Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 24:1-9; 1 Chronicles 21:1-6; 2 Samuel 24:10-17; 1 Chronicles 21:7-17; 2 Samuel 24:18-25; 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:19 (Do you really know what the Word of God says for your life or do you just trust someone else’s beliefs?)

I got a little lost in the reading today.  Yesterday, David was glorifying the Lord for overcoming his enemies and today’s first words are that the Lord was angry with Israel.

First, it’s interesting to note that there “appears” to be a contradiction with the two books that document the same story.

2 Samuel 24:1 Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and HE INCITED David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”

1 Chronicles 21:1  SATAN ROSE UP AGAINST Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

2 Samuel says the Lord incited David against Israel, but 1 Chronicles says Satan rose up against Israel and incited David.  So who incited David?  The Lord or Satan?  Is this a contradiction?

We already know that God does not himself tempt anyone:

James 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me,”  For God cannot be tempted by evil, NOR DOES HE TEMPT ANYONE;”

But we also know that God does tests hearts:

Job 1:8 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.”

1 Thessalonians 2:4 We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.

1 Chronicles 29:17 I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.

2 Chronicles 32:31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

Proverbs 17:3 The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

Deuteronomy 8:2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

And we know that God uses Satan to do the enticing:

Job 1:12 The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.

Genesis 3:1, 5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” … “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Matthew 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Even though 1 Samuel doesn’t outrightly say it in this passage, knowing that God does not tempt, the implication is that God allowed Satan to entice David into conducting the census, so it seems to me there is no contradiction here.

So regarding this census, for some reason God is angry at Israel and allows Satan to entice David who takes the bait and declares a census.  There must be something significant about taking a census for this incident to be determined sinful.

Recall back a few chapters when David first commanded the ark be taken to the City of David, but he didn’t heed God’s commands regarding movement of the ark, and Uzzah is struck down when he touches the ark.  Is there any instruction then about how a census should be taken and did David follow the instruction?

Exodus 30:12-16  “When you take a census of the Israelites to count them, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them. ¹³ Each one who crosses over to those already counted is to give a half shekel, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs. This half shekel is an offering to the Lord. ¹⁴ All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. ¹⁵ The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives. ¹⁶ Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the tent of meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the Lord, making atonement for your lives.”

I’m guessing since the Lord sent a plague on Israel (2 Samuel 24:15), and since there was no mention of paying a ransom for each life, that David failed to follow God’s instruction regarding the census, and it resulted in the loss of many lives.

This really has some strong implications about the importance of every single person knowing what the Word of God says and following it, not just trusting what someone else says.  I can’t help but think of the many denominations we have within Christianity, yet their differing and sometimes strong opposing views on what it takes to become a child of God.  We can’t all be right, and while I love that God does extend grace, will his grace extend to those who have an “honest” misunderstanding of God’s Word?  (Honest meaning that even though they had the opportunity, they didn’t check out the word of God for themselves, they just trusted in someone else’s knowledge.)  We see here that 70,000 Israelites died before David acknowledged his sin before the Lord.  It’s an example I think each of us should not take lightly.

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

 Matthew 7:21-23  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 5:1-3; 1 Chronicles 11:1-3; 1 Chronicles 12:23-40; 2 Samuel 5:17-25; 1 Chronicles 14:8-17; 2 Samuel 5:6-10; 1 Chronicles 11:4-9; 1 Chronicles 3:4; 2 Samuel 5:13; 2 Samuel 5:4-5; 2 Samuel 5:11-12; 1 Chronicles 14:1-2; 1 Chronicles 13:1-5; 2 Samuel 6:1-11; 1 Chronicles 13:6-14 (what do you mean, I shouldn’t just trust my pastor?)

Another reminder today that even though something seems right to us, it is important that we know what God expects from us.  During Saul’s reign, the ark sat for 40 years at the house of Abinadab.  We also know that no one inquired of it during Saul’s reign (1 Chronicles 13:3 Let us bring the ark of our God back to us, for we did not inquire of it during the reign of Saul.”), so maybe this is a deeper look into why Saul was rejected, because even though he was a religious man, he really did reject seeking God’s will and trusted in his own wisdom and reasoning.

I’m curious.  We see in our reading today that David confers with each of his officers, and then he says to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you …”  Now he also says, “if it is the will of the Lord our God,” but then we read, “The whole assembly agreed to do this, BECAUSE IT SEEMED RIGHT TO ALL THE PEOPLE,” but nowhere do we read that David actually inquired of the Lord as we see he did before attacking the Philistines (2 Samuel 5:19, 23 and 1 Chronicles 14:10, 14).  You’d think in something so important as the ark of God, David would have inquired of the Lord, but he didn’t.

As a matter of fact, either 40 years had passed and it slipped David’s mind or David was not aware that God had given very specific rules about who and how the ark of the Covenant could be moved.  So is he mad at God because God carried out what He said would happen to anyone who wrongly touched the ark or is he mad at himself or the people around him who should have known the law?  Is he frustrated that he didn’t inquire of God first?

We also see in 1 Chronicles 13:12 that David is afraid of God and wonders, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?”  SPOILER ALERT:  I read ahead a couple of chapters, and we find three months later that David now knows who and how the ark may be moved to Jerusalem, and does so God’s way and it works!

So here’s what I take from this … good intentions aren’t enough when it comes to our Christian walk.  David had good intentions.  He wanted to restore the ark to the temple.  He wanted to be a man of God and inquire of the Lord through the ark as had been done in generations past, but we see that even though he had good intentions, he did not know what the Lord’s instructions were and it resulted in the life of Uzzah.

The practical application that can be drawn from this is simple:  We are each responsible to know what the Word of God says.  Trusting that the pastor of a church is teaching us the truth, trusting our parents, trusting a teacher, a friend, a spouse, a book, a blog, or even our own wisdom … because they sound “good” or what they’re teaching sounds “right” … this is not enough.

When you think about eternity and where you will spend it, would you wager your soul trusting man rather than knowing for yourself what the scriptures taught?  David was appointed king of Judah and eventually king of Israel, he was in the lineage of Christ himself, he was a godly man, yet someone under his rule lost their life because of his either forgetting or not knowing what the law was!

So let’s make it practical.  If you profess to be a Christian where do you stand on these topics in your own life (I am NOT suggesting you judge others, this is for personal application) ….

• Drunkenness
• Sleeping with someone outside of being married (including everything but the act of sexual intercourse)
• Living with someone before you get married, even if you’re “engaged”
• Using foul language
• Lust
• Having an affair
• Hating someone
• Getting even
• Lying
• Anger
• Looking at pornography
• Stealing (even a pen from work)

Regarding your eternity, do you know what it really takes to become a Child of God and what living as a Christian means or do you just trust what someone told you?  There are many denominations within the Christian religion and it might surprise you to know there are many beliefs on what it takes to be saved, but not all of them can be right, yet they each have pretty convincing arguments if you don’t have a good understanding of the Bible.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to sacrifice my eternity trusting that someone else did their homework properly!

Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 1:9 – 4:11 (rebuking sin, consequences)

In reading about Eli and his sons, we know that they were Levites, that Eli was a priest, and his sons were servants to the priests (1 Sam. 2:13-15).  We also know that his sons were sinning against the Lord’s offering, that they did not consider important what God had required of them when it came to the offerings, and that they were actually in contempt against the Lord.  We also read in verse 22 that Eli rebuked his sons, yet we also see that after the rebuke, his sons are basically allowed to continue in their sin.  Furthermore, when the prophecy comes against the house of Eli, we read that Eli actually participated in the sin, even if by omission when he is asked, “Why do you scorn my sacrifice and offering ….Why do you honor your sons more than me by fattening yourselves [eating] on the choice parts of every offering?”  

That brings me to a couple of thoughts … one is regarding parenting and how important it is that we not only teach our children to follow the Lord, but that we follow through on imposing consequences when they do wrong.  That was something difficult for me to do when our children were younger.  I was more worried about them being mad at me and wanting to be the “cool” mom rather than imposing consequences for bad behavior and teaching them valuable life lessons in the safe environment of their home.  (Oh hindsight!)

And my second thought is in regards to intentional sin in general.  By all appearances, while he did rebuke his sons, he stopped at the rebuke and let them continue in their sin.  Maybe they were grown men and Eli figured it was enough for him to just say something to them (rebuke them), and then let them suffer the consequences if they didn’t heed the rebuke, but it draws me to Matthew 18:

 Matthew 18:15-17 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. ¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Instead of getting rid of the evil amongst them, he allowed his sons to continue in sin, and the entire household of Eli then suffered the consequences.  How often do we do that with friends and loved ones around us or even ourselves?  We see a sin but we allow it to remain, maybe we say something, maybe we don’t because we think it’s not our right or our business to do so, or that it isn’t affecting us, yet we read:

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled:  “Bad company corrupts good character.”

and

Galatians 5:7-9 “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? ⁸ That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. ⁹ “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.”

So it seems very important that we deal with intentional sin so that it doesn’t draw us into it.  In this case,  when the consequences are imposed, I love Eli’s response to Samuel:

1 Samuel 3:18 ”He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes.”

This speaks volumes about owning up to our actions and accepting the consequences when we waiver or don’t stand up for the truth!