Immerse: Chronicles Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 48
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IMMERSE
•
CHRONICLES
1C
| 20:5–21:15
During another battle with the Philistines, Elhanan son of Jair killed
Lahmi, the brother of Goliath of Gath. The handle of Lahmi’s spear was
as thick as a weaver’s beam!
In another battle with the Philistines at Gath, they encountered a huge
man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-
four in all, who was also a descendant of the giants. But when he defied
and taunted Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of David’s brother
Shimea.
These Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and
his warriors killed them.
Satan rose up against Israel and caused Dav id to take a census of the
people of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army,
“Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south
to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many
there are.”
But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the number of his people a
hundred times over! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?
Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?”
But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem and reported the number of people to David. There were 1,100,000 warriors in
all Israel who could handle a sword, and 470,000 in Judah. But Joab did
not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was
so distressed at what the king had made him do.
God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for
it. Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census.
Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing.”
Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer. This was the message: “Go
and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices.
Choose one of these punishments, and I will inflict it on you.’”
So Gad came to David and said, “These are the choices the Lord has
given you. You may choose three years of famine, three months of destruction by the sword of your enemies, or three days of severe plague as the
angel of the Lord brings devastation throughout the land of Israel. Decide
what answer I should give the Lord who sent me.”
“I’m in a desperate situation!” David replied to Gad. “But let me fall into
the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great. Do not let me fall into
human hands.”
So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and 70,000 people died as a
result. And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the angel
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