THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

The Books Of Samuel: God's Shift Of Israel From Apostasy Under The Judges To David's Reign

II. 2 Samuel: The Reign Of David Over Israel

Z. God's Timeless Lesson That We Trust Him For Our Provisions

(2 Samuel 24:1-25 et al.)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Concern over a lack of provisions to meet personal needs leads many people to be frustrated and worried:

(1) It is happening on the national level relative to the disastrous effects of hurricane Harvey in Texas: financial guru Dave Ramsay on his last Thursday radio show told of a number of e-mails he has received from people in the flood zone who were wondering how they could get out of debt because the workplace where they earned money was still under water, and they couldn't even get to work, not to mention earn money to pay off their debts.

Dave said he was encouraging them not to worry about debt right now, but to focus instead on basic survival!

(1) It happens in state government in regards to finances: in a letter to the Republican-American, August 25, 2017, p. 6A, deputy Senate Republican president pro tempore, Senator Kevin D. Witkos of Canton, wrote: "Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's executive order slashing education funding is devastating and enraging . . . (T)he upper echelon of unionized state employees have guaranteed raises and security, but our students don't, our teachers don't, the parents of children with disabilities don't, and property taxpayers don't. It's not right."

(2) It happens in religious realms, too: in a letter to the paper, Richard Corrigan of Watertown (Ibid.) wrote about the merger of two parishes under the leadership of the Archdiocese of Hartford (AOH), complaining that one religious leader "seems more concerned with the merging of finances than the merging of the faithful into one flock."

(3) We face it locally: provision needs are an ongoing concern, and always have been, at our local level.

Need: So, we ask, "How can we deal with the frustration or fear we face over the need for adequate provisions?!"

I. Concerned about his ability to wage war, David sinned by numbering Israel's warriors, for he trusted in human might instead of the Lord, 2 Samuel 24:1-9; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to 2 Samuel 24:1:

A. David directed his army commander Joab to number Israel's warriors, 2 Samuel 24:1-2 NIV.

B. Joab objected, claiming that the numbering was needless since God would supply the men Israel needed, v. 3.

C. However, David insisted on numbering the warriors, so Joab obeyed David's directive, 2 Samuel 24:4-9.

D. David then became convicted of the sin of unbelief in God that was behind his numbering effort, v. 10; Ibid.

II. From God's perspective, 2 Samuel 24:1a shows He wanted to punish Israel for sin, and 2 Chronicles 21:1 claims He let Satan tempt David to number the men, so God let David number Israel's men to fulfill His will not only to punish Israel but also to teach David by discipline a timeless lesson on trusting in Him:

A. God taught David to rely on Him, not men, in having him select what punishment to face, 2 Sam. 24:11-14:

1. The Lord gave David the choice of being punished by suffering 3 (not 7, cf. B. K. C., O. T., p. 482) years of famine, being pursued by his enemies for 3 months or by suffering a 3-day disease epidemic, v. 11-13.

2. The first two choices put David and Israel at risk of great abuse by men: a famine would put Israel at risk of financial oppression by Gentiles who sold them food, and pursuit by foes would greatly oppress them.

3. The last choice of an epidemic left David and Israel in God's hands alone, and since God was merciful in contrast to men, David opted for the disease epidemic, a step of faith in God instead of man, 2 Sam. 24:14.

B. God also taught David to rely on Him, not men, with a timeless lesson while administering the discipline:

1. While delivering the epidemic to punish Israel (2 Sam. 24:1, 15), the Angel of the Lord, the Preincarnate Christ, stretched out His hand to slay Jerusalem, but God the Father in mercy restrained Him, 2 Samuel 24:16a; 1 Chronicles 21:15-18. [The Angel of the Lord is presented as deity and is the Preincarnate Christ in each event of His appearance in this sermon, John F. Walvoord, Jesus Christ Our Lord, 1974, p. 44-45.]

2. This event coupled with what occurred next taught David to heed the precedent of Abraham 1,000 years before (Ibid., Ryrie, p. 2021-2025) at that very spot where Abraham had trusted God to provide a ram:

a. David met the Angel of the Lord at Araunah's threshing floor, 2 Samuel 24:16b; 1 Chronicles 21:15-18.

b. This spot was also called Mount Moriah where Solomon later built the temple (2 Chron. 3:1) and from Genesis 22:2, 14, we know it is also the place where Abraham offered up Isaac 1,000 years before David.

c. Like the Preincarnate Christ had once kept Abraham from slaying his son Isaac and provided a ram as a sacrifice in Isaac's place (Genesis 22:7-12), so God the Father in mercy forbade the Angel of the Lord, the Preincarnate Christ, from slaying Jerusalem's people in David's day and told David to offer a sacrifice in place of Jerusalem's people for their preservation from the epidemic, 2 Samuel 24:17-25. [This all beautifully pictures how the Angel of the Lord Himself, the Preincarnate Christ, later in His role as the Lamb of God, was offered up by God the Father as His sacrifice in our place for our salvation!]

3. Yet, Abraham in turn had relied on a precedent to trust God to provide the sacrifice in place of his son:

a. Just before Abraham had offered up his son, Isaac had asked his father what he would use for the sacrifice, and Abraham had replied, "My son, God will provide himself a lamb . . ." (Genesis 22:7-8 KJV)

b. The verb "provide" there is literally "see," ra'ah in the Hebrew (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 29), and it is used idiomatically like our saying, "See to it; provide," B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 906-909.

c. So, after the Angel of the Lord kept him from slaying Isaac and supplied a ram in his place, Abraham named the spot, "Jahweh jir'eh (imperfect of ra'ah)," or, "Jahweh will see," which means, "Jahweh will see to it; provide," a beloved saying later used in connection with the temple mount itself, Gen. 22:11-14.

4. However, Abraham's confidence that God would "see to it" in supplying a substitutionary animal for Isaac was in turn based on his recollection of the same verb, ra'ah that was used by Hagar in her time of need:

a. When childless Abraham and Sarah back in Genesis 16:1-7 had tried to produce a son in their own effort by giving Sarah's maidservant Hagar to Abraham, and Hagar had become pregnant by him only to despise her mistress so that Sarah mistreated her and Hagar had fled from Sarah out into the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord, the Preincarnate Christ, had found Hagar there in her time of provisional need.

b. The Preincarnate Christ had then told her to return and submit to Sarah, and that Hagar was to be encouraged that she would bear a son, Ishmael, who would be great and be the father of many people, for the Lord had heard Hagar's affliction and would bless her and her son, Genesis 16:8-12.

c. Accordingly, Hagar had called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, "You are the God Who sees me" (Genesis 16:13 NIV), and the verb "see" there is ra'ah, the same verb Abraham later used in his saying "Jahweh jir'eh" on Mount Moriah regarding God's intervening provision of a ram in place of his son Isaac.

d. Thus, Abraham had recalled God's gracious provision for Hagar when she had fled from Sarah, so he used the verb Hagar had used, but in its idiomatic sense, in hope that God would provide a substitutionary sacrifice for his son Isaac just like the Lord had formerly provided blessing for Hagar and her unborn son!

5. Yet, Hagar's reference to God's "seeing" her in her affliction reflects the precedent in her ancestor Noah:

a. The verb ra'ah is also used of God's "seeing" the oppressive world in Genesis 6:5 as well as "seeing" Noah as alone being upright in his era in Genesis 7:1 so that God would save Noah from his oppressive world via the ark, Solomon Mankelkern, Veteris Testamenti Concordantiae, 1978, p. 1054, 1057.

b. The Gentile Hagar had thus trusted the God Who "saw" the need of her ancestor Noah who faced an oppressive world, what she could apply to His "seeing" and meeting her needs in her personal oppression!

6. Thus, based on the precedents of Abraham, Hagar and Noah, David was to apply God's timeless lesson to rely on the Lord to "see" the oppressive problem he faced and also "see to it" in addressing it!

Lesson: God used a disciplinary trial on sinful Israel and David to teach him the timeless lesson dating back generations of believers to Noah of his need to rely on God versus human might to provide for his needs.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ to be saved versus trying to gain salvation by works, John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9. (2) If facing frustrating or fearful trials relative to our needs of provision(s), (a) may we plan and budget the resources God has already supplied, but (b) realize He wants us to trust Him to provide what else we need rather than rely on human resources to our frustration and fear. (3) God will "see to it" that our needs are met.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

While I was recently out of the Church office, my rickety, tottering office floor lamp finally fell headlong across the computer desk and scarred the monitor screen that is used in forming sermons and lessons. I turned on the computer to find that it still worked fine, but the scar across the screen was incredibly ugly and distracting!

My wife and I still had $15 left over in our summer vacation savings column of the budget, so using that money, I bought a new floor lamp for under $10 and put a light bulb in it that is supposed to last for 20 years. Then, borrowing a moistened scouring pad and a can of Comet cleanser from our Church kitchen in Fellowship Hall, I cautiously worked on the scar and erased it in 2 minutes. God had provided all we needed to get back to His calling!

This is just a tiny illustration of God's timeless willingness and ability to provide for our needs, no matter what they are, so that we can do His will for us! May we then look to Him, and "Jahweh jir'eh," or, "God will see to it"!

May we trust in Christ for salvation. Then, may we trust in God, not man, for our provisional needs.