The Book of 1 Chronicles

Word Study

"Satan," Hebrew satan (שָׂטָן), the adversary, the accuser. The chapter opens on the unseen realm: "Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel." The parallel in 2 Samuel 24 says the LORD's anger moved David; both are true, for God in His sovereignty permitted Satan to tempt David, as He permitted the testing of Job. The sin was not counting itself, which the law sometimes required, but the pride and self-reliance behind it: David wanted "to know" the strength of his armies, to glory in numbers rather than in the LORD who preserved him "whithersoever he went." Even Joab, no saint, saw the danger and protested, "why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?" But "the king's word prevailed." When God "was displeased," He "smote Israel," for the leader's pride brought judgment on the whole nation. Then comes David's swift, humble confession: "I have sinned greatly... do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly." This is the mark of the man after God's own heart: when confronted with his sin, he does not excuse or hide it but owns it fully and pleads for mercy. Pride counted the army; humility confessed the sin.

Explanation

Moved by Satan, David ordered a census of Israel's fighting men, wanting to know the strength of his forces. This sprang from pride and misplaced confidence in numbers rather than in God. Even Joab objected, warning that it would bring guilt on Israel, but David overruled him and the count was taken. God was displeased and struck Israel in judgment. David immediately recognized his wrong and confessed to God that he had sinned greatly and acted very foolishly, begging God to take away his guilt. The account shows both the seriousness of a leader's pride, which brought consequences on the whole nation, and the genuine repentance of David, who owned his sin without excuse.

Gospel Focus

David's sin warns us against the pride of self-reliance, trusting in numbers, resources, or our own strength rather than in God. It is a subtle sin, often hiding under good management, but at root it glories in what we have instead of in the LORD, and "God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble" (James 4:6). Yet the greater lesson is David's response. When shown his sin, he did not minimize it; he said, "I have sinned greatly... I have done very foolishly," and cast himself on God's mercy. This is true repentance, and it is the way home for every sinner: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). Note too that one man's pride brought suffering on many; sin is never merely private, and leaders bear a heavy responsibility. But where David could only confess and plead, the gospel provides the remedy his plea anticipated: the "iniquity of thy servant" is truly "done away," not by our merit but by the blood of Jesus, who was smitten for the pride and folly of His people. Confess your sin plainly as David did, and find in Christ the full forgiveness David longed for.

Word Study

"mercies," Hebrew rachamim (רַחֲמִים), tender compassions, from rechem, the womb; deep, motherly compassion. Offered a choice of three judgments, famine, defeat before enemies, or plague, David is caught "in a great strait." His response reveals what he knows of God: "let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies (rachamim): but let me not fall into the hand of man." Even in judgment, David would rather be dealt with directly by God than by men, because he trusts the depth of God's compassion. The word rachamim speaks of the tenderest, most visceral compassion, the love of a parent for a child. David has sinned grievously, yet he knows that the God he must face is "very great" in mercy. This is remarkable faith: to flee to God even from God's own judgment, trusting that the same LORD who must punish sin is compassionate beyond measure. The plague falls and seventy thousand die, a terrible price, yet David's instinct was right, for God's mercy would soon halt the destroyer. To fall into the hand of the LORD is fearful, but it is safer than any human hand, for His compassions never fail.

Explanation

Through the prophet Gad, God offered David a choice of three punishments: years of famine, months of defeat by his enemies, or three days of plague. David was in an agonizing dilemma, but he chose to fall into God's hands rather than into human hands, because he trusted in God's great mercy even in judgment. So God sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men died. David's choice reflects his deep confidence that, however severe God's discipline, His compassion is far greater and more trustworthy than the mercy of men. He would rather be corrected directly by the God he knew to be merciful than suffer at human hands.

Gospel Focus

"Let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies" is one of the most instructive confessions in Scripture. Even under judgment for his own sin, David flees not from God but to God, trusting the depth of His compassion. This is the very heart of the gospel: the sinner's only safety is in the mercy of the God against whom he has sinned. "The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy" (Psalm 103:8), and "his compassions fail not" (Lamentations 3:22). To fall into God's hand is fearful, "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Hebrews 10:31), yet for the penitent it is the safest place in the universe, for those hands are pierced with love. The tender mercies (rachamim) David trusted found their fullest expression in Jesus, "through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us" (Luke 1:78). At the cross, the God who must judge sin took the judgment into His own hands, in the person of His Son, so that we who deserve the plague might receive mercy. Do not run from God in your sin; run to Him. Fall into the hand of the LORD, for very great are His mercies, and in Christ those merciful hands were opened wide to save.

Word Study

"without cost," Hebrew chinnam (חִנָּם), for nothing, freely, at no cost. The destroying angel had halted at the threshingfloor of Ornan (Araunah) the Jebusite, and God directed David to build an altar there. When Ornan generously offered to give the site and the oxen for free, David refused with words that ring through the ages: "I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost (chinnam)." True worship must cost the worshiper something; a sacrifice that costs nothing is no sacrifice at all. David paid "six hundred shekels of gold" for the place, and built an altar, and "the LORD... answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering," the sign of divine acceptance, as fire had fallen on the offerings of Aaron and would fall on Elijah's altar. Then "the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath," the judgment stayed by the accepted sacrifice. This threshingfloor is no ordinary ground: it is Mount Moriah, where Abraham had offered Isaac, and it would become the site of Solomon's temple (2 Chronicles 3:1). The place where judgment was halted by sacrifice became the place of Israel's worship, and points to the greater hill where the final sacrifice would turn away wrath for ever.

A reader comparing the accounts notices that 2 Samuel 24:24 records David paying "fifty shekels of silver," while here it is "six hundred shekels of gold." There is no contradiction; the two sums are for two different purchases. In Samuel, David buys "the threshingfloor and the oxen" (2 Samuel 24:24) -- the plot and the animals for that day's sacrifice -- for fifty shekels of silver. In Chronicles he pays six hundred shekels of gold "for the place," the whole site of the future temple, the larger Mount Moriah on which Solomon would build. The lesser price bought a floor for an altar; the greater price secured the ground for the house of God.

Explanation

God told David, through Gad, to build an altar at the threshing floor of Ornan, where the plague had been halted. When Ornan offered to give David the land and everything needed for the sacrifice for free, David insisted on paying the full price, refusing to offer God something that cost him nothing. He paid six hundred shekels of gold, built an altar, and offered sacrifices, and God showed His acceptance by sending fire from heaven onto the altar. Then God commanded the destroying angel to sheathe his sword, ending the plague. This site, where sacrifice turned away judgment, would become the location of the temple, the very place of Israel's worship for generations.

Gospel Focus

"I will not offer burnt offerings without cost" is a searching word for all who would worship God. Real devotion costs something; the sacrifice that costs us nothing is worth nothing before God. He is worthy of our best, our substance, our time, our very selves, "I beseech you therefore... that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice" (Romans 12:1). But the deepest gospel truth shines in what this altar foreshadows. The threshingfloor where the angel's sword was sheathed is Mount Moriah, where Abraham had offered Isaac and where the temple would stand, and it points to Calvary, where the true and final sacrifice was offered. There the destroying sword of judgment was not merely delayed but forever put away, sheathed in the body of the Son of God. And note the wonder: the sacrifice that saves us cost God everything, though it comes to us freely. What David would not do, offer to God without cost, God Himself did for us, giving His own Son at infinite cost, that we might receive salvation "without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1). Fire fell from heaven to accept David's costly offering; at the cross, the fire of God's judgment fell on Christ, our costly offering, and God accepted it for us. Worship Him, then, with a costly devotion, for the God who spared not His own Son is worthy of all we can give.