1st Chronicles 21:16 And 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.
18 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.
20 And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
27 And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
30 But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.
The narrative speaks of a time in the history of the Hebrews, when David made a very grave mistake in numbering the people. The action was assessed by God to be sinful to the level of iniquity, even though many people might not know what is the big deal in merely taking a census at that time.
Because darkness has overspread the land and gross darkness has enveloped the people, individuals are becoming blinded to the seriousness of sin, and, in many cases, evils are not assessed as being such, to the point where many interpret good, as being evil, and vice versa.
When nations and people become desensitized by the repetition and fostering of sinful acts, there will come a time when there will be an angel in the sky, either literally or figuratively, to bring back a reality check that has for all intents and purposes been missing in action.
Therefore, as we go through the study, we will look for pointers, waymarks and lessons to be derived so that we can make practical application, adjustments and changes in our perspectives and practice where warranted.
The first verse of the chapter tells us that satan was successful in infiltrating the mind of king David with a thought, and a suggestion that were in harmony with David’s desires, and because the devil reasons along strictly logical modes of thought, the idea may have seemed reasonable to David. Let’s read:
1st Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
Pay close attention to the nature of the temptation for it seems quite harmless, and in the interest of the nation. It’s not like with Bathsheba, where the devil took advantage of David as he was feeling the feelings, as one calypsonian put it.
This temptation was as simple and logical as it gets, for the infused thought is just to check and see how many soldiers you have in the army, and how many more are of fighting age so that David could order a conscription as he sees fit.
Later on in the narrative, what seemed to be logical and so harmless turns out to be a great sin and also iniquity. Thus, the question is: Why would such an action by the king, cause The Lord to be so greatly displeased, that in response, He sends an angel in the sky to destroy? Let’s read:
1st Chronicles 21: 2 And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go and number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.
7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore, he smote Israel.
8 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.
Before drawing conclusions, and vital lessons from the narrative, it is important to answer the question as to why God was displeased, and why the action David took is described as a great sin and iniquity.
By ordering the census, David was actually stealing God’s glory, by taking credit for victories gained by the power of God alone. Thus, by increasing the size of the army, he would give the impression that the strength of his forces was in numbers, and not in God.
Therefore, by attributing his former victories to the strength and size of his army, he virtually removes the God-factor from the equation, and when this is done, the credit for our accomplishments inevitably goes to the human agent. This my friends, is a great sin in God’s sight. Let’s read:
2nd Samuel 5:18 The Philistines also came and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim.
19 And David enquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I go up to the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into my
hand? And the Lord said unto David, go up: for I will doubtless deliver the Philistines into thine hand.
24 And let it be, that when you hear the sound of a going in the tops of the mulberry trees, you shall bestir thyself: for then shall the Lord go out before thee, to smite the host of the Philistines.
25 And David did so, as the Lord had commanded him; and smote the Philistines from Geba until thou come to Gazer.
This victory was due to God alone as He sent forth His angels to rush the Philistines from the tree tops, and thus, whatsoever David did or did not do in this instance, pales in significance to what God did for him. In other words, the glory, or credit belonged to God alone.
Here it is again, as David faces Goliath, he knows he dare not tackle him, so as he had always done in the past, he turns to God for help, and like clockwork, his faith is rewarded.
It would have been totally impossible for David to take down the giant, for according to the narrative, Goliath was not only armed to the tooth, but he was also protected by state of the art armor.
Whenever God uses a person to accomplish a great work, that individual should be very careful not to attribute success to their own might and power, as if the victory were theirs. This is a form of stealing and must be avoided at all costs. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:4 And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
5 And he had a helmet of brass upon his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of brass.
6 And he had greaves of brass upon his legs, and a target of brass between his shoulders.
Mechanics, jewelers, and engineers often rely on brass hammers to avoid damaging sensitive components. Their versatility and safety features make them a valuable addition to any toolkit, ensuring efficient and careful work across different applications.
Thus, brass will offer much better protection from any incoming missile or spear, for it would absorb a lot of the impact shock of steel or any other hard material. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
34 And David said unto Saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock.
35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
41 And the Philistine came on and drew near unto David; and the man that bare the shield went before him.
42 And when the Philistine looked about, and saw David, he disdained him: for he was but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair countenance.
43 And the Philistine said unto David, Am I a dog, that you come to me with staves? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
Therefore, after many similar deliverances over the span of many years, for David to say go number the people, as if success was ever in numbers, caused God to be greatly displeased.
Taking God’s glory, or credit to yourself is what had caused Moses and Aaron not to enter the promised land, for when they said angrily, “Must we fetch water” they gave the people the impression that the miraculous works of The Lord were to be attributed to themselves.
And that’s a huge problem, for if they could exercise miraculous power to bring forth water from the rock independent of God, then, the logical conclusion is that they inherently possess supernatural power, of their own, something which no created being must ever claim.
And no sooner had they succumbed to the devices of satan, the response came from God, that they were not to enter Canaan. There are some difficult lessons we will have to learn, before the latter rain is poured out, for many will have to be divested of self, before the glory of God is seen upon them. Let’s read:
Numbers 20: 10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
12 And the Lord spoke unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
Whenever the latter rain is poured out upon all flesh God will again be using some of His servants to work miracles of healing, but that power to heal is never to be exercised independent of God, or to serve any selfish, personal purpose. Hence the reason why it is so important why we understand why God quickly announced that both Aaron and Moses would die.
Here is the same problem occurring again, where the tendency to take the glory of God’s miraculous work to themselves, caused The Lord to send back home 31,700 men, who otherwise might seem to have been motivated to do The Lord’s work.
Were they eager, yes, they were, were they willing, yes, they were, but the attitude of attributing the victory to the human agent, leaves Gideon with only 300 men, and the reason is given in the Scriptures, so that we will understand why God was displeased when David numbered the people. Let’s read:
Judges 7: 2 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The people that are with thee are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, saying, Mine own hand hath saved me.
The reason why we are spending so much time on the issue of stealing God’s glory, is because it could affect the answers you may, or may not get to your prayers. It is that serious, for if there’s a tendency in the individual to take credit for success and victory, your prayers could actually go unanswered.
In the case of Elijah, when he was at the top of Mt. Carmel, where, if he had failed, he would be torn in pieces, he relied entirely upon God, and his humble dependence bore fruit in an immediate answer to his single, simple prayer. Let’s read:
1st Kings 18: 36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
But after a day of great victory, you have to be very careful, lest your head gets swollen, and you begin to think that it was something about you that gave you the victory. It is never about you and me, it has everything to do with God whether it be in spiritual or temporal lines.
Very often, after the Christian has experienced great mountaintop blessings, satan is waiting and drooling for you in the valley below, and like David, he might tempt us to go, “number the people.”
Thus, Elijah who had prayed only once for fire, had to now pray seven times for rain. So, the question is why? Why is it that The same God who answered him so quickly at first, now seemed to have gone blank on him? There has to be some valid reason why. Let’s read:
1st Kings 19: 9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
14 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.
18 Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
[R.H. May 26, 1891, par 8] The prophet did not give up in discouragement. He kept reviewing his life, to see where he had failed to honor God, he confessed his sins, and thus continued to afflict his soul before God, while watching for a token that his prayer was answered.
As he searched his heart, he seemed to be less and less, both in his own estimation, and in the sight of God. It seemed to him that he was nothing, and that God was everything; and when he reached the point of renouncing self, while he clung to the Savior as his only strength and righteousness, the answer came.
This tendency to steal God’s glory is what caused Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass for seven long years. The following excerpt is of critical importance to us, especially since we live in an age where persons are manifesting a very strong tendency to take the glory and credit of their accomplishments to themselves. Let’s read:
[C.O.L pp 349] It was Christ who gave to the builders of the tabernacle wisdom to execute the most skillful and beautiful workmanship. He said, “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.
And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. God desires that His workers in every line shall look to Him as the Giver of all they possess. All right inventions and improvements have their source in Him who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.
The skillful touch of the physician's hand, his power over nerve and muscle, his knowledge of the delicate organism of the body, is the wisdom of divine power, to be used in behalf of the suffering. The skill with which the carpenter uses the hammer, the strength with which the blacksmith makes the anvil ring, comes from God.
Daniel 4:30 The king spoke, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?
31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee.
32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most-High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomsoever he will.
Thus, with the numerous examples there before us, let’s see what lessons we can learn from the story of David numbering the people have gone because, we have a funny feeling that one day soon, we in our day may soon see an angel in the sky, either literally or figuratively. Pay close attention to the lessons.
You will observe in the narrative that Joab was well aware of the sinfulness of David’s command, thus it was a well-informed decision that he made to move forward in obeying David. He was quite upset when he did so, but he did it anyway. Let’s read:
1st Chronicles 21:3 And Joab answered, The Lord make his people a 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?
4 Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.
6 But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab.
Lesson [1] God honors deliberate, well informed choices persons make even if the choices are made with great hesitation and reservation. Even if you had second thoughts, or you were very upset when the decision was made, it still stands as a decision in the courts of heaven, once it was well informed.
Even though Joab hated the command given him by David, and even though he was greatly upset while he was doing so, it still counts as a solid decision in the books of heaven because he was well informed about what he was doing.
Again, when the children of Israel clamored for a king, they were not to be left in darkness about the bad things the king would do. All of the gory details were laid bare before them, so that their decisions would be made with a clear knowledge of what they were getting into.
Therefore, afterwards, when they would suffer from buyer’s remorse, and the oppression of their king would start to bite them, their deep regrets would not change the facts on the ground, and they were not to expect God to deliver them quickly from the well-informed choices that were made.
There are situations where because of a bad choice on the part of some individuals, irreparable harm is done, and no amount of confessing or handwringing will change the facts of consequence. You may have a genuine change of heart, but once the horses have left the barn, damage will occur at some level.
Individuals, as well as nations, are responsible not only for good decisions, but also for bad ones when such choices are well informed up front. We must be very careful of harboring erroneous concepts of deliverance from God, for He respects all decisions that are made deliberately.
When the mark of the beast raises its ugly head across the land, persons will not be left in darkness as to the ramifications and consequences of their choices. In fact, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain is not given to coerce any person into refusing the mark.
The purpose of the latter rain is primarily to bring the truth in the matter, as well as the consequences of your choice to the forefront of your mind, so that none will make their decision blindly.
But, if after exposing the bare facts, a person was to still go ahead and receive the mark, God, as in times past, will respect your choice, even as you will have very deep regrets for having done so. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 8: 4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah,
5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit. yet protest solemnly unto them, and shew them the manner of the king that shall reign over them.
11 And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, No; but we will have a king over us;
22 And the Lord said to Samuel, hearken unto their voice, and make them a king.
Having great regrets for making any well-informed decision does not negate the fact that you made it, and therefore, whatsoever the fallout might be, we would have to face the music, as it were. Adam was upset at Eve for eating of the fruit.
But when he himself ate of it knowing full well what he was doing, his deep remorse did not change the facts on the ground and thus, the fallout of that one fatal decision he would now have to face, grim and deadly, though it would be. Let’s read:
1st Timothy 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 56>57] Adam understood that his companion had transgressed the command of God. There was a terrible struggle in his mind. He mourned that he had permitted Eve to wander from his side. He resolved to share her fate; if she must die, he would die with her.
Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
9 And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?
This leads us to our second lesson:
[2] Very often, there will be collateral damage to persons and nations, who may not have had anything to do with a particular decision made by others.
1st Chronicles 21:13 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.
14 So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
Some individuals struggle with the issue of collateral damage, for it seems to their minds that only those who were directly responsible should suffer for their choices or decisions. Therefore, there is something that we must be reconciled to, that the very nature of sin is to cause collateral damage.
Sometimes collateral damage occurs with the aiders and abettors, but sometimes it could also happen to persons who may have had nothing to do with the decisions made by others. This is just a fact of life in our fallen world, that we will have to be reconciled to, tough as it may be.
Joshua and Caleb were faithful, as they stood firm for the right when the other spies buckled and fell, but Joshua and Caleb had to wander in the deserts for forty years, the same as those who were guilty of rebellion.
One of the reasons God strongly cautions us not to sin is because sin has a ripple effect on others, some more, some less. These ripple effects often reach to the third and fourth generation, if indulged by those who come after in the line of succession.
Although many persons in David’s day did not like the idea of taking the census, yet some of them had cherished the same pride which often tends to steal God’s glory. Thus, by partaking of the same spirit as did David, they became guilty by association.
Not everyone at Calvary spat on Jesus or pierced His hands and feet, and not all who were present beat Him with many stripes. But the mere fact that many showed up in support of the priests, caused them to be part and parcel of the whole scheme, and they were accomplices in the abuse meted out to Christ.
Therefore, collateral damage results in many cases, to persons who may not have been directly involved with the decision making. Jesus suffered collateral damage as a result of Adam’s sin, and throughout the history of the world, nations as well as persons have had to confront the same reality.
Billions of animals perished in the flood, and yet it is a fact that they never did anything wrong. And there are many children who have died in Gaza, who were never directly involved in October 7. And yes, many who died on 9/11 had nothing to do with terrorism.
This leads us to our third lesson:
[3] Whenever bad decisions have been made, and a reversal of fortune is desired, there must be a deep soul searching, accepting of responsibility, and true repentance including turning away from the choices that were made. Let’s read:
1st Chronicles 21:16 And 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 and stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
17 And David said unto God, is not it I who have 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.
18 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.
26 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.
27 And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.
In our day, if individuals desire a change of fortunes, there must be deep soul searching and turning away from the perspectives and deceptions that too many have indulged. The Lord is merciful, and He takes no pleasure in our afflictions, but we must never try to rush Him into undoing the mess we got ourselves into.
There came a time in the narrative when the angel in the sky was commanded to put away his sword, but the timing of deliverance is entirely up to God, and we are not to get all riled up, and upset with Him if we feel He isn’t moving as fast as we would like.
It takes time for truth, mercy, justice and retribution to do their appointed work, and therefore, if folks have made well-informed bad choices, we should be willing to wait on The Lord for His mercy to be made manifest.
In the mean time we will have to bite the proverbial bullet, and we’ll have to hunker down in deep soul searching, but at the appointed time, God will hear and answer the prayers that are being lifted up in sincerity and truth.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that should help us to look beyond that which is seen to that which is eternal, for tribulations will not last forever, and the time is coming soon when God will make wrongs right. Let’s read:
Hebrews 12: 11 Now, no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
12 Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees;
13 And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.
God Bless!