A new king and the men who helped in worship

• Solomon is made king by his father David (vs 1)
• The Levite population is counted (vs 2-5)
• Three Levite orders are established (vs 6-23)
• Levite responsibilities are discussed (vs 24-32)

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Wanting to do something for God…

1 Chronicles 22

This must be the place (vs 1)

• What place? Why, the threshing floor of Ornan, of course. Read again 1 Chronicles 21 along with 2 Chronicles 3:1.
• Place for what? Why, for worship, for a permanent temple, of course.

Let’s start gathering materials (vs 2-4)

• workers
• materials

We need to be realistic about this, and to prepare for the future (vs 5-10)

• David wanted so badly to build a house for God; but God would not allow it.
• Instead, God revealed to David that his son would build the temple.
• David is not shy or afraid to inform Solomon of God’s will for his life.

Listen, son, to the words of your father (vs 11-16)

• God will be with you.
• You just do what you’re supposed to do
• I’ve done all I could to prepare you for this

Acquiring the best helpers and advisors for your son (vs 17-19)

• Is not God with you?
• Has not God given you peace?
• Now use the opportunity to build a place of worship

And you thought your life was tough…

Psalm 38

I’m beat down (vs 1-10)

• I hope God doesn’t get too angry with me (vs 1-2)
• I’m falling apart, physically and emotionally (vs 3-8)
• God knows that I can’t stand it any longer (vs 9-10)

Nobody loves me (vs 11-16)

My friends don’t care (vs 11)

My enemies don’t care (vs 12)

I pretend I don’t hear them (vs 13-14)

I pray that God will hear me when I pray (vs 15-16)

Where can I turn, but to the Lord (vs 17-22)

• I’ve messed up really bad (vs 18)
• When I try to do good, nobody helps me (vs 19-20)
• O Lord, my God, come close and save me (vs 21-22)

What could be better?

Psalm 32

God bless you, they say. But do they mean this? (vs 1-2)

• your transgression is forgiven
• your sin is covered
• your iniquity is not put on your account with God
• your spirit is without guile

Sometimes you just have to say something (vs 3-5)

• If you don’t, you might just burst (vs 3-4)
• You can always speak to God; but you should be prepared to discuss your sin (vs 5)

Here’s something you can talk about (vs 6-7)

• You, Lord, are my hiding place
• You shall preserve me from trouble
• You shall surround me with the sounds of deliverance

Does God ever speak with you? (vs 8-9)

• I will instruct you
• I will teach you where and how to go
• I will guide you
• Don’t be like a dumb animal which has no understanding
• Don’t make Me keep you away

There are two kinds of people in this world (vs 10-11)

• The wicked, who have many sorrows
• The believers, who have many mercies
• If you are a believer, you should be glad in the Lord and shout for joy.

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Part II (vs 16-25 of 2 Samuel, vs 15-30 of 1 Chronicles 21)

The impending destruction of Jerusalem brought David to his knees (vs 17)

• I have sinned; I have done wickedly
• These sheep, what have they done?
• Punish me instead of them

David is instructed to worship God, and where to do it (vs 18)

• David obeyed and went to Araunah’s (Ornan’s) threshing floor
• David was offered the place, its implements and the animals for free
• David refused the gift-with reason (vs 24)
• David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings (vs 25)

God accepted David’s offering, and David, too (1 Chronicles 21:26)

• Answering from heaven by fire (recall Elijah on Mount Carmel)
• David was afraid to go elsewhere to worship (1 Chronicles 21:30)

Meditation Points:

1. Love is willingness to suffer that others may be released
2. Confession of sin is saying the same thing about your sin that God says about it
3. The contrite heart will do anything that God asks, regardless of cost
4. Worship which costs nothing is worthless religion
5. David could be sure that God had accepted his worship; do you have such assurance?
6. Are you so conscious of your sin and God’s holiness that you are afraid to do anything other than what God has commanded?

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Part I (vs 1-15 of 2 Samuel, vs 1-14 of 1 Chronicles 21)

God was angry with Israel again (vs 1)

• God can be angry
• God can be angry with those who appear to be His people
• God can be angry with the same people more than one time

David was moved to order a census (vs 1)

• Men can be influenced by others
• Satan (1 Chronicles 21:1) influenced David for evil
• Men who know God can make bad choices
• Men with wisdom can reject wise counsel
• Why order a census of fighting men unless David intended to attack (which God had not ordered) or to defend (which God had not required)?

Joab, captain of the host, was commissioned to execute the census order (vs 2)

• Joab lost this position at one time
• Joab protested that a census was not in order (vs 3)
• Joab ceded to the King’s will (vs 4)
• Joab did not fully comply with the King’s wishes (1 Chronicles 21:6)
• Joab took over 9 months to complete his work (vs 8)
• Joab reported a total of 1,300,000 men qualified for military service (or was it 1,570,000 as in 1 Chronicles 21?)

David’s orders displeased God (1 Chronicles 21:7)

• David was convicted that he had sinned
• David confessed his sin to the Lord
• David was allowed to choose his own punishment from among (a) famine, (b) war, and (c) pestilence, with durations from 3 years, to 3 months, to 3 days.
• David rejected the 2nd option and deferred to the Lord’s choice, which was 3 days of pestilence.
• David’s sin brought about the deaths of 70,000 men from throughout the land of Israel.

Meditation Points:

Joab seemed to know God’s will better than David did.

What is wrong with counting potential troops? Is the modern fixation on counting church attendance any less offensive to God?

Is partial obedience any less than complete disobedience?

Note how quickly David was convicted of his sin. It’s almost as though the moment he heard the accounting he realized his sin.

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