Walking With Christ

2 Samuel 7:12-13 (12)When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. (13)He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.(ESV)

Through the prophet Nathan, the Lord promised the birth of Solomon. It would be through Solomon that the temple would be built and the eternal line of kings would flow down to Jesus.

Solomon’s mother, Bathsheba, was married to Uriah the Hittite. David slept with her while Uriah was fighting for Israel and she got pregnant. To cover up his sin, David had Uriah killed. The second child they had together would be Solomon.

2 Samuel 24:1 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”(ESV)

David called for a census of the people against the will of God. This act called down judgement on all of Israel. The resulting pestilence killed 70,000 men. The punishment fit the sin as the census was likely an act of pride, meant to showcase the strength of David’s army. What better way to humble that pride than to diminish the army?

When David saw the punishment, he offered himself up as sacrifice. Instead, God commanded David to build an alter and make burnt offerings at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. This presented two problems: burnt offerings could only be done at the tabernacle in Gibeon and the threshing floor belonged to a Jebusite. David had defeated the Jebusites and driven most of them out, but Araunah still lived in Israel under David’s rule. Araunah offered the threshing floor freely, likely out of fear, but David knew the offering had to cost him something personally. He insisted on buying the threshing floor and oxen at full price.

The burnt offering was accepted officially sanctioning the site for future offerings. This threshing floor would become the site of Solomon’s temple.

David was called a man after God’s own heart. Despite his dramatic and costly sins, God had promised to use Solomon to build His temple before David sinned with Bathsheba. He even used the sin of the census to mark where the future temple would be.

David’s story is not an excuse for us to sin but a profound lesson in God’s grace and sovereignty. David knew the consequences of sin, having replaced Saul due to Saul’s own sins. Yet, God’s promise to use David and the outcomes of his sins for the kingdom’s glory remained steadfast. God knows every sin we will commit and how to use them for His purposes. David’s consistent return to God after sinning shows how God redeems everything on the other side of repentance.