Still Searching for a King

Today Jeannie Greer says God's judgment, along with his great mercy in the life of King David Israel's first in first Samuel was one of the king replace God as their security and their treasure.

Now David once an army to replace God as his security address so David said here because he delighted in the strength of numbers, not grace of God ascertaining I'm only benefits listening over the past few weeks. You know where in a series called search were again the study of the life of King David. There's a lot that we can learn from the person who was called a man after God's own heart, not just from his faithfulness but also from his devastating failures. Today we're looking at one of the most perplexing stories of God's judgment. In the Old Testament, and it all happened because David ordered a census to be taken. Doesn't sound so bad does it.

Let's see what God has to teach us today.

Pastor JD titled this message still searching for a king. Our study, one of the most significant Old Testament figures, maybe even more significant figures in all the Bible is much amortize the Bible than anybody else except for Jesus himself and so were talking about somebody that dominates the pages of Scripture as a we have taken our time to work our way through the life of King David and just look at him from just about every possible angle well.

We are nearing the end of that study, but not quite there because second Samuel or go like David Savage same has two different Indians that are given to it in the Bible reason or two different Indians is because there are two parallel accounts of David's life. One of them is in second Samuel in that offer you is one way in the first Chronicles is a parallel account of David's life and that offer is another way. Now these are not to contradictory endings like your little mom says that he died in France in battle, and the other one says he died of a freak mule accident in Egypt that you like that, but it just means that each author chose a different event to summarize and bring together all the events of David's life so it's got to ending and I was looking about the bees and try to figure out which one is endings that I wanted to choose for David's life and difficult decisions are decisions.

This totally stressed me out so I was good to both of them, one on this week. One of the best way which will be our final message, but today in the number one of the life of David come from second Samuel chapter 24 so if you have a Bible I would love for you to pull that out and open up the second symbol 24 and I'm going to working through this passage walk in this passage and work if it is present second table 24 verse one again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and he inside to David against them, saying, going over Israel and Judah. Now there's your way. Your first major problems right there will come back and I would but it wasn't that excited David to do this. But basically the bill is this Davidson's command that he wants his people to number all of the fighting men in Israel, both those that are currently in the Army as an enlisted man as well as those who are eligible for the draft rights of verse three Joab was if you remember the man for Terry says back to King David is like what man may the Lord your God add to the people. 100 times as many as they are. I want our team to have lots of fighting the why does my lord the king delight in this thing this is.

They will are you doing this he sees this as a senseless census is like they what's with what's going on with this sale it says there the word delighted. I think it's a keyword that were to come back to the David's response back. Joab is listen, Manker, Terry Manker, Terry, I'm dictating I make the rules. Joab says yes siren goes out get the job done.

Get the numbers back. David jumped out of verse 10. But David's heart struck him after he had number the people and David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I've done, but now all Lord please take away the iniquity for your service of your servant Ry have done very very foolishly. Now, at this point many of you may be asking the question you like what what David did.

I mean getting account of the people that cells organize the mean no accountant is worth his salt who would not know how many people in his army and how many people there are attacks all I can stop it just sounds like it's a organize, plan, now I am going to give you an explanation for why I think this was so wrong. But before I do that I want to lay out one kind just ground rules for you one little caveat and that is that at the end of the day it's wrong because God told him not to write if you obey Jesus only when he makes sense to you but is not your Lord is your advisor. I am not telling you to check your brain at the door.

I just tell you that if there is a God and you believe this is his word, then you should have at least have the humility to submit to his Lordship. Okay that's my caveat officer box back of the text right here is what I think is wrong with what David did nothing I could reasonably use of the word delighted David finds a delight and how strong is maybe Army probably three things at work there one pride is trying to rejoice in how strong he's bill of the institution is a little what I've done to us for lack of faith that he wasn't on any fighting minis got no whether to do with somebody attacks him what's wrong with that God had promised to take care of them David that used to say that matter how big the child is because God by trust that Dave is not there anymore.

Now he's like yeah that was me when I was a teenager, but now I got responsibilities and I got bills to pay and I got a kingdom right shoulder come down to how big got all the years so there's a lack of faith, pride, lack of faith number three military aggression one of the reasons that that you figure out how many fighting men you have his picture thing about picking a fight right. These things may David delight in his army. He should've been delighting in God he should have been trusting in God, and he should've had his eyes on God's grace not on the potential conquest of other nations. The irony, by the way, I love the author first and second Samuel, every thing I would want it in a book that danger it's got fighting. It's got love and romance and espionage and intrigue and betrayal in the whole time you notice there's potty humor seventh-grade potty humor mixed throughout both of these books and just the capital loss.

It is with this delicious irony. The second signal ends with David repeating the same sin that open person never backing week we started this study, Israel's first sin going in the first Samuel was that they wanted a king replace God as their security and their treasure.

Now David once an army to replace God as his security and treasure to David's sin here because he delighted in the strength of his numbers not in the grace of God told me ask you this question about you was that you delighted what makes your heart soar just a little bit when you think about it what you wrote your house like that they hear it. It is a certain war that you gotten it is and how much money you made last year. Maybe you just look in the mirror and you like tank body looks good. I worked on it for like a solid year look like now is what you delight in what causes your heart to delight because we see is a David's sin here is not something altogether. And it seems that he's taking delight in something more than God and he's replace God as his security and his treasure. That's what's behind all this and you and I as individuals and as a church might be much more dangerously close to David and you probably realize because usually, idolatry is not delighting the bad things, lighting a good thing so much that replaces the life you should have in God's grace.

Verse 11, when David arose in the morning were the Lord came to the prophet Gad not get what one of the Nathan Nathan went into retirement. You got a rookie with dad. Dad, the prophet of God that was from Boston investors how they say. Got up there.

That's why think that I go to my Bible. He's right about dad prophet of God says God says the dad going say to David thus says God three things I offer you choose one of them, but I may do it to you is like the worst genie experience ever. Okay everything choose one like I'm going to be above verse 13 show three years of famine come to you in your land or show sleep very much for your photos while they pursue you, or shall there be three days pestilence in your land now considering decide what answer I shall return them. You sent me, namely God. Verse 14 and David said again, I'm in great distress. What is falling to the hand of the Lord for his mercy is great, but let me not fall into the hand of man.

So David chooses the pestilence the plague to come upon the land for three days and it tells you that within three days 70,000 people died 70,000 Israelites died. Now we just make sure you understand the story and I will show you what the problems already have the story. Basically, David decides that he just going to delight in and buy more security in the size of his army that he does God is going to think about what all the things say about him and he's now replace God with himself and his own strength that grieves guidance of God sends a punishment and David chooses a punishment which is three days of plague afflicting the people of Israel and 70,000 people died. I know it. Again, it is passages like this one that are precisely what keeps some people from believing the Old Testament could possibly be from God our they did you see why there were a number of problems.

Some of you probably noticed as we went through there and there's probably some more that you didn't even notice.

So I'm going to deal with the ones that you saw and then maybe some you didn't see to the results.

See your objections and arrays. You have your objections right in this passage, I see five of them number one was it that incited David to Find even one single 24 says that God David to fight, fighting men.

The Lord, but you know that's kind of a problem but then it gets even worse because if you read this, the parallel account in first Chronicles when the author Chronicles tells the same story he says. Chapter 21, one then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel is in Satan or is it God. That's actually just a misunderstanding of God's sovereignty. The Bible teaches that God sometimes you see allows us to fall prey to the temptations of Satan or allows us to fall prey to even our own evil desires. In one sense God is not the one doing it. Satan's warmest emptiness were the ones that are choosing to yield of activation, but in another sense God is sovereign even over that temptation.

Now, how it is that he takes our free decisions, and even the malicious intentions of Satan and works them for his perfect will him is a mind boggling mystery. I will acknowledge that you, but he doesn't because he's got. If you're one of those people who like everything figured out a math formula. There's just some things about God like this frustrate you because he doesn't fit neatly into your mental XL spreadsheet and another just try some of you crazy. But did you listen talking about God right to stop and think about what that means for a minute if there is a gun if there is a God that he would be infinite in power and infinite wisdom right on telling you is the appropriate question is if there is a God did it make sense to me that there's many things about him how he rules the universe what he does. It just blows my mind and I'm okay with it. Number two is your second problem is there a discrepancy in the numbers reported using other thing you'll notice if you study the first Chronicles account is that there's a discrepancy in the number of people that get reported. �24 says that in the northern states. There were 800,000, whereas first Chronicles 21 says that there were 1.1 million people appointed is not will clearly there's a contradiction here.

The Bible can't possibly written by God because God could count whenever I had a contradiction I am it's it's a fair question. There's one of two things that I usually do. The first thing is just a little research you will research and try to figure out what's all behind us and little research on this passage. What you find out is that first Chronicles 27 tells you there were 288,000 people in the standing army in Israel to the number and second sable 24. The 800,000 that is a report of the number of people eligible to be drafted.

If you add 800,000 eligible to be drafted to 288,000 that are in the standing army, you will come up with 1,088,000 which is basically 1.1 million that was reported in Chronicles. If you're around that number from your 1,080,000 1 million and like well for you guys probably give an exact count. No, that's not fair. I meet Mr. savvy under God knows how many there are, but we all begin rounding and if you call me at 1155 and like what time is it you say noon. I don't scream fire you know you around it's it's it's fine okay so God speaks to us in ways with round numbers and so what you got you got around that year and you've got the number and second Samuel reporting a different number than first Chronicles because there's another number and that number he didn't tell you to research this all works out just fine. I guess one way that I handle stuff like this the other way others freely acknowledge this to you is sometimes a passages like this one. What you got.

When there's a discrepancy in numbers is you got what we call a copyist error copyist error because the Bible has literally been copied over the years hundreds thousands of times down to the years and a lot of times and people are clapping these things by hand or not, you know, scanning it put in Adobe and posted up on the Internet there copied by hand sometimes when it comes to names when it comes to phrasing when it comes to numbers a little copying error will slip into it and I don't need to throw you off under your life overthrew the result, much of it.

If you go to work is not the word of God must first trusted, maybe some monk looked it up according to his own agenda, so to do that okay give me just be honest with you in college. This really threw me off because I will look at certain passages were there be a apparent contradiction or a discrepancy and I've come to him as her successes to be in the word of God. If it's got these errors in it.

I have been 18 years since I was in college I have studied literally hundreds of those suppose contradictions.

Every single one has worked out. Everyone so I'm just telling you that as you approach the word of God.

And when you encounter something like this that looks like a contradiction, I will as the Bible is it's a very earthy ball gets put together somewhat of a messy fashion. But what you'll find is that yes it's written by human authors or 40 of them on three different kind of service manlike 2500 years. What you'll find is that God's Spirit is the one that is guided this and this is a book that you can trust to build your life on and I'll just encourage you not to be lazy and just dismiss it but to get into it and when you study it when you researcher to find these things work out number three number three wasn't the third objective people give light on the punishment like an overreaction line people read your God sadistic plague in response to David kind of people may feel like you know me best got a little cranky here.

One of the things listen to David's counting indicates is a military buildup of Israel. What that means.

What's this is that Israel is becoming like the other nations nation that looks to dominate other nations. Did you know that almost all of the big judgments in the Bible. I mean the apocalyptic stuff almost all the big judgments in the Old Testament, or because of the aggressive violence of the society. Genesis 6 says that when God sent the flood. It was because the world had grown so violent and every thought of men toward one another was one of violence and exploitation. Sodom and Gomorrah, Ezekiel 1649, says that Sodom and Gomorrah were judged for oppressing or in Hebrew grinding the poor.

God sent Jonah to Nineveh to warn it of its impending destruction because it says they were so oppressive and brutal to the surrounding nations.

When God said the children of Israel into Canaan. He said it was because of the Canaanites brutality which included infant sacrifices and the constant pillaging of their neighbors Israel's taking of the promised land was a judgment by God others nations. You see what's happening here in second sable 24 Israel was becoming the very nation that God had used them to judge and if they became like there's nations. God would have to judge them like there's nations. So you see, in one sense this is mercy because if they kept on their current course, their current trajectory, they would turn into a nation that God would have to judge much worse than this thinking Sodom and Gomorrah.

Your thinking. The flight took God's judgment is extreme measure was in some ways, saving them from a much more devastating judgment later in his mercy that make sense to think of it like this. I come home from work here in walking to my house and the life. I can look at that woman's eyes and know that she is had one of those days that you have when you have four kids under the age of seven euros and I know little signal is like.

Don't mess with Veronica and I sit down at table and ate dinner and I don't go look in the eyes of this thought about how good it is and doesn't happen often, but when it happens right so I'm Samara ends.

The other night when my kids smarts off at my wife totally disrespect my wife and I looked up and I can see it in her eyes. If in a red flag waved in front of the bowl. You know, and I look at that kid and we have a rule in our house.

You don't disrespect authority so I picked that kid up from the table and I carry her into the back room and I discipline her, which in our house to spank right now that they will enjoy it. It's discipline, but I have saved that child on at least two accounts 1. I have cured a character flaw in her which, if left unchecked, would damn her soul. Rachel right because if she is in a form to submit to authority, namely God will be a major problem number one to number two. I have saved her from a much more harsh and devastating judgment that you have got for my wife and I left.

I think on on dealt with my kitties really glad I was one picture of another woman over there what you see happening here is God what he does.

Yes, the minutes is judgment works but God's work here is mercy, saving them from where the trajectory of their symbols take number 44? What about the innocent David commits a sin right but the people want to pay.

This brings up the whole question of human suffering people asked why do innocent people suffer when they haven't done anything wrong.

What I God reserve judgment only for the guilty and not for the innocent couple thoughts on this first, the people are not innocent.

You notice this whole thing started by saying that God was angry Israel. Did you notice that first line verse one God was angry Israel doesn't tell us exactly why he was angry, but you can probably assume they're the same issues.

David there. They were proud met a lot of faith in looking for the military aggression to take over the nations like David was plus we do know they just participated in this big rebellion against David. First, under Absalom, and then under the then Sheba right and David was God's king. So once the favorability gets God to the point is, they were not innocent.

The human race is not innocent bad things happen in the world were always a God why bad things happening to the innocent gold human races under a curse for sin that all of us have participated in different what we deserve are good things, then what is surprising is judgment but of what we deserve are bad things than what is surprising is grace and mercy and most people have this attitude are like God.

Why are all these bad things happen those good people by what she turns that on its head says no. Why all these good things happening to you.

Bad people. The fact you have to do Brett this morning.

The fact that we have family. The fact that we are alive. His mercy if you understand what the Bible says about the penalty for our sin is sin that you and I have all participated in a rebellion against God. The fact we got up debate about the God gives us another chance to repent. The fact that you and I are alive read any good thing is the mercy of God, and it requires a complete reengineering of your thinking is when you have that you don't have the same questions used to have. What is surprising is not the severity of God's judgment. What is surprising is the magnitude of his mercy don't need to live waiting for the other shoe to drop God's love and mercy protects and provides for us. You're listening to some that life with pastor JD Greer and Wally study King David here summit like the United States is in the middle of another significant election year. Recently I sat down with pastor JD and asked him what it looked like to engage in politics in a Christian way you are thinking asked that I asked would you be awesome if Christians were known for being the most civil and the most gracious members of any public debate.

Sadly it's not the case you don't believe me just check Twitter, Facebook, or your social media platform of choice when it comes to politics seems that many Christians have the right beliefs, but they have what I often refer to the spiritual BDO body I noticed a smell bad. With the what they maybe say in the right things but it doesn't smell like Jesus we want to pursue the truth of Christ in a Christlike way.

That's why this book that were offering throughout the series, one nation, under God, Dr. process from crisp Abelardo.

They talk about what it looks like to approach politics with both confidence and humility.

I think that this is one of the more helpful books you will read this year leading up into the election. We love to give you a copy. JD Greer.com get instructions on their about how to be a gospel part with our ministry and how we can say thank you Steve up with this great book in your hands the last week to ask for the book titled one nation under God. Christian hope for American politics.

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