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.”
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. 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.”
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. 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.” 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.” 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. 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. – 2 Samuel 24:12-25 ESV
David had sinned. He had conducted a census to determine the size of his nation and, ultimately, his army. His actions revealed that his trust was not in the Lord but in the size and strength of his army. But having completed his ill-fated census, David immediately regretted his decision and recognized it as an affront to God.
“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.” – 2 Samuel 24:10 ESV
David was wise to confess his sin, but his iniquity and guilt remained. He knew that restitution would need to be made. Some form of payment would be required to cover the sin he had committed. David was well-acquainted with the requirements of the sacrificial law and knew that his sin must be atoned for. The author of Hebrews reminds us: “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22 ESV).
David couldn’t just say, “I’m sorry” and then expect everything to go back to the way it was before. Payment for sin was required, and God offered David three different payment plans. He sent word to David through a prophet named Gad.
“I will give you three choices. Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.” – 2 Samuel 24:12 NLT
His three choices included a lengthy famine, a devastating plague, or a three-month time period when his mighty army would be powerless against its enemies. In all three cases, death was a non-negotiable outcome. His people were either going to die by the sword, starvation, or sickness. David’s response seems to indicate that the one option he ruled out was the three months' worth of defeat at the hands of his enemies. He cried out to God, “let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands” (2 Samuel 24:14 NLT). This man who had just taken a census to determine the size of his army had no desire to go to war. It wasn’t that he was afraid of a good fight, it was that he knew this one would be a losing proposition. For someone used to always coming out on the winning side, the thought of being humiliated by his enemies was not an option. So, he begged God to remove that option.
“…let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great. Do not let me fall into human hands.” – 2 Samuel 24:14 NLT
David opted to have God mete out the punishment, trusting in His mercy and grace. So, God sent a plague across the entire nation of Israel. The nature of God’s chosen form of punishment should not be overlooked. David had just finished numbering his people and determining the size of his fighting force. The census revealed that he had a potential army of one million three hundred thousand men, a fact that must have pleased David greatly. During his reign, the population of Israel had increased greatly, making him the ruler of a mighty nation and the commander of a formidable army.
But God’s judgment would prove costly and go directly to the heart of David’s sin: His misplaced trust in the size of his army. As a result of the plague, David lost 70,000 men, a staggering figure that represents close to 20 percent of his fighting force. Sadly, these men all died as a result of David’s sin, not because they had done anything to deserve it. They didn’t have the honor of sacrificing their lives in the heat of battle while facing the enemies of Israel. They were struck down by a debilitating plague because of a sin committed by their commander-in-chief, and they were not alone. An undetermined number of women and children also died as a result of the plague.
The text makes it clear that the death toll was going to increase greatly because God’s angel “was preparing to destroy Jerusalem” (2 Samuel 24:16 NLT). The plague had already lasted three days and now the city of David was to be the target of God’s wrath. But when David witnessed the destruction he had brought upon his people, he cried out to God again.
“I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? Let your anger fall against me and my family.” – 2 Samuel 24:17 NLT
As a result of David’s plea, God sent the prophet Gad with instructions.
“Go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” – 2 Samuel 24:18 NLT
This is where it all gets interesting. The threshing floor of Araunah was where the angel of the Lord had been stopped by God from bringing any more destruction upon the people.
But as the angel was preparing to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That is enough!” At that moment the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. – 2 Samuel 24:16 NLT
This place held special significance for the Israelites. Centuries earlier, the patriarch Abraham had gone to this very same spot to offer up his son Isaac as a sacrifice to God. He and his wife Sarah had waited over 60 years for Isaac to be born. Yet God, who had promised to give Abraham a son and had miraculously caused his barren wife to give birth, commanded that the long-awaited child be put to death.
“Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” – Genesis 22:2 ESV
Amazingly, Abraham obeyed the command of God and prepared to sacrifice the life of his son. But at the last second, God intervened and an angel of the Lord stayed Abraham’s hand. Then God provided a substitute sacrifice, a ram whose horns had been caught in a thicket. That ram took Isaac’s place and its blood was spilled on his behalf.
So he [Abraham] took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place Yahweh-Yireh (which means “the Lord will provide”). – Genesis 22:13-14 NLT
Now, centuries later, God commanded David to build an altar to offer a sacrifice on behalf of his people.
David built an altar there to the Lord and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord answered his prayer for the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped. – 2 Samuel 24:25 NLT
This was no coincidence. God chose this spot for a reason. It was at this location that He had spared the life of Isaac. It was here that He would spare the people of Israel. And it would be on this very same spot, the threshing floor of Araunah, that Solomon would build his magnificent temple, where countless sacrifices would be made on behalf of the people. Sacrifice was required for forgiveness to be received because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. David could confess his sins, but payment was still required.
As followers of Christ, we live under a different dispensation. We are no longer required to make payment for our sins. We don’t have to shed the blood of an innocent animal to satisfy the just demands of a holy God. Why? Because our sins have been paid for in full. The apostle John reminds us, “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness” (1 John 1:9 NLT). All we have to do is confess our sins. There is no more condemnation for our sins. There is no further payment required because Jesus paid it all. The author of Hebrews tells us just how different things are now because of what Jesus did for us on the cross.
The sacrifices under that system [the Mosaic law] were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. – Hebrews 10:1-4 NLT
But he goes on to give us the good news:
For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. – Hebrews 10:10 NLT
Our sins, past, present, and future, have all been paid for by Christ’s death on the cross. He paid the debt we owed. He covered our sins with His blood. As a result, we have complete forgiveness for ALL of our sins. We don’t have to ask for forgiveness; we simply have to confess our sins. The forgiveness is guaranteed. When we sin, God’s Spirit convicts us, and that conviction leads us to confess our sins to God. To confess means to agree with Him that we have sinned against Him. When we confess, He responds with forgiveness – each and every time – faithfully and fully.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.