1 Chronicles 21

ANd Satan stood up Heb. stood, to wit, before the Lord and his Tribunal to accuse David and Israel, and to beg Gods permission to tempt David to number the People. Standing is the Accusers posture before Mens Tribunals; and consequently the Holy Scripture (which useth to speak of God and of the things of God after the manner of men to bring them down to our Capacities) elsewhere represents Satan in this posture, as 1 King. 22. 21. Zech. 3. 1. And so this agrees with 2 Sam. 24. 1. where the Lord is said to move David, i. e. to give Satan Commission or Permission to move him; for otherwise God tempteth no man, Jam. 1. 13. But of this, and of this whole Chapter, and of the Variations and seeming Contradictions between this Narrative and that in Samuel, see my Notes on 2 Sam. 24. against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

And David said to Joab, and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times as many mo as they be: but my lord the king, are they not all my lords servants, why then does my lord require this thing! why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel Or, why will he be, or, why should this be a trespass or a cause of trespass or an occasion of punishment, (for Hebrew words signifying sin are oft used to note the punishment of Sin:) or a desolation, or a cause of desolation or destruction (for the verb whence this noun proceeds is oft used in that Sense) to or against Israel? Why wilst thou provoke God by this sin to punish Israel? Thus he speaks because God commonly punisheth the People for the sins of their Rulers, because they are for the most part guilty of their sins in one kind or other; or at least God takes this occasion to punish People for all their Sins..

Nevertheless, the kings word prevailed against Joab: wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.

And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and one hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.

But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them Partly for the following Reason; and principally by Gods special and gracious Providence to these two Tribes, to Levi, because they were devoted to his Service; and to Benjamin, because they were the least of all the Tribes having been almost extinct, Iudg. 21. and because God foresaw that they would be faithful to the House of David in the division of the Tribes, and therefore he would not have them diminished. And Ioab presumed to leave these two Tribes unnumbred, because he had specious Pretences for it; for Levi, because they were no Warriours, and the Kings Command reached only to those that drew sword, as appears from v. 5. And for Benjamin, because they, being so small a Tribe and bordering upon Ierusalem their Chief City, might easily be numbred afterward.; for the kings word was abominable to Joab.

And God was displeased with this thing Because this was done without any colour of necessity, and out of mere Curiosity, and Oftentation, and carnal Confidence, as Davids own Conscience told him, which therefore smote him, as it is related, 2 Sam. 24. 10., therefore he smote Israel Which is particularly related in the following verses..

And 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.

And the LORD spake unto Gad, Davids seer, saying,

Go, and tell David, saying, Thus says the LORD, I offer thee three things, choose thee one of them that I may do it unto thee.

So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus says the LORD, choose thee,

Either 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 thy self, what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.

And 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.

So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel; and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.

And 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 threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David lift 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 i. e. In mourning Garments, humbling themselves before God for their Sins and deprecating his Wrath against the People., fell upon their faces.

And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbred? 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 fathers house, but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.

Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and set up an altar unto the LORD, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD.

And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves Or, And Ornan turned back (i. e. turned his face from the Angel) for or when (for the Hebrew vau is frequently used both those ways) he saw the angel, and (so did) his four sons with him hiding themselves; partly because of the Glory and Majesty in which the Angel appeared, which mens weak and sinful natures are not able to bear; and partly from the fear of Gods Vengeance which was at this time riding circuit in the Land, and now seemed to be coming to their Family.. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.

And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshing-floor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.

Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshing-floor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price, that the plague may be stayed from the people.

And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes:... o, I give thee the oxen also for burnt-offerings, and the threshing-instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat-offering, I give it all.

And king David said to Ornan, Nay, but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt-offerings without cost.

So David gave to Ornan for the place, six hundred shekels of gold by weight.

And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt-offerings, and peaceofferings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire Heb. by fire sent from Heaven: which was the sign of Gods Acceptance. See Levit. 9. 24. 1 King. 18. 24, 38. 2 Chron. 7. 1. upon the altar of burnt offering.

And the LORD commanded the angel, and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.

At that time, when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there When he perceived that his Sacrifice there offered was acceptable to God, he proceeded to offer more Sacrifices in that place, and did not go to Gibeon, as otherwise he should have done..

For the tabernacle of the LORD which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burntoffering were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.

But David could not i. e. Durst not. go before it i. e. Before the Tabernacle, where the Altar stood. to enquire of God Heb. to seek God, i. e. humbly to beg his Favour by Prayer and Sacrifice.; for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD i. e. When he saw the Angel stand with his drawn Sword over Ierusalem, as is related above, v. 15, 16. he durst not go away thence to Gibeon, lest the Angel in the mean time should destroy Ierusalem; for the prevention whereof he thought it most proper to continue to worship God in that place, which he had consecrated by his special Presence and gracious Acceptance..