weren't numbered. But there's some different numbers here. presented in scripture. It's been a source, you know, there's people out there who just delight in trying to find an error in the Bible. And here's a spot, if you're watching online, this is not an error in the Bible, but there are two different numbers presented in 2 Samuel, the portion we just read, and in 1 Chronicles. In 2 Samuel, Israel has 800,000 valiant men, but in 1 Chronicles, there's 1,100,000 men who drew the sword. Ooh, that's quite a difference, 800,000, 1,100,000. In Judah, 2 Samuel numbers 500,000. But in 1 Chronicles, there's only 470,000 who drew the sword. Well, did you notice those qualifiers? Qualifiers, these two accounts complement each other. They do not contradict. Complement, not contradict. The qualifiers explain the difference. In Israel, there's 800,000 valiant men. So apparently there's quite a few men who drew the sword but aren't very valiant, 300,000 to be specific. 300,000 not so valiant men who can pull the sword out, but they're not going to be much use, David. There's 800,000 who are valiant. And in Judah, 500,000 men, apparently 30,000 of them did not draw the sword. Maybe they were slingshotters. I don't know. But there's other ways to fight. I mean, 30,000 men with slingshots? That sounds like a pretty useful group to have, slingshots. Anyway, it's not a contradiction. It's a compliment. The numbers were likely a disappointment to David. We're not told how he responds. But 500 years in Canaan. had nowhere equaled 470 years in Egypt. I mean, 470 years in Egypt, Israel had gone from 70 to 600,000 able men. So if you add up women and children, there was maybe 2 million, 3 million who left and crossed the Red Sea. I mean, in 470 years now, 500 years in Judah, they'd gone from 600,000 fighting men to, well, just about doubled. It's like, that's 500 years. We only doubled when we went from 70 to 600,000 in 470 years. A disappointment. A sobering assessment, perhaps, for David. So it is, our final point. When we set our hearts on attaining some earthly object, and I'm sure you've done this, set your heart on obtaining some earthly object, I just can't wait for my birthday." You know, you've got your heart set on something you want for your birthday or something, or whatever that earthly object may be. If, I say if because oftentimes we don't realize our goal, but if we do realize our goal, that earthly object we want, that person we're seeking after, that position we want, we're seeking after. If we realize our goal, we often find The completion is a disappointment. The completion is a disappointment. It's not being, it's not quite what we had imagined. I'm in my new position now that I've been working so hard to get. And hey, that's a bummer. I like what I used to do. There's too much pressure here. And I'm asked to do things I don't think are morally ethical. And wow, and my boss is a tyrant. I like my old position. Let me read that again. So it is, when we set our hearts, that was David, he set his heart on numbering Israel. When we set our hearts on obtaining some earthly object, if we realize our goal, we often find the completion of that desire is a disappointment. It's not being quite what we had imagined. We are, in the words of Colossians chapter three, verse two, to set our affections on things above. Set your affections on things above, not on things of this world. May I say they're always going to disappoint. Always going to disappoint you. They're never going to be quite what you wanted. And so it was with David. Undoubtedly, he was a bit disappointed at this. And especially after his heart smites him, as we'll study in our next lesson next week.