**The Story of David’s Census and the Angel of the Lord**
In the days when King David ruled over Israel, the land was at peace. The Lord had blessed David with victories over his enemies, and the kingdom flourished under his leadership. Yet, in the heart of the king, a subtle pride began to stir. Though David had been anointed by God and had seen the Lord’s hand in every triumph, he began to trust in the strength of his armies rather than in the strength of the Lord. This pride would lead him to a grave mistake.
One day, as David sat in his palace in Jerusalem, he called for Joab, the commander of his army. Joab, a seasoned warrior who had fought alongside David in countless battles, entered the king’s presence and bowed low. “What is your command, my lord the king?” Joab asked.
David leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with a strange determination. “Go, take a census of all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north. Count every man who can wield a sword. I want to know the number of my fighting men.”
Joab’s brow furrowed. He was a man of war, but he was also a man who feared the Lord. He sensed that this command was not from God. “My lord the king,” Joab said cautiously, “may the Lord multiply His people a hundred times over! But why does my lord desire this? Why should he bring guilt upon Israel by numbering the people?”
But David’s heart was hardened. He dismissed Joab’s warning and insisted, “Do as I command. Go and count the people, and report back to me.”
Reluctantly, Joab obeyed. He and his officers traveled throughout the land, from the fortified cities of Judah to the remote villages of the north. They counted the men of Israel, recording their numbers meticulously. After nine months and twenty days, Joab returned to Jerusalem and presented the tally to the king. “In all Israel,” Joab reported, “there are one million one hundred thousand men who can handle a sword, and in Judah, four hundred and seventy thousand.”
But as Joab handed over the scroll, his face was grim. He had done as the king commanded, but he knew that this act of pride had displeased the Lord.
Indeed, the Lord was angry with David. That night, as the king lay in his bed, his heart was troubled. He felt a heavy weight of guilt, as if a dark cloud had settled over his spirit. The prophet Gad, a man of God who often brought the Lord’s messages to David, came to him in the morning. “Thus says the Lord,” Gad declared, “I give you three choices. Choose one, and I will carry it out against you.”
David’s heart sank. “What are the choices?” he asked, his voice trembling.
Gad replied, “Three years of famine, three months of fleeing before your enemies, or three days of the sword of the Lord—a plague upon the land, with the angel of the Lord bringing destruction throughout Israel.”
David was overwhelmed with sorrow. He knew that any of these judgments would bring suffering to his people. Yet, he also knew that the Lord’s mercy was great. “I am in deep distress,” David said. “Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is very great. But do not let me fall into the hands of men.”
So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men died. The angel of the Lord stretched out his hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he stood on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the Lord relented. “Enough!” the Lord said to the angel. “Withdraw your hand.”
David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, his sword drawn and stretched out over Jerusalem. Overcome with grief, David and the elders of Israel fell on their faces, clothed in sackcloth. “I have sinned greatly by taking this census,” David cried out to the Lord. “I have done a foolish thing. But these people, these sheep, what have they done? O Lord my God, let Your hand fall upon me and my family, but do not let this plague continue against Your people.”
Then the Lord spoke to Gad, saying, “Go and tell David to build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” Gad delivered the message, and David immediately obeyed. He went to Araunah, who was threshing wheat on his floor. When Araunah saw the king approaching, he bowed low and said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”
David replied, “I have come to buy your threshing floor, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped.”
Araunah, a generous man, offered to give the threshing floor to David, along with oxen for the sacrifice and wood for the fire. “Take it all, my lord the king,” Araunah said. “May the Lord your God accept you.”
But David refused. “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the threshing floor and the oxen.
David built the altar and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to the Lord. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him by sending fire from heaven to consume the offerings on the altar. Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into its sheath. The plague was stopped, and the people of Israel were spared.
David declared, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” From that day forward, the threshing floor of Araunah became a sacred place, and it was there that Solomon, David’s son, would later build the temple of the Lord.
David learned a profound lesson that day. He realized that true strength does not come from the size of an army or the might of men, but from the Lord alone. He humbled himself before God, and the Lord, in His great mercy, forgave him and restored His favor to Israel.
And so, the story of David’s census serves as a reminder to all who hear it: pride leads to destruction, but humility and repentance bring the mercy and grace of God. The Lord is compassionate and slow to anger, abounding in love for those who turn to Him with a contrite heart.
