A Storybook Ending?

February 15th, 2025

A Storybook Ending?

2 Samuel 24:1-9

1 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” 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?” 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.

2 Chronicles 21:1

1 Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers and was buried with his fathers in the city of David, and Jehoram his son reigned in his place.

The Ending We Want

I remember watching the final at-bat of Derek Jeter, the New York Yankees’ longtime shortstop and beloved team captain. With a runner on second in the bottom of the ninth, Jeter slapped the first pitch the other way to drive in the walk-off run. His teammates carried him off the field, and the home crowd went wild. It was a storybook ending to a Hall of Fame career. It’s the kind of ending we would like for David.

Instead, we get an old, foolish king, kneeling in the dust of a threshing floor, building an altar with trembling hands. He is trying desperately to turn back the judgment his sin has brought on the land (24:18–25). It may not be the ending we want, but it is the ending we need, drawing together some of the most important themes of David’s life. It reminds us that David’s story is really about a very big God.

David's Empire

David’s desire to “number Israel’s army” seems harmless to us (1–2). But in Israel, only God authorizes a census like this (Num 1). Pagan kings relied on their big armies; Israel’s humbly trusted in God (Psalm 20:7). David here is acting like an owner, when he is really a steward. Even Joab understands this is a bad idea! Joab is no choirboy, but he knows this census will provoke God, and tries to talk David out of it. Furthermore, David knows full well that he is going off on his own. In v10, he calls his actions “sin,” “iniquity,” and “foolishness.” So David knows better; he just doesn’t care. He wants to flex like a Canaanite king, and no one will talk him out of it. He ignores his own conscience, he ignores Joab, and he definitely does not send for Pastor Gad, or open his Bible. He knows what he wants to do, and so he does it. Have you ever been there?

Satan's Empire

But more is going on here. First Chronicles 21 reports the same story, but provides further insight: “Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel (1 Chr 21:1).” When David sins, he thinks, like all of us, that he is in control: declaring his independence, thinking and acting for himself. In reality, he is being led around by Satan, who wants to destroy his soul and God’s kingdom. While David crows, “look at my empire!” Satan smirks: “look at my empire, and my arrogant little king!”

God's Empire

But there is even more going on! Behind both David and Satan stands a God who declares, “my purposes will stand, and I will do all that I please (Isa 46:10).” We learn of God’s sovereign activity in 24:1: “Again the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them.” There is mystery here, and so we tread carefully. But it appears that Israel has sinned in a big way that God must judge. At the same time, God wants to humble proud David. He also wants to exalt himself over the devil by thwarting his plans (1 Chr 21:1). He also wants to give Israel the land for the Temple so he can atone for their sins there and pave the way for Christ’s coming (24:24–25). He also wants to teach you and me today through this story (1 Cor 10:6)!

So God gives Satan access to David (Job 1:12). He gives David over to his pride (Rom 1:18–31). When all is said and done, God has accomplished all the counsel of his will (Eph 1:11), through the schemes of the devil, and the sins of his people (Ps 76:10). He’s a big God! Just ask Job (Job 1–2), Joseph (Gen 50:20; Ps 105:17), Peter (Luke 22:31), or even Jesus (Acts 2:23)! Is your God that big? You don’t toy with a God like this. But you can trust him.

FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT, SEE:

Into Whose Hands Will You Fall?