2 Samuel 24 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

2 Samuel 24 Short Summary:

In 2 Samuel 24, David orders Joab to take a census of all the fighting men in Israel. The census displeases God, and David is forced to choose between 3 punishments. God afflicts Israel with a plague, killing 70,000 people. The plague is eventually withdrawn from Israel when David builds an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah.

2 Samuel 24 Summary - Bible Study

WHEN:

• Saul died in approximately 1055 B.C., after reigning over Israel for 40 years.

• David became king over Judah the same year. He reigned over Judah for 7 years and 6 months, before becoming king over all Israel. His reign over all Judah and Israel lasted 33 years.

CHARACTERS:

• David – The second king over all Israel and Judah.

• Joab – Commander of David’s army.

• Gad – A prophet of God. He had a previous interaction with David in 1 Samuel 22:5, when he told him to move from Moab to Judah.

WHERE:

• The phrase “Dan to Beersheba” is used in this chapter. These two cities were commonly referenced when referring to the entire nation of Israel, as they sat near the northern (Dan) and southern (Beersheba) boundaries of the kingdom.

OUTLINE:

• DAVID’S SINFUL CENSUS (24:1-9):

  • David told Joab to go through the nation of Israel and take a census of the people.

  • Joab knew David’s request was not pleasing to the Lord (1 Chronicles 21:3), and he encouraged the king to trust God to increase his kingdom.

  • David didn’t listen to Joab, and he sent him through Israel for 9 months and 20 days counting the people.

  • Joab returned and reported 800,000 battle ready men and 500,000 men from Judah.

• DAVID CHOOSES BETWEEN 3 FORMS OF PUNISHMENT (24:10-18):

  • David’s conscience guilted him after completing the census (“his heart struck him”), and he prayed that the Lord would forgive him.

  • God was angry with David, and He sent the prophet Gad to tell David a punishment would be forthcoming.

  • David was allowed to choose the punishment from three options: (1) 3 years of famine, (2) 3 months fleeing from enemies, or (3) 3 days of disease in the land.

  • David chose the 3 days of disease.

  • God sent an angel to spread the disease, which killed 70,000 people.

  • When the angel was about to strike Jerusalem, God relented and spared the city.

  • The angel withdrew and went to the threshing floor of Araunah.

• DAVID BUILDS AN ALTAR AT ARAUNAH’S THRESHING FLOOR (24:18-25):

  • Gad told David to build an altar at Araunah’s threshing floor.

  • David went to meet with Araunah, who offered to give him the threshing floor for free, but David insisted on paying, saying, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.”

  • David paid Araunah 50 shekels of silver.

  • He built an altar and offered to the Lord. The Lord responded to his sacrifice and the desolation of the plage was stayed.

APPLICATION:

• Why was God upset with David’s census?

• David’s move to take a census suggests his heart trusted more in the number of his fighting men than on the power God.

• One lesson we’ll repeatedly learn as we work through the text of the Bible is that numbers mean nothing when God’s power is a factor in a situation.

• Numbers don’t ensure success. We’ve already learned this from the stories of Gideon, Samson, and David’s mighty men.

• When we put our trust in numbers, we’ve lost sight of the power of the Kingdom of God.

• God wants our faithfulness and trust in Him. Ultimately, the numbers are irrelevant.