2 Sam. xxiv. 11 — 15. When David was up in the morning, the word of the Lord came unto the prophet Gad, DaimVs seer, saying, Go and say unto David, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things ; choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto hir.i. Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land'? orioilt thoujlee three months before thine enemies, while they j^ursue thee? or that there be three days'' pestilence in thy land? Now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent mc. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall noiv into the hand of the Lord;
for his mercies are great : and let me not fall into the hand of man. So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel front the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beer-sheha seventy thousand men.
SINS, punishments, humiliations, forgivenesses, succeed each other in a melancholy train throughout the Bible, even as clouds after rain in the material world. Even the most pious characters have their faults and blemishes, which call forth the divine chastisements on themselves and others. We have here an account of David numbering the people, and bringing a heavy judgment on the whole land. The history will lead us to notice,
I. The severity of God in punishing sin —
The sin which David committed was exceeding
great —
[It had been enjoined by God, that the people never should be numbered without a half shekel being collected from every one of them as a tribute to the Lord, or, as it is called, " a ransom for his soul," " that there might he no plague amongst them lohen they were numbered^." Now as David never once mentioned this in the order that was given, and as this collection was not made in all the time that the census was taking, it seems that Da\dd greatly transgressed in this par- ticular, and that the plague ivas sent among them on this account. But it is manifest that David was actuated hy pride, in wishing to know the extent of the population he governed ; and that he was indulging confidence in an arm of flesh, instead of trust- ing in God only. That he was faulty in these particulars was visible even to so wicked a man as Joab, who expostulated with him on the subject, and warned him that he was bringing guilt and punishment upon the whole nation''. Now of all sins, these are the most hateful in the sight of God'' : and to persist in them so long, in opposition to such plain warnings as were delivered to him, was a very grievous offence.]
The punishment inflicted for it was proportionably severe —
[God sent a prophet to him, to offer him a choice of three judgments, of seven "^ years of famine, or three months of imsuc-
a Exod. XXX. 12 — 14. »> 1 Chron. xxi. 3. " Jer. xvii. 5, G.
^ " Seven years of famine" sliould probably be read " three" that being the number annexed to the other judgments, and it being ex- pressly so represented in the parallel account. See 1 Chron. xxi. 12.