Chapter Twenty-Four
David Orders a Census
[Verses 1-9 parallel 1 Chronicles 21:1-7]
24:1 Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”
This is an awkward verse as it appears that due to God’s anger He incited David to sin, but that interpretation would be incorrect. Some translations encourage that perspective by capitalizing the word “he” thereby unmistakingly pointing to God (NASB 2020, NCV, NKJV, TLV). But when we read the parallel verse in 1 Chronicles, “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1, ESV) Satan was responsible for tempting David (see Matthew 4:1, 4; Mark 1:13; Luke 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), not God. James would remind us, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13, ESV) But it is true that God did allow Satan to incite David to sin.
At this point you might be asking, “What sin?” God’s law had an interesting ‘clause’ regarding census taking. We read in Exodus 30:12, “When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the LORD when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.” (ESV) While that verse can be interpreted as relating to the ransom God required for redeeming the first born of man and beast after Passover (see Genesis 13:1-2; 30:11-16), it raises the question, why was census taking a problem? Perhaps it’s best not to consider the census itself as being a problem, but that it's the motivation of the one who desires to conduct a census, which brings us back to David.
The principle of Exodus 30:12 speaks to God’s ownership of His people. In the thinking of these ancient cultures, a man only had the right to count or number what belonged to him. Israel didn’t belong to David; Israel belonged to God. It was up to the LORD to command a counting, and if David counted he should only do it at God’s command and receiving ransom money to “atone” for the counting.[1]
24:2 So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” 3 But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”
David instructed Joab to go through all of Israel, from Dan in the north, to Beersheba in the south, and count the people. At first Joab protested, perhaps knowing that census taking was a violation of God’s law. He questions David’s motives by first saying, “May the LORD your God increase the population of the people a hundredfold while your majesty the king is still alive to see it happen!” and then asks, “But why does your majesty the king want to do this?” (2 Samuel 24:3b, ISV) Joab knew that the number of people and the number of David’s army was in God’s purview, not David’s.
24:4 But the king’s word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. 5 They crossed the Jordan and began from Aroer, and from the city that is in the middle of the valley, toward Gad and on to Jazer. 6 Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites; and they came to Dan, and from Dan they went around to Sidon, 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beersheba. 8 So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
Joab’s warning was not heeded, David ordered that the census be done. Joab did as David ordered, he and the commanders of the army went out to count the number of people in Israel. They traveled throughout Israel counting people on both sides of the Jordan River. Joab and his men found 800,000 men in Israel and 500,000 in the tribe of Judah’s territory alone, for a total of 1,300,000 men. Bu the parallel account in 1 Chronicles reads, “And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword. But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab.” (1 Chronicles 21:5-6, ESV) Why the difference? The two accounts are not reporting the same count, Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe explain:
This discrepancy involves the difference in who was included in each report. In the report in 2 Samuel, the number of men of valor who drew the sword was 800,000, but did not include the standing army of 288,000 described in 1 Chronicles 27:1–15, or the 12,000 specifically attached to Jerusalem described in 2 Chronicles 1:14. Including these figures gives the grand total of 1,100,000 men of valor who composed the entire army of the men of Israel. The figure of 470,000 in 1 Chronicles 21 did not include the 30,000 men of the standing army of Judah mentioned in 2 Samuel 6:1. This is evident from the fact that the Chronicler points out that Joab did not complete the counting of the men of Judah (1 Chron. 21:6). Both calculations are correct according to the groups which were included and excluded from each report.[2]
YHWH Judges and Punishes David for His Sin
[Verses 10-17 parallel 1 Chronicles 21:8-17]
24:10 But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
After the census was done, David’s “heart struck him,” his conscience troubled him as he recognized his guilt. He prays to YHWH saying that he had sinned and asked God to take away his iniquity (Hebrew ʿǎwōn’, guilt, punishment, this word indicates sin that is particularly evil, since it strongly conveys the idea of twisting or perverting deliberately. The noun carries along with it the idea of guilt from conscious wrongdoing)[3] since he acted foolishly by ordering the census.
24:11 And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, 12 “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ ” 13 So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” 14 Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”
God has the prophet Gad go to David to offer him three choices for punishment of his sin. He gives him the choice of: 1) three years of famine; 2) three months of being pursued by his foes; or 3) three days of pestilence. David responded with a plea, he said he was in great distress and could not decide, that the decision is God’s, but asked that he not fall into the hand of man. Some believe that by making that statement David was choosing the three days of pestilence. The reasoning being, if he had chosen either famine or war, then Israel could have potentially been influenced or controlled by other nations, so option three was the only remaining choice.
24:15 So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. 16 And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
So YHWH sent a pestilence on Israel through an angel that killed 70,000 men from Dan to Beersheba and then just before the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, God stopped him by saying “It is enough!” The angel was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (also known as Ornan) when he was stopped.
Between the end of verse fourteen and the beginning of verse fifteen, the Septuagint offers additional information, it reads, “So David chose for himself the death. And it was the days of the harvest of wheat and the Lord allowed death in Israel from early morning until lunch time and the slaughter was appointed among the people.”[4]
24:17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”
Apparently able to see the angel on Mount Moriah, David proclaimed to God, that he was the one who sinned, that the people are innocent, and that God’s anger should be against him and his family, not them. But God wasn’t done with David, He had more for him to accomplish and therefore did not accept David’s offer.
David Builds an Altar
[Verses 18-25 parallel 1 Chronicles 21:18-30]
24:18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” 19 So David went up at Gad’s word, as the LORD commanded.
While the plague still threatened the land (see verse twenty-one) the prophet Gad visits David that same day, and he tells him that God wants him to build an altar to YHWH on the location of the threshing floor that belongs to Araunah the Jebusite. So David went out to do as God commanded.
Threshing floors were typically at or near the highest point of a mound, hill, or mountain, as it would have the highest probability of wind. The harvested grain would be tossed in the air allowing the wind to blow away the chaff (the useless outer husk material), while the heavier grain would fall to the ground.
24:20 And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. 21 And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people.”
Since Araunah’s threshing floor was higher in elevation, he could see David and his entourage approach and he went out and reverently greeted David by laying prostrate before him. Araunah who was undoubtedly nervous asks why the king was visiting him. David tells him that he wants to buy his threshing floor from him to build an altar to YHWH, so that the plague that God sent on Israel will stop.
24:22 Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.”
All to willing to please the king, Araunah then offers the property, the oxen, the threshing sledges (Hebrew mō·rig·gîm,a threshing sledge, an agricultural tool made of a heavy slab of wood with flint or iron points on the bottom for threshing grain),[5] and the yokes that were used on the oxen for firewood, all for free.
24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
David was unwilling to accept the generous gift, he insisted on buying everything for a price. He explained that he would not offer a burnt offering sacrifice to YHWH that cost him nothing, that would not be a true sacrifice. So David paid Araunah fifty shekels of silver for the property and the oxen.
24:25 And David built there an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.
David built an altar to YHWH and proceeded to offer burnt offerings and peace offerings (click here to review the various types of offerings). God responded to the offerings and the plague ended.
Considerations
Mount Moriah
To say that this location is special to God would be an understatement! It was the location where Abraham was going to sacrifice his son Isaac but was stopped many years earlier (see Genesis 22:1-19), we are told in 2 Chronicles 3:1 that the threshing floor of Araunah was on Mount Moriah and would be the location where the Temple will be built.
King Solomon built the Temple there and it remained in service for over four hundred years until it was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar in 587/586 B.C. Approximately seventy years later the Temple was rebuilt at the same location by the Jews who returned to Jerusalem following their exile into Babylon. Around the first century, King Herod made a significant addition to this structure, which then became known as "Herod’s Temple." In 70 A.D. the Romans, led by Titus, son of the Emperor Vespasian, again destroyed the Temple. The only remains today is a portion of a retaining wall known as the “Western Wall” (also known as the “Wailing Wall"). It has been a destination for pilgrims and a site of prayer for Jews for several centuries.
Today it is known as the “Temple Mount,” and it is fiercely contested by several religious groups. The site is home to several Islamic holy sites today, including the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. But God is not done with the location as a third Temple will be built there per Daniel 9:27 (see also Zechariah 12:3). Jesus said that, “Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24b, ESV, see Daniel 12:7; Romans 11:25, see also Revelation 11:2) Mount Moriah will see a lot of activity in the future!
Who was Araunah?
Araunah was a Jebusite, they were from the lineage of Jebus, one of the sons of Canaan, who was born of Ham, one of Noah's sons (see Genesis 10:6-18). They settled in what was previously called Salem (Genesis 14:18) and the city was renamed Jebus (see Joshua 18:28). Since the Jebusites were pagan idol-worshiping people, God instructed the Israelites to remove them from the Promised Land (see Genesis 15:21; Exodus 3:8, 17; 13:5; 23:23; 33:2; 34:11; Numbers 13:29; Deuteronomy 7:1; 20:17; Joshua 3:10; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8), but they were unable to purge them from the land (see Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21; 3:5) until the time of David (see 2 Samuel 5:6-15). Araunah may have been a proselyte to Judaism and was able to retain his property and possessions. David had several non-Israelite people that worked around him including some in responsible positions during his reign.
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[1] Guzik, D. (2013). 2 Samuel (2 Sa 24:1–2). David Guzik.
[2] Geisler, N. L., & Howe, T. A. (1992). When critics ask : a popular handbook on Bible difficulties (p. 178). Victor Books.
[3] Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). In The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (p. 814). AMG Publishers.
[4] Brannan, R., Penner, K. M., Loken, I., Aubrey, M., & Hoogendyk, I., eds. (2012). The Lexham English Septuagint (2 Kgdms 24:15). Lexham Press.
[5] Baker, W., & Carpenter, E. E. (2003). In The complete word study dictionary: Old Testament (pp. 585–586). AMG Publishers.