Chapter 24:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 Samuel 1 Kings
2 Samuel 24
Concise Complete
David numbers the people. (1-9) He chooses the
pestilence. (10-15) The staying the pestilence. (16,17) David's sacrifice, The
plague removed. (18-25)
Verses 1-9 For
the people's sin David was left to act wrong, and in his chastisement they
received punishment. This example throws light upon God's government of the
world, and furnishes a useful lesson. The pride of David's heart, was his sin in
numbering of the people. He thought thereby to appear the more formidable,
trusting in an arm of flesh more than he should have done, and though he had
written so much of trusting in God only. God judges not of sin as we do. What
appears to us harmless, or, at least, but a small offence, may be a great sin in
the eye of God, who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Even ungodly
men can discern evil tempers and wrong conduct in believers, of which they
themselves often remain unconscious. But God seldom allows those whom he loves
the pleasures they sinfully covet.
Verses 10-15
It is well, when a man has sinned, if he has a heart within to smite him for it.
If we confess our sins, we may pray in faith that God would forgive them, and
take away, by pardoning mercy, that sin which we cast away by sincere
repentance. What we make the matter of our pride, it is just in God to take from
us, or make bitter to us, and make it our punishment. This must be such a
punishment as the people have a large share in, for though it was David's sin
that opened the sluice, the sins of the people all contributed to the flood. In
this difficulty, David chose a judgment which came immediately from God, whose
mercies he knew to be very great, rather than from men, who would have triumphed
in the miseries of Israel, and have been thereby hardened in their idolatry. He
chose the pestilence; he and his family would be as much exposed to it as the
poorest Israelite; and he would continue for a shorter time under the Divine
rebuke, however severe it was. The rapid destruction by the pestilence shows how
easily God can bring down the proudest sinners, and how much we owe daily to the
Divine patience.
Verses 16-17
Perhaps there was more wickedness, especially more pride, and that was the sin
now chastised, in Jerusalem than elsewhere, therefore the hand of the destroyer
is stretched out upon that city; but the Lord repented him of the evil, changed
not his mind, but his way. In the very place where Abraham was stayed from
slaying his son, this angel, by a like countermand, was stayed from destroying
Jerusalem. It is for the sake of the great Sacrifice, that our forfeited lives
are preserved from the destroying angel. And in David is the spirit of a true
shepherd of the people, offering himself as a sacrifice to God, for the
salvation of his subjects.
Verses 18-25
God's encouraging us to offer to him spiritual sacrifices, is an evidence of his
reconciling us to himself. David purchased the ground to build the altar. God
hates robbery for burnt-offering. Those know not what religion is, who chiefly
care to make it cheap and easy to themselves, and who are best pleased with that
which costs them least pains or money. For what have we our substance, but to
honour God with it; and how can it be better bestowed? See the building of the
altar, and the offering proper sacrifices upon it. Burnt-offerings to the glory
of God's justice; peace-offerings to the glory of his mercy. Christ is our
Altar, our Sacrifice; in him alone we may expect to escape his wrath, and to
find favour with God. Death is destroying all around, in so many forms, and so
suddenly, that it is madness not to expect and prepare for the close of life.
Chapter 24:
| Darby
| Geneva
| Gill
| Jamieson Faussett Brown
| Matthew Henry
| Matthew Henry Concise
| Wesley
| Index
| Bible Gateway |
Introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 1 Samuel 1 Kings
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalm
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
Song of Solomon
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Acts
Romans
1 Corinthians
2 Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Titus
Philemon
Hebrews
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
Revelation
