Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
King David was the greatest monarch in the history of Israel. He was not the first king; that was Saul. But David established the kingdom in such a way that it would last for centuries. David also had a great deal to do with the worship life of Israel. He wrote many of the psalms sung in the tabernacle that shaped how the people of the Old Testament worshiped the Lord God, Yahweh Elohim. And in spite of his great sins, he was still called, by the end of his reign, a man after God’s own heart.
This Lenten season is dedicated to men like David: sinners, yet men who by the end of their reign were regarded as good kings who sat upon the throne of David. Here on Ash Wednesday we begin with the progenitor of the Davidic line. We begin in 1 Chronicles chapter 21.
David was the typical king, the kind of king you would want: a good king in Israel, enthroned in Jerusalem. But like all sinful men, he fell into sin off and on throughout his life. As great as his deeds were, he managed to match them with great sins, some with far-reaching effects for his family and for the kingdom. Many of you are familiar with the mess he made with Bathsheba, and the subsequent plot to murder Uriah her husband. After that, God sent the prophet Nathan to call him to repentance, which he did. His repentance over that grievous sin of murder and adultery was the occasion for Psalm 51: “I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”
That sin had ramifications for David’s reign. It led to rebellions, principally led by his son Absalom, who attempted a coup to sit on his father’s throne. When a nation is thrown into chaos, rivals always attempt to take advantage. So David, instead of reigning over a period of peace and construction, became a wartime king, putting down one rebellion after another.
By 1 Chronicles 21, the kingdom and the reign of David itself were in question. War was coming; it was inevitable. And David, a smart king, wanted to know just how strong his army was, how many men he could raise to defend the nation. In this moment of uncertainty, temptation came: “Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” David’s general Joab warned him not to take the census, but to remain faithful to the Lord God.
There is a history to taking a census. It was associated with taxes and temple offerings, and while people did not mind being counted, they were not keen on providing funds. So frequently they counted but gave nothing to God. It was not a practice looked upon favorably by the Lord God. When David was told not to take the census and did it anyway, against the will and way of God, it was regarded as a great evil.
David rejected the advice of his general. In that moment he was tempted to trust in men, in Israel’s might and power, in treaties and alliances, rather than to trust in the Lord God, Yahweh Elohim, who had promised David and Israel that He would protect them, be their strength, and go to war for them when needed. It is a common human sin: when we face uncertainty, when life is thrown into chaos, we are tempted to put our trust in material things, money, friends, positions. When people mess up, they want the government to fix it so they do not have to live with the consequences. We rely on our own wits and plans. We look for value and meaning in things we do rather than in who we are: children of a heavenly Father who cares for us.
David threw all of that out to rely on the military might of his people. The census seemed reasonable, but God knew it was a full-grown violation of the First Commandment: “You shall have no other gods before Me.” As we learned in the Catechism, what does this mean? We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things. In verse 17 David even recognizes that what he did was idolatry: “It is I who have sinned and done great evil.”
Going to war and counting troops seems prudent, but when the Lord God gives a promise and calls upon His children to trust in Him, His children are supposed to live under the new reality that the promise brings. The old way of thinking has passed away. David was called to lead a nation to live in that new thing, but he did not do it. We tend to lean on our own strength and understanding rather than on the words and promises of God.
Throughout this sermon series we will see that the kings deal in both worlds: personal and family matters, but also affairs of state. And what happens in one realm bleeds over into the other. In the case of a king, the actions of one man can have national consequences. In our day we see that the sins of national leaders have worldwide effects. In ancient Israel, the sins of the kings were often visited upon the subjects, not merely on the king himself. That is one of the lessons of Chronicles: God deals with His Church as a corporate entity. David fell to temptation and trusted in men, so the Lord sent the prophet Gad to offer him three choices: three years of famine, three months of defeat in war, or three days of pestilence.
Israel had already endured three years of famine during David’s reign, and David was no stranger to war. Now the punishment would fall upon David’s subjects. David understood, and he confessed his sin: “Was it not I who commanded to number the people? Please let Your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father’s house, but do not let this plague fall upon Your people.” Then David refused to choose; he submitted to God’s judgment: “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” He knew where mercy could be found, and only where: in the Lord God. David repented; he turned to and trusted in God’s mercy and goodness in spite of his sin.
That is what Ash Wednesday and Lent are about: trust not in men or governments, trust not in your own alleged good nature or understanding, trust not in your deeds, but trust solely in the mercy of God the Father, who embedded His mercy in the person of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. As the Catechism says, we are not worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment.
We are not told in 1 Chronicles 21 which punishment God brought upon Israel, but 2 Samuel 24 reports on the same event: “The anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and seventy thousand men of the people died.” God sent the angel of death across the land, from Dan to Beersheba to Jerusalem. David moved to offer the Lord God a sacrifice. The prophet Gad instructed David to go to the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Ornan offered to give it to him free, but David said, “No, this must be my sacrifice, for I have sinned greatly against the Lord God.” And the Lord’s response: when the angel extended his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented and said to the angel, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” Seventy thousand were killed before the Lord commanded the angel to stop.
David learned his lesson. He turned to the Lord God and trusted Him as the protector and strength of Israel. There on the threshing floor of Ornan, David said, “Here shall be the house of the Lord God, and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” That very place would become the location of the first temple in Jerusalem. Solomon would build on that spot, and year after year, century after century, blood sacrifices were offered for the atonement of sins. But the blood of goats and bulls cannot wash away sins. Hebrews 9: “Not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls sanctified for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ cleanse your conscience.”
From ancient days the faithful waited for a greater and more faithful King, a King even greater than David, who would sit on David’s throne and make it last for all eternity. They waited for the Messiah King who would love the Lord His God with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength, all of the time. They waited for a King who would bring redemption, not destruction, to His Church. A King who would ride into Jerusalem to shouts of “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” This King was anointed to bring good news to the poor and free the oppressed. This King committed no sin. This King would die and not lose one of the sheep the Father had entrusted to Him.
David’s Lord stayed the hand of eternal death for all who believe. This King would die for His people, not the other way around. The King of the Jews would hang on a cross outside Jerusalem to die for the sins of His people. King David, sinful as he was, will always be remembered as the greatest Old Testament king of Israel. More importantly, David serves as an example to all of us who call out to God in good times and bad for mercy: trust always in our heavenly Father and in the work of our heavenly King, the King of kings. The Son of David did far more than David ever did: by His perfect life, His atoning sacrifice, His resurrection, the King of the Jews established the throne of David forever and ever. And here is something you can count on: the greater King poured out His blood for the forgiveness of the people’s sins, and for yours as well. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.