1 Chronicles 21-22:1

What’s Happening?

After a series of significant military victories, a new enemy threatens Israel. David prepares for war once again (1 Chronicles 21:1). But David makes a serious error as he musters his troops (1 Chronicles 21:2-3). Whenever a king of Israel gathers his army, he is supposed to collect an atonement tax from every soldier (Exodus 30:11-16). In Israel, the taking of a life carried the death penalty (Genesis 9:6). But the tax, in a sense, preemptively paid off a soldier’s guilt and atoned for his breach of God’s laws. The money collected was then donated to God’s temple or tabernacle (Exodus 30:16). Israel’s army was God’s army and only fought God’s wars in God’s way. David failed to collect the atonement tax. He is guilty of using God’s army for his own purposes, and so God comes to judge David and his military. 

But David realizes what he’s done and repents (1 Chronicles 21:8). In response to his contrition, God lets David choose his punishment: three years of famine, three months of military losses, or three days of plagues at God’s hand (1 Chronicles 21:9-12). David chooses the last option, hoping God’s hand will be more merciful than his enemy’s sword (1 Chronicles 21:13). But 70,000 men die and then God sends an Angel of Death to destroy Jerusalem. But as David hoped, God was merciful. He called the Death Angel to temporarily fall back and await further instruction on the threshing floor of a local farmer (1 Chronicles 21:14-15). When David notices the reprieve, he accepts full responsibility for his actions and demands that God take his life instead of his people (1 Chronicles 21:16-17). God tells David to ride out to where the angel stands and build an altar (1 Chronicles 21:18-19).

When David arrives at the threshing floor, he tells the farmer he wants to buy his property and make a sacrifice to stop the plague spreading through Israel. The farmer offers to donate both his land and his animals, but David refuses. He’s failed to pay the atonement price once before, and he will not allow this payment for guilt to come at no cost to himself (1 Chronicles 21:20-24). He pays for the land and animals, builds an altar, and makes a sacrifice. God accepts David’s atonement sacrifice and sends fire from heaven to burn it all (1 Chronicles 21:25-26). Israel is spared and the Death Angel puts away his sword (1 Chronicles 21:27-28). David declares that this farmer’s threshing floor will be the future site of God’s temple. From now on this will be the place where all people can offer sacrifices to God, receive atonement, and have their guilt paid for regardless of what they have done wrong (1 Chronicles 22:1). 

Where is the Gospel?

One of the only other places in the Bible that the Death Angel appears is when God rescues Israel out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 12:23). It’s the final plague against a king, like David, who is using God’s people for his own purposes. In both stories the Death Angel is stopped from killing by a substitute sacrifice. In Egypt, the substitute was a lamb (Exodus 12:3). And in our story, David offered to substitute himself. But God did not demand the death of David or his sons. Instead, he accepted a substitute. He knew that one day he would send his own Son to die for those who have not and cannot atone for their guilt. 

The apostle Paul says the price of breaking any of God’s commands is death. In a sense, the Death Angel still looms over all of us (Romans 6:23). Even if you don’t believe that, everyone feels the weight of guilt and shame for the harm our decisions have caused others. You may even wish God would take it on you so that others can be spared from your mistakes. But God will never require that of you. Jesus has taken responsibility for your guilt at the cost of his own life. He died on a cross as a sacrifice so you wouldn’t have to. His blood is your atonement tax that preemptively and permanently pays off your guilt (Matthew 20:28). Because of Jesus there is no Death Angel that can claim our lives and there are no more plagues that we are owed. We are forgiven and atoned for by Jesus. 

See for Yourself

I pray that the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see the God who is merciful. And may you see Jesus as the one who dies in our place to avert God’s justice so that we can receive God’s mercy.