Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20061126.htm

THE PREINCARNATE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST
Part XVI: Christ's Work With David And Israel: A Call To Trust In God Over Material Resources
(2 Samuel 24:1-25 et al.)
  1. Introduction
    1. Often we Christians are tempted to rely on the numbers of people in our church services, the amount of the offering given or the extensiveness of our church programs for the spiritual welfare of the church.
    2. Though God can bless the Church with such things (Acts 2:47), it is sin for us to depend on them rather than the Lord Who gives these, a lesson learned by David and Israel at the hand of the Preincarnate Christ:
  2. Christ's Work With David: A Call To Trust In God Over Material Resources, 2 Sam. 24:1-25 et al.
    1. Though 2 Samuel 24:16-17 reports David spoke to "the angel of the Lord" at the threshingfloor of Araunah, 2 Chronicles 3:1 further identifies this "Angel" as "the Lord"; thus, in accord with what we have learned in this lesson series so far, the Angel of the Lord David met at Araunah's threshingfloor was the Preincarnate Jesus Christ, "the Second Person of the Trinity," Ryrie St. Bib., KJV, ftn. to Gen. 16:10.
    2. In that event, the Preincarnate Christ appeared to David and his elders as suspended between heaven and earth with His sword drawn and stretched over Jerusalem to slay many people, cf. 1 Chron. 21:15-16.
    3. This judgment had arisen from David's dependence on material resources in place of the Lord:
      1. God had been angry at some undisclosed sin in the people of Israel, so He had moved David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah," 2 Samuel 24:1.
      2. We learn from 1 Chronicles 21:1 that God had allowed Satan to provoke David to do this thing, meaning Satanic activity was involved in the temptation behind this move.
      3. The reason David was tempted to number Israel came from a shift in his trust that relied on the resources of the number of warriors he had versus properly trusting in the Lord:
        1. Under the Mosaic Covenant that ruled the nation Israel in David's era, God promised that obedience to Him meant success for them in war, cf. Deuteronomy 28:1, 7.
        2. However, disobedience would lead to the opposite result, for then Israel's enemies would soundly defeat and demoralize them in battle, Deuteronomy 28:15, 25.
        3. Accordingly, as was seen in the battle of Gideon against the numerous Midianites, even a few warriors on Israel's side did not keep them from soundly defeating their foes, Judges 7:1-3, 4-7, 22.
      4. When David commanded his chief military commander, Joab to number the people, Joab initially objected, noting it was a foolish, ungodly move, but David's word prevailed against his, 2 Sam. 24:2-4.
      5. Nearly ten months later when the census was finished (2 Samuel 24:8), David's conscience bothered him over this faithless numbering of his warriors, and he confessed his sin to the Lord, 2 Sam. 24:10.
      6. God's prophet, Gad, replied that God would give David three choices for the punishment -- seven years of famine, fleeing three months before his enemies or three days of disease upon the people, 24:11-13.
      7. David in faith flung himself on God's punishment rather than falling into the hands of men, 24:14.
      8. God then had responded by sending the third choice, the disease, to strike down a large number of people in the land in accord with His initial anger against Israel for their sin, 2 Samuel 24:15, 1.
    4. David then appealed to the Preincarnate Christ Who stood suspended between heaven and earth at the threshingfloor of Araunah, and God told him to offer a sacrifice on that spot to end the plague, 24:16-18.
    5. David did so, paying for the threshingfloor and sacrifice in order to make the sacrifice a true one before the Lord, 2 Samuel 24:19-25a. God's wrath was appeased, and the plague was ended, 2 Samuel 24:25b.
Lesson: Due to sin in Israel and faithlessness in David, God let Satan tempt David to number his men, so God sent a plague of death to diminish the number of Israel's warriors. Only when David turned to rely on God's mercy in discipline rather than fall into the hands of men, an act of faith in God in itself, and offer a sacrifice that cost him MORE material resources in his money, did God end the plague.

Application: (1) To rely on human numbers, money or programs in churches for blessing is sin, for it arises from a lack of faith in God Himself from Whom all blessings flow. (2) Such an errant focus can be fueled by Satan! (3) Thus, Christian leaders and laymen alike must repent of such unbelief for blessing, (4) a repentance involving a shift from relying on ALL OTHER resources BUT God Himself!