David, Pt. 14: "Looking into The Mirror of Reality" (2 Sam 24)

LOOKING INTO THE MIRROR OF REALITY (2 SAMUEL 24)
Domino’s founder Tom Monaghan is a colorful and controversial character. He made his fortune after eight years of hard work in pizza delivery but squandered it all on an expensive lifestyle. At the height of his success, he bought the Detroit Tigers baseball team, collected pricey Bugatti autos, Frank Lloyd drawings and artifacts, and purchased a dream ranch in Ann Arbor, where herds of buffalos roamed. He struggled for years to rebuild his lost empire and sold his family’s 90% stake in the business after he finally turned it around.

Monaghan then decided to spend his money on charity instead of on himself. A devout Catholic, he opened a mission in Honduras and supervised the construction of a cathedral in Nicaragua. On the local front, he bankrolled Catholic elementary schools in Ann Armor, Michigan, and a Catholic liberal arts college in nearby Ypsilanti.

The pizza mogul attributed his spending spree to compensation for his mother abandoning him at the age of four to foster homes and an orphanage, but his extravagances and toys did not make him happy. Monaghan confessed, “Most of the time I was buying things to get attention, to have people notice me. That’s the sin of pride, the worst sin of all, and I’m the guiltiest person.” (“A Tale of Pizza, Pride and Piety,” Time 10/26/98)

The last thing David did in 2 Samuel was to number the army. Readers are not told why he did so but pride seems to be the major reason. Also, no one has figured out the discrepancy between the record in the parallel passages of 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1 – whether God or Satan incited David to call the census.

What is antidote or answer to pride? Why does pride make a man do foolish things? What can we do to prevent the sin of pride?

Be Realistic – You Cannot Fool People
1 Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.” 2 So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.” 3 But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?” 4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel. (2 Sam 24:1-4)

A stockbroker was cold calling about a penny stock and found a taker. “I think this one will really move,” said the broker, “it’s only $1 a share.” “Buy me 1000 shares.” said the client.

The next day the stock was at $2. The client called the broker and said, “You were right, give me 5,000 more shares.” The next day the client looked in the paper and the stock was at $4.

The client ran to the phone and called the broker, “Get me 10,000 more shares.” “Great!” said the broker.

The next day the client looked in the paper and the stock was at $9. Seeing what a great profit he had in just a few days, the client ran to the phone and told the broker, “Sell all my shares!” The broker said, “To whom? You were the only one buying that stock.

Tony Campolo says, “Pride is arrogant self-worship.” (Tony Campolo, 7 Deadly Sins 74).

David lived in his own world. His head was in the clouds and he was building his own ivory towers. He did not listen to anyone, discuss with anyone or seek for advice. Words fell on deaf ears. In fact, he was preoccupied with trivial pursuit, stroking his ego and feeding his pride. He couldn’t get unstuck or get off his high horse.

Bible scholars were befuddled by what David did what he did. Was it for taxation or military purpose? Was he counting heads to see how much income he can add to the king’s coffers? Was he preparing for a huge military exercise? Or was it because he had nothing to do that he resorted to counting numbers? David had no reason to spend so much time, energy, money and resources, mainly because no enemies or nations were threatening him.

Joab, David’s general, and the generals (v 2) tried to talk him out of numbering the troops, shaking their heads in utter disbelief and detestation (1 Chron 21:6). David did more than overruled Joab and the army commanders’ protest (v 4). The word used is “prevailed” in Hebrew, or strengthening and fortifying his stand - the same word for the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart against Moses (Ex 7:13, 22, 8:19, 9:12, 9:35, 10:20, 10:27, 11:10, 14:8). David didn’t care even if could not answer the general’s question (v 3): Why is it so important to the king? What was eating the king? The commanders of the army, too, weighed in on the problem and cautioned David in vain. Nobody knew what pushed his buttons. Even the priestly Levitical tribe was not spared the draft (1 Chron 21:6). The logistics of the job were mind-boggling. Along with Joab, the commanders were the highest ranking officers in David’s army. In other armies, they would have sole charge of the army (1 Sam 12:9, 17:55). They couldn’t stand by and say nothing, but their words, too, fell on deaf ears. David went solo. He was adamant on doing things his way. He was too big to agree on anything, accept any advice or allow for differences.

Be Responsive – You Cannot Fool Yourself
5 After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer. 6 They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon. 7 Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah. 8 After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. (2 Sam 24:5-8)

A farm boy accidentally overturned his wagon load of corn. The farmer who lived nearby heard the noise. “Hey Willis!!” the farmer yelled, “Forget your troubles. Come in with us. Then I’ll help you get the wagon up.”

“That’s mighty nice of you,” Willis answered, “but I don’t think Pa would like me to.” “Aw, come on,” the farmer insisted. “Well okay,” the boy finally agreed, and added, “but Pa won’t like it.”

After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host and said, “I feel a lot better now, but I know Pa is going to be real upset.” “Don’t be foolish,” the neighbor said with a smile, “by the way, where is he?” “Under the wagon,” the boy replied.

It’s been said, “Conscience is the still small voice people won’t listen to.”

David’s conscience bothered him after the census was completed. His conscience pained, pricked and pierced him for his stubbornness and insistence upon his plan. He didn’t feel right and couldn’t do much unless he repented and confessed his sin. His turnaround was supposedly good and laudable, except that it was after nine months and twenty days after the fact (v 8), or a full year of school later! Moreover, Joab and the commanders (v 4), and not the whole army or the country’s civilians and volunteers, were specified to do the job. No wonder the king's command was repulsive to the aging Joab (1 Chron 21:6). The general and his commander’s great and varied talents were lacking use, and their potential laid to waste.

John Owen (1616-1683) said, “Ability of speech in time and season is an especial gift of God…venting itself on all occasions and on no occasions, making men open their mouths wide when indeed they should shut them and open their ears, and to pour out all that they know and what they do not know, making them angry if they are not heard and impatient if they are contradicted, is... against all true spiritual wisdom.”

Joab and the commanders of army took months and months to complete the task. Nine months and twenty days from day one. It was an arduous, a thankless and an endless job. They had to go the length and breath of the country, count every able-bodied person in and out of the country – all the way to enemy territory, into the land of the Hivites and Canaanites (v 7). David’s vanity knew no bounds. He couldn’t care less if he was endangering his men’s lives for his pet peeves.

Days turned to weeks and months before the king’s conscience acted up and a thought struck him: “How pig-headed, thick-skinned and heavy-handed I have been! Everyone had to put their things on hold and put my things as priority.” People tried to hint to him, make a suggestion and bail him out, but David brushed them aside, abused his authority and silenced their voice. The people could only murmur to themselves and talk behind David’s back about how much time, manpower and money the king had wasted on such an outlandish, expensive and insignificant pet project.

If only David had taken the shortcut, the easy street, the fast lane or car pool on decision making instead of going solo and asking for trouble by choosing the long, winding and bumpy road to wisdom. He called it for what it was – foolishness (v 10), because it was a costly venture and a futile exercise. To his credit, David was the only biblical character that confessed his sin as a “very foolish” act. Also, David recognized he was in “deep distress” (v 14) – again, another phrase used once in the Bible. The good thing was that, unlike his sin with Bathsheba, he confessed to sin before the prophet Gad came calling. This time readers know that he had changed and learned.

Be Rich – You Cannot Fool God
20 When Araunah looked and saw the king and his men coming toward him, he went out and bowed down before the king with his face to the ground. 21 Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” “To buy your threshing floor,” David answered, “so I can build an altar to the LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped.” 22 Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take whatever pleases him and offer it up. Here are oxen for the burnt offering, and here are threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood. 23 O king, Araunah gives all this to the king.” Araunah also said to him, “May the LORD your God accept you.” 24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them. (2 Sam 24:20-24)

One day, a man walks into a dentist's office and asks how much it will cost to extract wisdom teeth. “Eighty dollars,” the dentist says. “That's a ridiculous amount,” the man says. “Isn't there a cheaper way?”

“Well,” the dentist says, “if you don't use an anesthetic, I can knock it down to $60.” “That's still too expensive,” the man says.

“Okay,” says the dentist. “If I save on anesthesia and simply rip the teeth out with a pair of pliers, I could get away with charging $20.” “Nope,” moans the man, “it's still too much.”

“Hm,” says the dentist, scratching his head. “If I let one of my students do it for the experience, I suppose I could charge you just $10.” “Marvelous,” says the man, “book my wife for next Tuesday!”

David was not a cheapskate. He could have satisfied God’s requirement of building an altar to Him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (v 18) with low or no cost. He could have gotten something for nothing. Araunah was more than willing and eager to give up his threshing floor to the king for free. The attitude of Araunah was so refreshing. Once David stated that the threshing floor was used for an altar to the LORD to stop the plague on the people (v 21), Araunah promptly said, “Offer it up.” Araunah passionately offered up his threshing floor, oxen and even his threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood – everything and anything at the mention of God’s people, his neighbors and fellow Jebusites. All in all, it was a substantial offer. A threshing floor is any open space. Oxen meant more than one “ox.” He even threw in the threshing sledges and ox yokes for wood.

It was child’s play and all so easy for David to use his power as a king to negotiate for a better bargain or to seek for a better discount, but he offered to buy the site from Araunah at a premium and more. He couldn’t give to God what was bought at a cheap price, as an afterthought, especially after God had spared him. Rabbi Goldman explains the wisdom of David’s reasoning: “If I choose famine, the people will say that I chose something which will affect them and not me, for I shall be well supplied with food; if I choose war, they will say that the king is well protected; let me choose pestilence, before which all are equal” (Frank E. Gaebelein, ed., Expositor’s Bible Commentary vol.3, page 1100). My wife suggested David did not choose the second option of fleeing from his enemies because he was too old to run and couldn’t survive the hardship!

The king’s outburst and offer more than matched Araunah’s heart. He replied, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (v 24) 2 Samuel 24 states that David paid fifty shekels of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen, but 1 Chronicles 21:25 says that David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. That’s a huge difference between 50 shekels of silver and six hundred shekels of gold. On the other hand, we are not told what else David bought from Araunah – maybe the whole farm to buy out Araunah, to pay for his relocation and to preserve the sanctity of the place.

Conclusion: The reality is that you are not as smart, as selfless, and as strong as you think you are. God warns us not to rely on our might or power, but to rely on His Spirit (Zech 4:6). God will destroy the wisdom of the wise and frustrate the intelligence of the intelligent (1 Cor 1:19). The wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere (James 3:17). Are you humble in your attitude, modest in your ways, and meek or gentle with others? Have you thanked God for what He gave you– your health, talents, and opportunities? What have you done with what you have other than spending it on yourself? Have you been as generous to Him and to others?