Intercession at the Threshing Floor

This morning I was reading 2 Samuel 24, the account of David’s sin by taking a census of his warriors – sinful because in doing so he was looking to the size of his army for significance, forgetting that it was God and God alone Who gave him strength and victory in battle, regardless of how many were willing to fight alongside him.

It’s a fascinating account of the partnership between God and man in intercession, but the start is a little tricky, at least in the English translations. In the NKJV, verse 1 says that “the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So if God moved David to take the census, how could it be sinful? In 1 Chron 21:1 we are told that it was Satan who moved David to take the census. I looked it up* and learned that although the phrase doesn’t translate well, it was essentially a case of God allowing Satan to tempt David, in order that the state of David’s (and Israel’s) heart would be exposed as having fallen into sin, so that they could repent and be restored. God’s motivation is always to restore us to holiness and relationship with Him.

So – David sinned by numbering his armies, and rapidly realised his sin. (nb I love the way that every time David realised he had done wrong, he always turned straight to God in repentance – he never hardened his heart like so many others did/do. Just one example of why he was called “a man after God’s own heart”). He was conscience-stricken, confessed and asked God to remove his sin, after which God quickly sent a prophet to offer him a choice of ‘chastisement’. Each of the three options (famine, persecution or plague) were national because it wasn’t just David’s sin that God wanted to cleanse – it was the whole nation who were sinning, deserving of God’s wrath as in verse 1. And we see the depth of God & David’s relationship not only in the way God involved David in the decision, but in the way David trusted God’s mercy to choose the best option.

Now to the bit that spoke the loudest to me this morning…

2 Sam 24:15-18, 25
“So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. And when the angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”
And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite…
David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.” (NKJV)

What stood out to me was that God relented first. The angel of destruction was commanded to stop before David prayed. But God still led David to pray for him to relent, and to build an altar at the place where God had already halted the destruction. And then only after the altar was built and the offerings made on behalf of the nation, was the plague completely withdrawn.

To me this is such a picture of intercession. Essentially the plague was sent because God wanted David and Israel to repent of their pride and self-sufficient attitudes and be restored to Him. So God allowed David to be tempted to commit a sinful act because He knew he would repent and lead the nation back to God.

There are many times when we feel led to pray for ourselves or others who are experiencing the negative consequences brought about by sinful attitudes & actions. And sometimes it can be tempting to forget that we are not begging mercy of a reluctant God, but in actual fact the only reason why we are praying is because His Spirit in us has led us to, SO THAT God can answer as He wants, and restore us to Him.

There is so much more in this passage that is worth meditating on:
the way David refused to present a sacrifice that had not cost him anything; the symbolism of the plague ending at the threshing floor (where grain and chaff are separated); the significance of a simple barn becoming the site where the first temple was built… but for me today it was just so encouraging to remember that when we are in seasons of heartfelt prayer & intercession over serious issues, it is God Himself Who is leading us to pray because He wants to include us in His plan to restore. How good, and how kind He is!

*there are many excellent commentaries that can be found online – I tend to use BibleHub.com because they have a wide variety of commentaries all in one place.