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Aug. 30, 2007
David and the Threshing Floor
Posted in Church God Faith
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(from 1 Chronicles 20 and following) Sometime after the whole Bathsheba fiasco, David's men are out fighting the Philistines. (apparently without him again.) His nephew kills Goliath's brother, another soldier kills another giant, and David is at home resting on his laurels. When David was the giant-slayer, he didn't stop and consider how much military strength the Israelites possessed. He wasn't even able to wear the armour Saul offered him; he just went out in blind faith and fought the giant because he knew God was on his side. These many years later, he has forgotten what he knew as a young boy-- that as long as God is on your side, it doesn't matter how the numbers crunch. And so, for whatever reason, he decides to count his troops. Maybe he wanted to brag at the regional kings' luncheon. Maybe he was planning military strategy. Maybe he was trying to impress the girls. But he definitely wasn't relying on God. Joab knew it and tried to warn him, to no avail. Almost immediately, David repented and asked his "preacher" what to do. Gad told him he had three choices: three years of famine, three months of war, or three days of God's judgment. He said he didn't want to fall into the hands of man, but would take the three days of plague from God. Before the three days were up, 70,000 Israelites were dead. God told the angel to stop before he destroyed Jerusalem. David cried out to God that he was the one at fault and please let him take the punishment but not his people. (God had already answered this prayer even though David didn't realize it yet. He had stopped the angel before David prayed.) The Angel of Death told David to buy the threshing floor where they were standing and offer a sacrifice. The owner tried to give it to David along with the bull and the wood to make the sacrifice but David did not want to offer anything to God that cost him nothing. This threshing floor became the site of judgment (the Angel) confession (David) and sacrifice (which he offered after paying for the floor and the bull and the wood.) What I found so incredible was that this threshing floor became the site of Solomon's Temple. The Temple, which was the site of judgment, confession and sacrifice. The Temple, which was occupied by His Glory. But going backwards from the time of David, you find that the site of the threshing floor and the Temple was Mount Moriah, the place where Abraham was called to sacrifice Isaac. The place where God provided the lamb, just as He later provided the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. So the site of judgment, confession and sacrifice was all along the site of mercy, grace, and provision. Spurgeon said, "The temple of glory is built on the threshing floor of affliction!" Thank God that through the affliction of Christ (Is 53) He made us His temple of glory. (1 Cor 3:16)  |
Comments
Sep. 3, 2007 - Wonderful!
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Posted by Anonymous