I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 1 Chronicles 20-23.

The writer/compiler of this account is even more emphatic that David’s census was a sin. He is less than clear as to what sin was committed in taking the census, perhaps it was the failure to collect the census tax which God told Moses to collect in Exodus 30. The consequence of David’s census was exactly that which God told Moses would happen if they took a census without collecting the tax. When given a choice as to what punishment he would suffer for his sin, David chose to suffer Divine punishment rather than punishment delivered by human agency. We must always balance David’s choice to fall into the hands of God against the writer of Hebrews warning that it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God. It is indeed a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God, but, as David said, at least we know that He may show mercy.

The account also tells us that David witnessed an angel of the Lord stretching a drawn sword out over Jerusalem. David and those with him expressed remorse and contrition upon seeing the angel and God halted the plague before it entered Jerusalem. David felt led by God to build an altar to worship God at this site and this became the site where Solomon later built the Temple. Further we learn that David was afraid to go to Gibeon where the Tabernacle and the altar built by Moses resided because of the sword carried by the angel he witnessed.