The One Year Bible for Men - Flipbook - Page 49
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and iron axes.* That is how David dealt with
the people of all the Ammonite towns. Then
David and all the army returned to Jerusalem.
4 After this, war broke out with the Philis
tines at Gezer. As they fought, Sibbecai from
Hushah killed Saph,* a descendant of the gi
ants,* and so the Philistines were subdued.
5 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!
6 In another battle with the Phi
listines 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. 7 But when he defied and taunted
Israel, he was killed by Jonathan, the son of
David’s brother Shimea.
8 These Philistines were descendants of the
giants of Gath, but David and his warriors
killed them.
21:1 Sa
tan rose up against Israel and caused
David to take a census of the people of Israel.
2 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.”
3 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?”
4 But the king insisted that they take the
census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel
to count the people. Then he returned to Jeru
salem 5 and reported the number of people to
David. There were 1,100,000 warriors in all Is
rael who could handle a sword, and 470,000 in
Judah. 6 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.
7 God was very displeased with the census,
and he punished Israel for it. 8 Then David said
to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this
census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this
foolish thing.”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer.
This was the message: 10 “Go and say to Da
vid, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you
three choices. Choose one of these punish
ments, and I will inflict it on you.’”
11 So Gad came to David and said, “These are
the choices the Lord has given you. 12 You may
choose three years of famine, three months of
destruction by the sword of your enemies, or
07_Jul_OY_Men.indd 627
July 15
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.”
13 “I’m in a desperate situation!” David re
plied 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.”
14 So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and
70,000 people died as a result. 15 And God sent
an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But just as the
angel was preparing to destroy it, the Lord re
lented and said to the death angel, “Stop! That
is enough!” At that moment the angel of the
Lord was standing by the threshing floor of
Araunah* the Jebusite.
16 David looked up and saw the angel of the
Lord standing between heaven and earth with
his sword drawn, reaching out over Jerusa
lem. So David and the leaders of Israel put on
burlap to show their deep distress and fell face
down on the ground. 17 And David said to God,
“I am the one who called for the census! I am
the one who has sinned and done wrong! But
these people are as innocent as sheep—what
have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger
fall against me and my family, but do not de
stroy your people.”
18 Then the angel of the Lord told Gad to
instruct David to go up and build an altar
to the Lord on the threshing floor of Arau
nah the Jebusite. 19 So David went up to do what
the Lord had commanded him through Gad.
20 Araunah, who was busy threshing wheat at
the time, turned and saw the angel there. His
four sons, who were with him, ran away and
hid. 21 When Araunah saw David approaching,
he left his threshing floor and bowed before
David with his face to the ground.
22 David said to Araunah, “Let me buy this
threshing floor from you at its full price. Then
I will build an altar to the Lord there, so that
he will stop the plague.”
23 “Take it, my lord the king, and use it as you
wish,” Araunah said to David. “I will give the
oxen for the burnt offerings, and the thresh
ing boards for wood to build a fire on the altar,
and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give
it all to you.”
24 But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I
insist on buying it for the full price. I will not
take what is yours and give it to the Lord. I will
not present burnt offerings that have cost me
nothing!” 25 So David gave Araunah 600 pieces
of gold* in payment for the threshing floor.
26
David built an altar there to the Lord
and sacrificed burnt offerings and peace of
ferings. And when David prayed, the Lord
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