1 Chronicles 21
We now come to 1 Chron. 21, so important with regard to the ways of grace toward Israel. As we have done on other occasions, let us try to note the very instructive differences between this chapter and 2 Samuel 24. There is much to be gained by minutely comparing the one with the other.
Let us first of all note that here the thought of numbering the people is the result of Satan's direct action against Israel, and not as in 2 Samuel, the result of the Lord's wrath. To this end, Satan inclines David's heart to sin so that he might bring God's counsels toward His people to naught. But God uses the very schemes of the enemy to accomplish His own purposes, in introducing David and Israel into His presence on a new footing, that of grace, substituted for the ordinances of the law. In 2 Sam. 24 we find another thought: David's heart is put to the test when the Lord was angry against Israel and judgment was ready to fall on the people. If David, who represented the people, had not allowed himself to be seduced, this judgment could have been avoided.
But it is marvelous to see here that had he resisted, the counsels of grace made manifest in Christ and His work could not have been proclaimed. We can therefore say that David's failure was necessary because through it God substituted the rule of grace, with the throne and the altar at Zion for its center, for the rule of law and responsibility, with the tabernacle for its center.
Not that this numbering was not most sinful, for by it David had sought his own glory instead of the Lord's glory. He had desired to know his own resources instead of relying upon those of God—the God who had raised up David, had taken him from the pastures, from the flocks, had made him prince over Israel, and had given him a name like the name of the great ones on earth! What more did David want? Alas! under Satan's instigation he wanted to make a name for himself and see what resources he could count on while excluding the Lord. If he had succeeded, he would have glorified himself and become independent of God. This is what made this fault so serious and so foolish for a believer like David. When he came to himself (1 Chron. 21:88And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. (1 Chronicles 21:8)) he confessed this sin which was nothing other than independence and human self-will.
Joab seeks to dissuade David from this decision: "Are they not all, my lord O king, my lord's servants? why does my lord require this thing? why should he become a trespass to Israel?" (1 Chron. 21:33And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel? (1 Chronicles 21:3)). The role of this man, energetic and valiant but without scruples once an obstacle blocks his path, and above all cunning to claim and maintain the first place—this role, so condemnable in the books of Samuel and Kings, has disappeared in Chronicles. In 1 Chron. 11:5-65And the inhabitants of Jebus said to David, Thou shalt not come hither. Nevertheless David took the castle of Zion, which is the city of David. 6And David said, Whosoever smiteth the Jebusites first shall be chief and captain. So Joab the son of Zeruiah went first up, and was chief. (1 Chronicles 11:5‑6) Joab had been the instrument chosen by God to capture "Zion," the city of David; through this exploit he had become chief and captain. Here we find him again, taking sides for God against David: "The king's word was abominable to Joab" (1 Chron. 21:66But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab. (1 Chronicles 21:6)). Joab is therefore on the one hand the instrument for accomplishing God's purposes toward Jerusalem, and on the other hand the instrument to warn his master not to fall into sin lest he become "a trespass to Israel." In Chronicles his entire role is reduced to these two episodes together with yet a third in 1 Chron. 26:2828And all that Samuel the seer, and Saul the son of Kish, and Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah, had dedicated; and whosoever had dedicated any thing, it was under the hand of Shelomith, and of his brethren. (1 Chronicles 26:28). He does not succeed, but his warnings make the king's failure even more serious and leave him without excuse. "But the king's word prevailed against Joab." However, the latter does not fully complete his mission, for he did not number either Levi or Benjamin.
The difference between the figures of the census and those of 2 Sam. 24 seems to come from the fact that the latter does not count the standing army of 1 Chron. 28 to which must be added also the captains of hundreds and the captains of thousands. Indeed, it was not the regular army that David wanted to number, for he knew its sum perfectly well, but he wanted to know in what measure Israel could be the force which he, David, would be able to use on occasion.
Let us now return to the truth already stated, that in order to manifest God's counsels toward the kingship it was indispensable that our book record David's failure. This failure brings out grace, but at the same time it shows the necessity of judgment, for it is only as righteousness and grace are in accord that the reign of peace can be ushered in.
Let us remember that at that time the Tabernacle, as a system established by God, had really come to an end. The ark, the symbol of God's presence in the midst of His people, had been carried into captivity, abandoned, and then brought back by God Himself to the fields of Jaar in view of the establishment of a new order of things. Lastly, it had been brought to Mount Zion by the kingship according to God, there to await the peaceful reign of Solomon who would build a house for the Lord. But, during this intermediate period the brazen altar, the tent, and the vessels of service were at Gibeon, no longer associated with the ark. One could approach the ark at Zion, but without the sacrifice which was the only way into the sanctuary; one could approach the altar at Gibeon, but this would only give access to the holy place which was completely empty. The relationship between the altar and the ark seemed to be lost forever through the unfaithfulness of the priesthood. This truth that the altar—expiation—was the means necessary to gain access to God's throne, and that without it, it was impossible for the Lord to dwell in grace in the midst of His people, had to be established anew completely. The ark was in Zion; it was asserting its place on the mountain of grace, but could it be enthroned there unless the question of sin were definitely settled?
At this time God used the king's sin, the sin of a single man but one representing the people before Him, to show the resources of His grace in dealing with sin upon the altar, the witness of expiation.
Chronicles highlights this great event. God's counsels can be fulfilled only at Moriah (2 Chron. 3:11Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. (2 Chronicles 3:1)). As far as the promises of God were concerned, that had already been revealed in figure to Abraham at this same place when Isaac was sacrificed. Without the Father's "one beloved Son" (Mark 12:66Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. (Mark 12:6)), no sacrifice for sin could be provided. Hence the name of this place: "On the mount of Jehovah will be provided" (Gen. 22:1414And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah-jireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. (Genesis 22:14)). In type, grace had found a way of displaying itself in its fullness at the altar on Mount Moriah, where Isaac, the father's son, had been offered; and not at the brazen altar which belonged to the order of Sinai and which could never take away sins. At Moriah grace met righteousness, and there God found the means (He alone could do so) to make these two apparently irreconcilable attributes of His Being kiss each other. Thus triumphant grace reigns through righteousness; thus God's counsels are fulfilled!
The failure has scarcely been committed when we find how God judges it and also—according to the warning Joab had given—its consequences for all the people. Over against this judgment the king confesses the evil, and not, as in 2 Sam. 24, when only his conscience accused him. In both cases, he asks God to put away his iniquity; but how could God do so? Must not judgment run its course? David is called upon to choose between three alternatives (1 Chron. 21:10-1210Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. 11So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee 12Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. (1 Chronicles 21:10‑12)), and this free choice brings out his entire confidence in the mercies of the Lord which are very great (cf. 2 Sam. 24:1414And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. (2 Samuel 24:14)). According to Rom. 12:11I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1), the mercies of God are all His work of grace with regard to sins and to sin. Naturally, the extent of this work could not be revealed to David in the same way it is to us, but he sensed that he could commit himself to it alone. He did not want to fall into the hands of men, for he knew he could find no grace from that direction.
In contrast with the "us" of 2 Sam. 24:1414And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for his mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man. (2 Samuel 24:14), here in 1 Chron. 21:1313And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. (1 Chronicles 21:13) we find an important little word: "Let me fall, I pray Thee, into the hand of Jehovah." Here David offers himself as a substitute. He stands alone in the breach. Further on (1 Chron. 21:1717And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. (1 Chronicles 21:17)), he takes the fault entirely upon himself: "Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered?" and he offers his life for the sheep. After that, he intercedes: "Let Thy hand, I pray thee... be... not on Thy people, that they should be smitten." David could not say to God as Christ: Why hast Thou forsaken me? but he could take the character of a mediator and truly charge himself before God with all the guilt by identifying himself with the judgment of the people.
We are running ahead a bit in order to show how David represents Christ, although very incompletely, since his own sin was the cause. Let us now return to 1 Chron. 21:1414So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. (1 Chronicles 21:14). The plague is raging in Israel: The angel comes to Jerusalem. What will become of this city, the place of royal grace? How will God reconcile His judgment with His grace? Will He destroy Jerusalem to make His righteousness prevail? Will He pardon it at the expense of His holiness? David "saw the angel of Jehovah stand between the earth and the heavens, and his sword drawn in his hand, stretched out over Jerusalem" (1 Chron. 21:1616And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. (1 Chronicles 21:16)). The king humbles himself, repents, and mourns with the elders. Together they fall upon their faces, but David alone confesses his sin, as representative of the people. David, we say, sees the angel, but the Lord had seen the angel and had stopped him. "And as he was destroying, Jehovah beheld, and He repented Him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough; withdraw now thine hand" (1 Chron. 21:1515And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. (1 Chronicles 21:15)). The first thing that God does is to suspend judgment; only after that does David, seeing the angel, humble himself. Then the angel, standing by the threshing floor of Oman, speaks to Gad the prophet. At the Lord's command, he had withdrawn his hand, but he had not yet put his sword back into its sheath; he commands David to go up to the very place where he was standing.
The Lord, we have said, had seen the angel; then David had seen him; now Oman in turn sees him (1 Chron. 21:2020And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. (1 Chronicles 21:20)). At this sight he and his sons hide themselves, terror-stricken. But Oman is reassured when he sees David (1 Chron. 21:2121And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. (1 Chronicles 21:21)), sent by God to erect an altar on the threshing floor of Oman. Indeed, what could be more reassuring than to see the Lord's Anointed, the one commissioned by God to accomplish expiation and put an end to judgment?
David buys the place of the threshing floor, not just the threshing floor alone as in 2 Sam. 24:21, 2421And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people. (2 Samuel 24:21)
24And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. (2 Samuel 24:24). This explains the difference in the purchase price. Oman, full of good will, but ignorant, would like to be able to contribute to this work. David does not allow him to do so; he alone will offer God a sacrifice which he pays for out of what he has, but which will cost Oman nothing. David does not wish to give to God that which belongs to another, but that which is his own, just as Christ gave His own life. David acquires everything with his own resources: the place, the threshing floor, the altar, and the burnt-offerings.
Oman's threshing-sledges are not used, as he had desired, to consume the sacrifice: God consumes it with fire from heaven. That is His character in judgment, but it is at the same time, as with Elijah, the sign given by the Lord that He has fully accepted the sacrifice.
All these details reveal to us in David in a marvelous way, Christ, of whom it is said that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Indeed, David here plays this role in figure, although we must not forget that his own sin was the cause of all this scene. He is the mediator, intercessor, and priest, for he builds the altar and offers the sacrifice. The high priest is not even mentioned here, so as to leave all the place to David.
Now judgment has been consummated, the offering is accepted; now that justice has been satisfied, the angel's sword is of no further use. "Jehovah spoke to the angel; and he put up his sword again into its sheath" (1 Chron. 21:2727And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. (1 Chronicles 21:27)). Peace with God has been definitely acquired on David's altar in Oman's threshing floor on the summit of Moriah; peace is acquired for Israel and for whosoever, as Oman, from among the nations has seen David and has accepted the sacrifice. Henceforth, as long as it is a question of the counsels of God in grace alone, this sword shall never again be drawn against Israel or Jerusalem.
How different is the scene when it is a matter of the responsibility of man or the people! (Deut. 28:15-4415But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: 16Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. 17Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. 18Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. 19Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 20The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken me. 21The Lord shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it. 22The Lord shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish. 23And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 24The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed. 25The Lord shall cause thee to be smitten before thine enemies: thou shalt go out one way against them, and flee seven ways before them: and shalt be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth. 26And thy carcase shall be meat unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth, and no man shall fray them away. 27The Lord will smite thee with the botch of Egypt, and with the emerods, and with the scab, and with the itch, whereof thou canst not be healed. 28The Lord shall smite thee with madness, and blindness, and astonishment of heart: 29And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee. 30Thou shalt betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: thou shalt build an house, and thou shalt not dwell therein: thou shalt plant a vineyard, and shalt not gather the grapes thereof. 31Thine ox shall be slain before thine eyes, and thou shalt not eat thereof: thine ass shall be violently taken away from before thy face, and shall not be restored to thee: thy sheep shall be given unto thine enemies, and thou shalt have none to rescue them. 32Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another people, and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long: and there shall be no might in thine hand. 33The fruit of thy land, and all thy labors, shall a nation which thou knowest not eat up; and thou shalt be only oppressed and crushed alway: 34So that thou shalt be mad for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. 35The Lord shall smite thee in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore botch that cannot be healed, from the sole of thy foot unto the top of thy head. 36The Lord shall bring thee, and thy king which thou shalt set over thee, unto a nation which neither thou nor thy fathers have known; and there shalt thou serve other gods, wood and stone. 37And thou shalt become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all nations whither the Lord shall lead thee. 38Thou shalt carry much seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in; for the locust shall consume it. 39Thou shalt plant vineyards, and dress them, but shalt neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worms shall eat them. 40Thou shalt have olive trees throughout all thy coasts, but thou shalt not anoint thyself with the oil; for thine olive shall cast his fruit. 41Thou shalt beget sons and daughters, but thou shalt not enjoy them; for they shall go into captivity. 42All thy trees and fruit of thy land shall the locust consume. 43The stranger that is within thee shall get up above thee very high; and thou shalt come down very low. 44He shall lend to thee, and thou shalt not lend to him: he shall be the head, and thou shalt be the tail. (Deuteronomy 28:15‑44); Ezek. 5:12-1712A third part of thee shall die with the pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed in the midst of thee: and a third part shall fall by the sword round about thee; and I will scatter a third part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them. 13Thus shall mine anger be accomplished, and I will cause my fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted: and they shall know that I the Lord have spoken it in my zeal, when I have accomplished my fury in them. 14Moreover I will make thee waste, and a reproach among the nations that are round about thee, in the sight of all that pass by. 15So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the nations that are round about thee, when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the Lord have spoken it. 16When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread: 17So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts, and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee; and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the Lord have spoken it. (Ezekiel 5:12‑17); Rev. 6:7-87And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. 8And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:7‑8)). And far more yet: for men who rebel against God and who have not received the love of the truth that they may be saved, a sword, more terrible than that of the angel, will issue forth from the mouth of the Son of Man when He shall come from heaven to consume them (Rev. 19:1515And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Revelation 19:15)).
The divine answer is given man at Oman's threshing floor. Henceforth it is there that David sacrifices. "At that time when David saw that Jehovah had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. And the tabernacle of Jehovah, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt-offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of Jehovah" (1 Chron. 21:28-3028At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. 29For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. 30But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 21:28‑30)). The brazen altar at Gibeon, instead of being a place of security for David, was a terrifying place and he would go there no more. All that had been instituted under the law could not henceforth reassure his soul, for the law was a ministry of condemnation. God had revealed another place of approach to Himself, the place chosen by grace where divine judgment had been abolished, the only one that could suit David from now on.
What would now become of the altar instituted under the law? Another altar had taken its place and had been reunited to the ark, God's throne in the midst of His people. In all this scene we are surrounded by grace which does away with judgment! Zion is the mountain of grace; the altar is the altar of grace; the sacrifice, a sacrifice of pure grace; and henceforth God's throne takes on the character of a throne of grace. We are speaking of this scene as it is presented to us in the First Book of Chronicles.