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Well, let's turn our Bibles to 
Second Samuel, Chapter 24, 

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Second Samuel 24. 
As we come to a close in our 

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study of this book. 
Our sister prayed, thanking God 

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for the past few months in this 
book. 

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But if you calculate our time 
since we started for Samuel, 

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it's been close to I think three
years when you combine First and

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Second Samuel in our study with 
the natural breaks throughout 

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those years. 
So maybe let's say safely two 

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years in our study of the story 
of David and what a story it is,

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right? 
What a man. 

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God preserving so much 
concerning His testimonies, his 

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trials, triumphs, tests, 
mountaintops and low valleys. 

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There isn't another character 
apart from the person of Jesus 

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Christ that takes up so much 
space in our Bibles. 

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So he is an important figure. 
He is crucial not understanding 

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not just of what and who he 
points to, but the practical 

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lessons that we must absorb as 
things around his life are meant

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to correlate with our Christian 
journey. 

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When it comes to his battles. 
When it comes to his 

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temptations. 
When it comes to his devotion. 

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Clearly, the Holy Spirit wants 
to set this man up, not to be 

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worshipped or venerated, but to 
learn from, as a model and as an

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example. 
And that is no less true in the 

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final chapter of Second Samuel, 
as we explore the concluding the

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concluding verses of this man's 
life. 

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This isn't where David ends. 
That's in First Kings chapter 

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one where we see his actual. 
Departure from the earth. 

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The record of that. 
Nonetheless, in this specific 

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record we have a certain 
scenario that the Holy Spirit 

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wants us to end our thoughts on 
as we bring this study to a 

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close. 
Our sister prayed, But I I would

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like to pray again. 
Lord, we thank you for Second 

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Samuel for the months and the 
weeks devoted to this 

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consistently. 
Others might feel a little bit 

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weary and tired of hearing of 
the same man over and over 

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again. 
And yet we are in a room filled 

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with people who want to ring out
every single drop of insight 

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that your word would provide 
concerning this man. 

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So we thank you for the joy and 
the endurance in this book. 

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Now, Lord, as we come to the 
final chapter, we pray that your

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voice would be loud and clear 
and that there would be the 

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fruit of your will transferred 
over into our lives as a result 

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of what this study is about. 
We thank you in advance for what

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you will do. 
Thank you for what you have 

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done, and we give you all the 
glory and honor as a church 

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family. 
In Jesus name we pray. 

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Amen. 
Second same of 24 verse one. 

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Again the anger of the Lord was 
kindled against Israel and he 

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incited David against them 
saying go number Israel and 

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Judah. 
So the king said to Job the 

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commander of the army who is 
with him go through all the 

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tribes of Israel from Dan to 
Beersheba, a number of the 

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people that I may know the 
number of the people. 

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But Joab said to the king, may 
the Lord your God add to the 

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people 100 times as many as they
are, while the eyes of my Lord 

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the king still see it. 
But why does my Lord the king 

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delight in this thing? 
But the King's word prevailed 

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against Joab and the commanders 
of the army. 

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So Joab and the commanders of 
the army went out from the 

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presence of the king to number 
the people of Israel. 

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They crossed the Jordan and 
began from RR and from the city 

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that is in the middle of the 
valley toward Gad and onto 

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Yazer. 
Then they came to Gilead and to 

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Kadesh in the land of the 
Hittites, and they came to Dan. 

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And from Dan they went around to
side on and came to the fortress

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of Tire and to all the cities of
the Hivites and the Canaanites. 

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And they went out to the Negeb 
of Judah at Beershiba. 

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So when they had gone through 
all the land, they came to 

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Jerusalem at the end of nine 
months and 20 days, and Job gave

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the sum of the numbering of the 
people to the king. 

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In Israel there are 800,000 
valiant men who drew the sword, 

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and the men of Judah were 
500,000. 

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We have to ask two very 
important questions from verse 

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one that will help us frame the 
rest of this chapter. 

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Those questions are this. 
Number one, what was it that 

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Israel did for the anger of the 
Lord to be kindled against it? 

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And #2 what does it mean for? 
He being God to incite David 

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against them. 
So let's deal with the first 

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question. 
We're told here the premises 

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that the anger of the Lord was 
kindled against Israel. 

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Many people don't even consider 
that fact when they come to this

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chapter. 
They immediately want to go to 

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David's sin and and asking for a
senses when the whole foundation

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of The thing is that no God is 
actually responding to a 

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previous sin, the sin of the 
nation. 

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The sin of the nation here is 
the reason for why God is about 

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to do what He's going to do, why
David is going to do what he is 

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about to do. 
And we wonder what is it that 

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Israel has done. 
And here's the thing. 

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We have entered into the realm 
of speculation because the 

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scriptures are not clear about 
what the nation has done in 

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order to cause God to move in 
divine discipline. 

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But there might be a hint in a 
simple word, the word that opens

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up this chapter. 
It's the very simple word again.

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Again, the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Israel. 

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Now you and I are not unfamiliar
with the cycles of sin that this

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nation got themselves into. 
Throughout centuries we've read 

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and studied the Book of Judges, 
and even early on and First 

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Samuel, we've seen this pattern 
from this nation. 

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And that pattern can be 
summarized in this idolatry and 

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apostasy, the worship of 
different gods, and ultimately 

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turning their backs on God. 
And if the word again is meant 

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to link us to the repetitive 
cycle of Israel's history, then 

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we can say that perhaps what is 
causing God to be so angry is 

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that the people somehow have now
come to a low point in false 

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worship and an unfaithfulness to
their God. 

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Now that's not certain. 
Some would even say no, no, no, 

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this is God's anger against 
Israel for their guilt involving

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within Absalom's. 
What? 

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His revolt and their partial 
partnership in the rebellion of 

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Sheba, that also is not entirely
clear. 

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So we're left to just say we 
don't know what it is, but we 

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can say it was enough for God to
say I'm going to do something to

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discipline you, I'm going to 
chastise you, and he's going to 

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chastise them by doing this. 
And this brings us to our second

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question, inciting David against
them. 

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What does it mean for God to 
incite David against them? 

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Again, you might come up with 
different answers unless you 

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read the rest of the chapter. 
When you read the rest of the 

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chapter as we did, what God 
essentially is saying, what the 

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Spirit is saying, is that David,
as a response to the sin of the 

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nation, was stirred to sin, was 
stirred to sin in order to cause

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the people to sin further. 
Now that sounds odd because we 

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read here that he incited the 
the God incite David descent. 

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We know that James tells us that
God tempts no man. 

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And so how do we reconcile this?
Because what we see here is that

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David is going to commit a very 
grievous evil. 

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Yes, very good. 
And first Chronicles 21 verse 

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one. 
We'll get there in a moment. 

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We're not. 
We're going to read that it's 

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actually Satan who incites David
to create a senses. 

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And even if you didn't have 
First Chronicles 21, one which 

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is very important, and having 
the understanding of what's 

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taking place here, what David is
doing, what God is, this is an 

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important word. 
Allowing is not a foreign idea 

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in the Bibles. 
Essentially, what's taking place

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here is as a response to the 
nation's sin, God is going to 

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allow David and the nation to 
sin further. 

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Why? 
Because in sinning further they 

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were incur more judgment upon 
themselves while also embracing 

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the consequences of their 
willful disobedience. 

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In other words, one way that God
judges the people one of the 

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rods that he uses is you to sin 
further in your sin that when 

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you persist in your rebellion, 
God will allow you to continue 

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in your rebellion. 
Because to remain in such a 

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condition is judgment in itself.
And it's important to see here 

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that when he incited David, he's
not the direct agent for David 

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to commit sin. 
Our brother just read it in 

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First Chronicles 21. 
One we read that it was 

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actually, say, Satan, some would
see this as a contradiction. 

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No, it's complimentary. 
God is sovereign. 

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He superintends all things, 
including Satan. 

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And when we read here in First 
Chronicles 21 that Satan stood 

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against Israel and incited 
David, what this is essentially 

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showing us is how God incited 
David. 

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The how here is in this verse, 
and it was by permitting Satan 

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removing his protection, 
removing his grace from David 

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and the nation as a whole, and 
giving Satan more access to his 

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heart and to his mind to 
persuade him further Into 

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Darkness. 
There's so many examples of that

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throughout the old and the new, 
and this is just one of them. 

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So what you have here is a very 
important theological concept. 

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When a person or a people refuse
to continue to follow God, they 

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will inevitably have Satan as a 
substitute. 

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Push God out. 
You don't have neutrality. 

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Push God out. 
You invite the evil one. 

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When you do that in your life, 
when you do that in your family,

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when you do that in your 
marriage, when you do it as a 

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nation. 
You don't want to follow God 

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anymore. 
You don't want to honor God 

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anymore. 
Then Satan will gladly lead you 

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because you're a slave to 
something. 

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In this life, you're always a 
slave. 

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You're either a slave to sin, a 
slave to Satan, or a slave to 

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God and a slave to 
righteousness. 

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You're not a free man, you're a 
slave. 

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But the beauty about being a 
slave unto God is that that's 

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where true freedom lies. 
And so we see here that Satan, 

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in essence, takes the place. 
As God pulls away, his presence 

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and his activity intensifies, 
and that's what we read here. 

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David receives a thought not 
from the Lord, but from the evil

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one, Satan. 
Unlike what many people believe,

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Satan can't read your mind. 
He can't. 

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Some people believe that. 
What a tormenting way to live. 

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He can't read your mind. 
God is all knowing. 

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The Bible tells us that he alone
knows the hearts of all men. 

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Satan doesn't share that 
prerogative or that power. 

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But Satan can sow into your 
mind, and he can plant thoughts 

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into your mind. 
And that's exactly what happens 

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to David here. 
And it shows. 

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Something about David does it 
not? 

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Because the temptation comes and
he bites. 

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Now we read about the poor 
anemic condition of Israel, but 

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we also realized that David 
himself was in a weak place. 

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Spiritually speaking, David 
allows Satan to influence him. 

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David allows this thought of 
clear disobedience to actually 

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overtake him. 
And could it be that Israel's 

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weak condition is a direct 
result of Israel's leadership 

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being A poor example and not 
being steadfast in their own 

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walk with the Lord? 
God only knows. 

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But allow me to say it again. 
One of the ways in which God 

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judges a person or people is by 
allowing them to sin further so 

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they can store it for themselves
more judgment, while also 

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enduring the consequences of the
sin itself. 

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Just in case you doubt that, 
this is one of my go to verses 

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to show that and to prove that, 
it's in Proverbs 22. 

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Verse 14, Proverbs 2214 says 
that the mouth of a forbidden 

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woman is a deep pit. 
The mouth of a forbidden woman 

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is a deep pit, meaning a woman 
who is promiscuous, adulterous, 

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sensual is a deep pit. 
You get involved with a woman 

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like that, it's going to be very
hard to escape. 

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That's what it means to me. 
Deep pit it. 

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You won't be able to really 
escape the consequences as 

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easily. 
You won't be able to escape the 

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the the the pain, the guilt, the
shame as easily. 

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It's a deep pit. 
It's a severe thing to fall into

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such a way of life. 
But that's not the part I'm 

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focused on. 
It says in the second part of 

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that verse he with whom the Lord
is angry will fall into it. 

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I remember first reading that 
just in my reading of Proverbs, 

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and it shocked me to the core. 
You would think it says the 

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mouth of a forbidden woman is a 
deep pit. 

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The one who does this, the Lord 
will be angry with. 

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It doesn't say that. 
It says he with whom the Lord is

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00:13:24,430 --> 00:13:29,790
angry will fall into it. 
In other words, in some cases, 

226
00:13:30,190 --> 00:13:35,150
when a person does fall into 
this pit, it's not because God 

227
00:13:35,150 --> 00:13:38,830
is angry with that particular 
sin, it's the fruit of a 

228
00:13:38,830 --> 00:13:43,820
previous sin. 
God, in essence, allows a person

229
00:13:43,820 --> 00:13:48,260
to continue in their sin, which 
in many cases leads to adultery,

230
00:13:48,260 --> 00:13:52,580
sensuality, or morality as a 
consequence of something prior. 

231
00:13:54,820 --> 00:13:56,660
And it made me think about so 
many different scenarios. 

232
00:13:56,660 --> 00:13:58,180
And one of the scenarios that 
we're familiar with, 

233
00:13:58,180 --> 00:14:01,020
unfortunately, is the fall of 
many leaders who who get 

234
00:14:01,020 --> 00:14:05,420
themselves involved in 
infidelity and sensuality. 

235
00:14:08,080 --> 00:14:11,760
I wonder if that is not 
necessary the the the sin that 

236
00:14:11,760 --> 00:14:12,960
disqualified. 
And I wonder if they were 

237
00:14:12,960 --> 00:14:17,080
disqualified a long time ago and
that was the that was the sin 

238
00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,120
that ultimately disqualified 
them publicly from ministry. 

239
00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,040
But makes you wonder if there 
was pride in that heart, makes 

240
00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:28,800
you wonder if there was self 
exaltation or different vices 

241
00:14:28,800 --> 00:14:31,840
that corrupted that person. 
Because what we see here is one 

242
00:14:31,840 --> 00:14:35,520
of the ways in which God does 
chastise or judge is when he 

243
00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:39,100
says, go ahead, I remove my 
protective guardrails around 

244
00:14:39,100 --> 00:14:41,940
you, I remove my conviction, I 
remove my warnings, and I let 

245
00:14:41,940 --> 00:14:47,740
you just be. 
And that's what we see here with

246
00:14:47,740 --> 00:14:52,220
David, Satan has greater access 
to his mind. 

247
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:55,100
And what does Satan incite him 
to do? 

248
00:14:55,140 --> 00:14:57,220
Verse two. 
So the king set to Job the 

249
00:14:57,220 --> 00:14:59,660
commander of the army who was 
with him, go through all the 

250
00:14:59,660 --> 00:15:02,220
tribes of Israel from Dan to 
Beersheba and number the people 

251
00:15:02,220 --> 00:15:03,460
that I may know the number of 
the people. 

252
00:15:03,460 --> 00:15:07,490
Are you serious? 
Out of all the things that Satan

253
00:15:07,490 --> 00:15:10,490
contempt a man to do, out of all
the crimes, out of all the 

254
00:15:10,490 --> 00:15:15,650
evils, the one thing that Satan 
resolves to convince David of is

255
00:15:15,650 --> 00:15:19,810
to send out a nationwide report 
to get an update on the 

256
00:15:19,810 --> 00:15:26,770
population number. 
I mean, that sounds like that 

257
00:15:26,770 --> 00:15:30,690
sounds pretty innocent as it 
sounds so severe because there's

258
00:15:30,690 --> 00:15:33,290
nothing inherently wrong with 
the senses. 

259
00:15:34,580 --> 00:15:36,620
That's true throughout the 
Bible. 

260
00:15:37,300 --> 00:15:40,020
But what we have to consider 
here are two things to see how 

261
00:15:40,020 --> 00:15:42,300
Satan is moving behind the 
scenes. 

262
00:15:42,980 --> 00:15:47,340
The motive behind the senses and
the method of the senses. 

263
00:15:48,260 --> 00:15:52,580
The motive and the method. 
What is the motive do you think 

264
00:15:52,580 --> 00:15:55,940
according to verse two? 
What do you see in verse 2? 

265
00:16:01,540 --> 00:16:07,130
That I may know. 
It's all about David. 

266
00:16:07,210 --> 00:16:10,810
It's all for David. 
It's all to satisfy this 

267
00:16:10,810 --> 00:16:14,850
curiosity and a curiosity in 
order to build up 

268
00:16:14,850 --> 00:16:19,490
selfconfidence. 
I just want to know how many 

269
00:16:19,490 --> 00:16:23,010
people I have under my 
leadership in my brain. 

270
00:16:23,370 --> 00:16:24,650
I want to know how much we've 
grown. 

271
00:16:24,650 --> 00:16:26,890
I want to know our strength. 
I want to know our military 

272
00:16:26,890 --> 00:16:30,850
might, which is confirmed later 
on that David is not necessarily

273
00:16:30,850 --> 00:16:33,970
interested in the wider number. 
He wants to know specifically 

274
00:16:33,970 --> 00:16:37,290
about his army. 
And Joe up here, I mean, out of 

275
00:16:37,290 --> 00:16:41,530
all the guys to protest, this 
job is the guy who protested. 

276
00:16:41,530 --> 00:16:43,170
That's how you know there's 
something fishy about this. 

277
00:16:43,490 --> 00:16:48,210
He reads David like a book, like
it's all over him for why he 

278
00:16:48,210 --> 00:16:50,930
wants to do this, and that's why
he he stands up and he says, 

279
00:16:51,210 --> 00:16:54,170
listen, may the Lord add to the 
number 100 times in your 

280
00:16:54,170 --> 00:16:57,770
lifetime, but why do you delight
in this thing? 

281
00:16:58,700 --> 00:17:01,060
Why are you trying to do this? 
What are you? 

282
00:17:01,060 --> 00:17:03,540
What's your real motive here? 
And he's challenging David 

283
00:17:03,540 --> 00:17:07,980
because he can discern that. 
This is rooted in pride. 

284
00:17:09,020 --> 00:17:11,220
This is rooted in arrogance. 
There is something here about 

285
00:17:11,220 --> 00:17:16,780
David wanting to confirm and 
celebrate himself, and Joe AB is

286
00:17:16,780 --> 00:17:21,180
the one who notices it. 
Joe AB and I thought to myself 

287
00:17:21,180 --> 00:17:24,140
reading about Joe, I said, Where
was this man's courage? 

288
00:17:24,579 --> 00:17:27,890
Where was this man's conviction?
And we'll get to that in a 

289
00:17:27,890 --> 00:17:29,890
moment. 
But this is what we're seeing 

290
00:17:29,890 --> 00:17:32,370
here. 
Pride is what is consuming 

291
00:17:32,370 --> 00:17:34,490
David. 
That was the door that Satan had

292
00:17:34,490 --> 00:17:38,090
access through. 
Is David at the beginning of his

293
00:17:38,090 --> 00:17:39,890
life, the middle of his life, or
the end of his life? 

294
00:17:40,490 --> 00:17:47,690
The end of his life? 
Pride is always looking at every

295
00:17:47,690 --> 00:17:49,690
point of where you're at, of 
every season. 

296
00:17:49,690 --> 00:17:54,290
When you're young and you're 
zealous, you can boast in that 

297
00:17:54,570 --> 00:17:57,330
and even in your spirituality. 
Even in your plans and your 

298
00:17:57,330 --> 00:18:00,570
dreams and the strength of the 
flesh and your beauty, you can 

299
00:18:00,570 --> 00:18:02,410
be proud. 
And at the end of your life, 

300
00:18:02,610 --> 00:18:05,450
upon the reflection of all your 
successes and all your endeavors

301
00:18:05,450 --> 00:18:07,370
and all the things that you've 
done, even in the name of God, 

302
00:18:07,570 --> 00:18:09,930
pride is right there trying to 
destroy you. 

303
00:18:10,090 --> 00:18:12,970
Even if you have a day left to 
live, Pride still wants to try 

304
00:18:12,970 --> 00:18:15,730
to bring you down. 
So be on guard. 

305
00:18:15,730 --> 00:18:19,010
Always, always at all seasons, 
at all times, in all places. 

306
00:18:19,210 --> 00:18:22,850
Be alert. 
Here we see that this man in his

307
00:18:22,850 --> 00:18:26,010
old age is still being 
threatened by pride, and 

308
00:18:26,130 --> 00:18:27,890
unfortunately, he's infected by 
it. 

309
00:18:28,410 --> 00:18:31,490
And first Chronicles 21 Five. 
That's a parallel account if you

310
00:18:31,490 --> 00:18:33,770
want to flip back and forth. 
It'll make this study much 

311
00:18:33,770 --> 00:18:36,410
easier. 
We're told exactly what, David. 

312
00:18:36,410 --> 00:18:40,330
Wanted a number for it says here
in Joe I've gave the some of the

313
00:18:40,330 --> 00:18:42,570
numbering of the people to David
and all Israel There were 

314
00:18:42,970 --> 00:18:49,010
1,100,000 men who drew the sword
and in Judah 470,000 who drew 

315
00:18:49,010 --> 00:18:54,130
the sword David wanted to know 
specifically about. 

316
00:18:54,630 --> 00:18:58,830
His fighting men. 
And there's no sign in the text 

317
00:18:58,830 --> 00:19:03,030
that David is trying to get an 
idea of who's at his disposal 

318
00:19:03,030 --> 00:19:05,510
because there are neighboring 
nations ready to go to war. 

319
00:19:05,870 --> 00:19:10,590
The fact that this took several 
months to do shows that David is

320
00:19:10,590 --> 00:19:14,710
doing this at a time of peace. 
Some people excuse David that 

321
00:19:14,710 --> 00:19:16,950
he's trying to do this to 
prepare himself for a potential 

322
00:19:16,950 --> 00:19:19,390
conflict. 
There is no sign of conflict. 

323
00:19:20,230 --> 00:19:23,670
Nine months go by and there is 
nothing indicating. 

324
00:19:24,050 --> 00:19:27,050
Potential danger. 
This is purely from a place of 

325
00:19:27,050 --> 00:19:30,450
success and wanting to relish in
your success. 

326
00:19:30,810 --> 00:19:33,850
So there are only two strong 
possibilities to why David is 

327
00:19:33,850 --> 00:19:35,090
doing this. 
What do you think it is? 

328
00:19:35,530 --> 00:19:38,770
One of two? 
Or maybe you can get both. 

329
00:19:41,010 --> 00:19:45,330
I kind of gave a hint just now 
to gloat to 1, to simply just 

330
00:19:45,330 --> 00:19:49,650
boast and to and to realize how 
successful he was and to to 

331
00:19:49,650 --> 00:19:51,570
proclaim nationally how 
successful he was. 

332
00:19:51,970 --> 00:19:56,150
This was a way to trumpet. 
His own brilliance and 

333
00:19:56,150 --> 00:19:59,390
leadership. 
But what's the second reason do 

334
00:19:59,390 --> 00:20:15,900
you think? 
I think that's very true. 

335
00:20:16,460 --> 00:20:20,620
Here's David now putting his 
trust in a number of his men 

336
00:20:20,620 --> 00:20:24,820
rather than the strength of his 
God and and the Lord himself 

337
00:20:24,820 --> 00:20:26,820
knew the danger. 
God's not against numbers. 

338
00:20:26,820 --> 00:20:31,370
He has old book called numbers. 
OK, God's not against numbers. 

339
00:20:31,370 --> 00:20:33,490
In the book of Acts we see him 
counting the number of people 

340
00:20:33,490 --> 00:20:37,330
who are saved periodically. 
He's not Now what we do with 

341
00:20:37,330 --> 00:20:40,810
those numbers and what those 
numbers do to us determines what

342
00:20:40,810 --> 00:20:45,370
God feels about us numbering. 
But yet God still realizes the 

343
00:20:45,370 --> 00:20:47,850
danger of numbers. 
And so even when it came to 

344
00:20:47,850 --> 00:20:50,370
Gideon as her brother brought up
as an example, he reduced the 

345
00:20:50,370 --> 00:20:52,210
number less. 
The people boast in their 

346
00:20:52,210 --> 00:20:56,020
themselves after the victory. 
And God, even concerning kings 

347
00:20:56,020 --> 00:20:59,700
in Deuteronomy 17, gave strict 
protocol of what they should do 

348
00:20:59,700 --> 00:21:04,100
in terms of their army, in terms
of their own material gain and 

349
00:21:04,100 --> 00:21:06,060
strength. 
And there should be few horses, 

350
00:21:06,060 --> 00:21:08,100
right? 
And all these specific rules, so

351
00:21:08,100 --> 00:21:12,540
that constantly they would 
depend on their God throughout 

352
00:21:12,540 --> 00:21:15,420
the ages. 
And we hear we see here that 

353
00:21:15,420 --> 00:21:19,100
David potentially now loses 
sight of the Lord and begins to 

354
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:24,350
try to draw hope and draw 
strength from that which God 

355
00:21:24,350 --> 00:21:25,830
says you don't put your trust 
in. 

356
00:21:28,510 --> 00:21:31,350
Either one of these reasons is 
enough for him to be headed for 

357
00:21:31,350 --> 00:21:33,790
trouble. 
These are the potential motives.

358
00:21:33,790 --> 00:21:36,710
Now let's talk about the method.
This is where people tend to 

359
00:21:36,710 --> 00:21:38,310
miss the deeper meaning of the 
story. 

360
00:21:38,590 --> 00:21:41,350
They tend to just stop their 
date of his operating here under

361
00:21:41,350 --> 00:21:43,710
pride, self-sufficiency, 
self-reliance. 

362
00:21:43,830 --> 00:21:44,830
True, true. 
True. 

363
00:21:44,830 --> 00:21:47,870
True, but the crime is much more
severe than that. 

364
00:21:48,990 --> 00:21:51,390
Did God give his people 
instructions of how they should 

365
00:21:51,390 --> 00:21:56,400
conduct the senses? 
You would know this if you were 

366
00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:59,160
with us 5-6 years ago, because 
we went through a book that 

367
00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:04,600
tells us plainly that there are 
set, detailed rules of how the 

368
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:08,680
nation should go about sending 
out a report to be numbered. 

369
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:10,360
Anybody know which book? 
I'm speaking about? 

370
00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:13,720
Exodus. 
So I need you to turn to Exodus 

371
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,680
chapter 30, and let's read a few
verses to understand this more 

372
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:18,760
deeply. 
This is why you've heard me say 

373
00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:19,960
this. 
I love saying it. 

374
00:22:20,120 --> 00:22:21,800
You need to read the whole 
Bible, my friend. 

375
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,120
Because you'll come to a story 
like this and you'll miss the 

376
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:29,400
deeper meaning. 
So when you skip over Exodus, 

377
00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:32,280
because from 25 to 40 it's all 
about the Tabernacle, you're 

378
00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:34,400
like, I'm not interested. 
This doesn't relate to my life. 

379
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:36,680
Then you come to the exciting 
book of Second Samuel and you 

380
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:39,200
come to 24. 
You say all this is awesome, but

381
00:22:39,200 --> 00:22:41,680
because you missed out on 
Exodus, you miss out on 2nd Sam 

382
00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:47,160
of 24, Exodus 30, verse 11. 
Another reminder for us to be 

383
00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:49,280
people who indulge in the whole 
thing. 

384
00:22:50,060 --> 00:22:52,900
Verse 11 reads, The Lord said to
Moses, pay attention. 

385
00:22:52,900 --> 00:22:55,980
Now verse 12. 
When you take the senses of the 

386
00:22:55,980 --> 00:22:59,740
people of Israel, then each 
shall give a ransom for his life

387
00:22:59,740 --> 00:23:01,820
to the Lord. 
When you number them, that there

388
00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:05,540
be no plague among them. 
When you number them, each one 

389
00:23:05,540 --> 00:23:09,220
who is numbered in the senses 
shall give this half a shekel. 

390
00:23:09,220 --> 00:23:11,220
According to the shekel of the 
sanctuary. 

391
00:23:11,740 --> 00:23:15,940
The shekel is 20 guerres half a 
shekel as an offering to the 

392
00:23:15,940 --> 00:23:18,240
Lord. 
Everyone who is numbered in the 

393
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:21,520
census from 20 years old and 
upwards, shall give the Lord's 

394
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:24,680
offering, the rich shall not 
give more, and the poor shall 

395
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:27,040
not give less than the half 
shekel. 

396
00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:29,360
When you give the Lord's 
offering to make atonement for 

397
00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:34,920
your lives, you shall take the 
atonement money from the people 

398
00:23:34,920 --> 00:23:37,560
of Israel, and shall give it for
the service of the 10th of 

399
00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:39,760
meeting. 
That it may bring the people of 

400
00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:43,240
Israel to remembrance before the
Lord, so as to make atonement 

401
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:46,980
for your lives. 
Fascinating. 

402
00:23:47,380 --> 00:23:50,460
I love the Bible. 
I love the Old Testament. 

403
00:23:51,180 --> 00:23:52,860
I got giddy. 
When I was reminded of these 

404
00:23:52,860 --> 00:23:56,100
verses, well, tell me, tell me 
some things that stand out from 

405
00:23:56,660 --> 00:24:00,020
the specific rules concerning 
the census. 

406
00:24:00,020 --> 00:24:05,260
What stands out to you? 
There's a tax associated with 

407
00:24:05,900 --> 00:24:08,660
the census. 
You could not separate the tax 

408
00:24:09,180 --> 00:24:12,100
from the numbering. 
Crucial. 

409
00:24:12,820 --> 00:24:22,440
Anything else? 
The tax has a specific purpose. 

410
00:24:22,440 --> 00:24:25,640
There's actually twofold 
purpose, but it's referred to 

411
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,880
powerfully as the atonement 
money. 

412
00:24:31,120 --> 00:24:32,520
Oh, you see where we're going 
here? 

413
00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:36,680
Atonement money. 
What else stands out to you from

414
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:41,360
these verses? 
The money is actually an 

415
00:24:41,440 --> 00:24:45,480
offering to the Lord. 
It's an offering. 

416
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,700
So that's one of its purposes, 
and we're going to get to the 

417
00:24:48,700 --> 00:24:50,900
purposes in a moment, but I want
to see if anybody else sees any 

418
00:24:50,900 --> 00:24:56,300
other details, What else stands 
out? 

419
00:24:58,220 --> 00:25:00,100
Whether you're rich or you're 
poor, no matter what your status

420
00:25:00,100 --> 00:25:03,900
was in society, every single 
person paid the same price. 

421
00:25:04,620 --> 00:25:10,260
Yes. 
Oh, very, very important. 

422
00:25:10,260 --> 00:25:12,060
Did you see what we were reading
at first? 

423
00:25:12,740 --> 00:25:17,950
Refusal to pay the tax would 
invoke a plague. 

424
00:25:20,550 --> 00:25:23,670
If you've read Second Name of 24
in its entirety, things are 

425
00:25:23,710 --> 00:25:26,670
beginning to connect now, and 
I'll show you if you haven't 

426
00:25:26,670 --> 00:25:29,670
read it before, what else You 
had your hand up. 

427
00:25:32,190 --> 00:25:34,550
There is a remembrance in this 
act. 

428
00:25:35,630 --> 00:25:36,830
Well, I think we've gathered 
enough. 

429
00:25:36,830 --> 00:25:38,630
Unless Joshua back there in the 
sound booth. 

430
00:25:38,870 --> 00:25:40,270
What are you doing in the sound 
booth, Joshua? 

431
00:25:40,270 --> 00:25:45,760
Are you in charge of the life? 
Yes. 

432
00:25:46,040 --> 00:25:51,400
So there is an atoning factor to
this half shekel being devoted 

433
00:25:51,400 --> 00:25:53,480
and dedicated from each 
individual. 

434
00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:58,240
While we have enough now to work
with something, this is the two 

435
00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:00,960
purposes that we have concerning
this tax, when the census will 

436
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,160
go out. 
Number one, this tax would be a 

437
00:26:03,160 --> 00:26:08,720
means to provide the necessary 
funds to continue the service in

438
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,240
the Tabernacle. 
We read that right. 

439
00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,240
We read here that the service of
the. 10th of meeting it shall be

440
00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:15,020
given. 
For the service. 

441
00:26:16,060 --> 00:26:18,940
And then the second part there, 
verse 16, is that it may bring 

442
00:26:18,940 --> 00:26:21,740
the people of Israel to 
remembrance before the Lord. 

443
00:26:21,740 --> 00:26:26,340
So not only would it help fund 
the ministry of the central 

444
00:26:26,340 --> 00:26:29,820
worship center of the nation, it
would have an individual and 

445
00:26:29,820 --> 00:26:32,900
immediate act upon the hearts of
the people. 

446
00:26:32,900 --> 00:26:35,740
And this was it. 
The senses would cause the 

447
00:26:35,740 --> 00:26:39,300
people to be humbled because of 
that tax. 

448
00:26:39,300 --> 00:26:42,780
There would be something given 
up by the people. 

449
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:48,080
So that not that nationalism 
would be boosted, not not so 

450
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,200
that the ego of the leadership 
would be stroked, but that the 

451
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:53,000
people would be actually brought
low. 

452
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,480
And that when they were 
numbered, when their existence 

453
00:26:57,480 --> 00:27:02,120
and their participation was made
known to them and to the nation,

454
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:06,240
they would in a sense, by giving
up the shekel, saying as much as

455
00:27:06,240 --> 00:27:09,520
I have been led here by the 
grace of God, as much as I am in

456
00:27:09,520 --> 00:27:11,680
a place of great prosperity and 
blessing. 

457
00:27:12,170 --> 00:27:16,850
I also recognize that I am in 
need of atonement. 

458
00:27:18,810 --> 00:27:27,210
I also recognize that God owns 
me and that I need rescue and 

459
00:27:27,210 --> 00:27:31,730
that I need to be delivered and 
that I need covering for my sin.

460
00:27:32,570 --> 00:27:36,130
That's what was being declared 
in that offering. 

461
00:27:37,360 --> 00:27:40,360
And so, yes, they would be 
acknowledged by this senses, but

462
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:42,680
they would also be humbled by 
this senses. 

463
00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:45,840
And that humility would be 
stimulated by a willingness to 

464
00:27:45,840 --> 00:27:50,120
give up something small but 
something symbolic that would 

465
00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:54,040
cause him to say and recall 
their condition and feel their 

466
00:27:54,040 --> 00:27:58,680
need to be delivered. 
And what makes us observe is 

467
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,400
even more special, is what the 
Lord says in verse 15. 

468
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,850
We we heard it already. 
The rich shall not give more, 

469
00:28:04,850 --> 00:28:07,370
and the poor shall not give less
than half a shekel. 

470
00:28:07,370 --> 00:28:09,370
When you give the Lord's 
offering to make atonement. 

471
00:28:09,370 --> 00:28:13,410
That's a gospel truth. 
What this means is no matter. 

472
00:28:13,410 --> 00:28:17,970
Who you are among your family 
and society, your occupation, 

473
00:28:19,730 --> 00:28:22,570
every single person, by giving 
the same amount, would 

474
00:28:22,570 --> 00:28:26,290
essentially be confessing that 
they are all in equal need of 

475
00:28:26,290 --> 00:28:30,490
the same atonement. 
We all need deliverance. 

476
00:28:31,250 --> 00:28:35,140
We all need the same salvation. 
We all need the same rescue. 

477
00:28:36,300 --> 00:28:39,180
And so this census with this tax
actually brought everybody on a 

478
00:28:39,620 --> 00:28:43,140
level ground. 
It brought everybody to to 

479
00:28:43,140 --> 00:28:45,060
realize it. 
Acknowledge no matter who I am 

480
00:28:45,060 --> 00:28:49,780
as a number in this place. 
Still you and I, my brother, my 

481
00:28:49,780 --> 00:28:52,500
sister, we all need the same 
thing. 

482
00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:55,740
We all need atonement. 
We all need atonement. 

483
00:28:56,940 --> 00:29:00,980
And and if you can make a Bible 
study just on the census. 

484
00:29:01,830 --> 00:29:03,870
So let me just give you 
something else to add to this to

485
00:29:03,870 --> 00:29:07,830
make it even more exciting. 
When this original census was 

486
00:29:07,830 --> 00:29:11,030
given out, when this original 
set of instructions was 

487
00:29:11,030 --> 00:29:17,150
implemented, does anybody know 
where the tax money went in 

488
00:29:17,150 --> 00:29:30,010
Exodus? 
Anybody have an idea where did 

489
00:29:30,010 --> 00:29:33,530
this tax money go? 
Well, one the shekel was silver.

490
00:29:33,690 --> 00:29:39,500
Maybe that's a hint. 
Any ideas? 

491
00:29:41,260 --> 00:29:43,860
If you're listening to this at a
later time, any ideas? 

492
00:29:47,860 --> 00:29:52,900
You're in that general area, the
Tabernacle. 

493
00:29:52,900 --> 00:29:54,420
Give me more specifics. 
Yes. 

494
00:29:55,020 --> 00:29:58,580
Yes, Josh, I'm pointing at you. 
The priest. 

495
00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:03,300
More specifically, you're in the
realm that I'm referring to, not

496
00:30:03,300 --> 00:30:07,210
the Treasury necessarily. 
Not the trumpets, but very good 

497
00:30:07,210 --> 00:30:12,010
guess. 
Okay, I'm impatient. 

498
00:30:13,210 --> 00:30:15,490
Exodus 38. 
You'll see it. 

499
00:30:16,410 --> 00:30:23,850
Exodus. 3825 we see the direct 
reference of this initial census

500
00:30:23,850 --> 00:30:27,250
being given out and where the 
silver of this first generation 

501
00:30:27,250 --> 00:30:30,090
went to Exodus 3825, are you 
there? 

502
00:30:32,080 --> 00:30:34,960
The silver from those of the 
congregation who were recorded 

503
00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:41,040
was 100 talents and 1775 shekels
by the shekel of the sanctuary. 

504
00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:44,320
A bake ahead that is half a 
shekel by the shekel of the 

505
00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:48,320
sanctuary for everyone who is 
listed in the records from 20 

506
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:53,960
years old and upward for 600 and
three 550,000 men. 

507
00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:58,600
Now here it is, verse 27, The 
100 Talents of Silver. 

508
00:31:00,100 --> 00:31:03,940
Were forecasting the bases of 
the Sanctuary and the bases of 

509
00:31:03,940 --> 00:31:07,220
the Veil. 100 bases for the 100 
talents. 

510
00:31:07,220 --> 00:31:11,300
A talent, a base. 
Where did that silver go? 

511
00:31:11,300 --> 00:31:16,500
To the bases that held up the 
boards that would make up the 

512
00:31:16,500 --> 00:31:22,060
edifice of the Tabernacle. 
Every inch of the construction 

513
00:31:22,060 --> 00:31:25,060
of the Tabernacle has been 
recorded and preserved for us in

514
00:31:25,060 --> 00:31:28,690
the word of God. 
It's absolutely astounding to me

515
00:31:28,690 --> 00:31:33,330
to see how much of the Bible 
contains reference, whether in 

516
00:31:33,330 --> 00:31:35,370
detail or by name to the 
Tabernacle. 

517
00:31:35,810 --> 00:31:39,170
I always use this as an example 
to contrast a thought provoking 

518
00:31:39,850 --> 00:31:42,530
idea. 
You have two chapters or chapter

519
00:31:42,530 --> 00:31:45,890
and a half dedicated to the 
creation of the universe, the 

520
00:31:45,890 --> 00:31:49,770
creation of the universe, and 
some believe that in comparison 

521
00:31:49,770 --> 00:31:52,690
to that you have close to 50 
chapters in the Bible that's 

522
00:31:52,690 --> 00:31:58,570
dedicated to the Tabernacle. 
Two for the universe around 50, 

523
00:31:58,570 --> 00:32:01,170
for a building that has no 
immediate relevance to us in the

524
00:32:01,170 --> 00:32:04,930
New Covenant, clearly there's 
something important about the 

525
00:32:04,930 --> 00:32:10,210
Tabernacle, and every corner, 
every material, every way in 

526
00:32:10,210 --> 00:32:14,690
which it should be built has 
been kept for us because there's

527
00:32:14,690 --> 00:32:19,330
something greater in it than for
us to see what Israel use as a 

528
00:32:19,330 --> 00:32:24,610
means to meet with God. 
And here we read that the silver

529
00:32:24,610 --> 00:32:28,970
that was brought from the census
was utilized in order to create 

530
00:32:28,970 --> 00:32:32,570
the basis in which the main 
structure with its boards would 

531
00:32:32,570 --> 00:32:35,730
be able to be established and 
founded upon. 

532
00:32:35,970 --> 00:32:38,570
You don't have the basis. 
You don't have support. 

533
00:32:38,690 --> 00:32:41,130
You don't have support. 
You don't have an existing 

534
00:32:41,130 --> 00:32:43,250
meeting place between God and 
man. 

535
00:32:43,850 --> 00:32:46,690
It's it's the base. 
It's the foundation. 

536
00:32:48,690 --> 00:32:50,250
So remove the bases. 
What do you have? 

537
00:32:50,250 --> 00:32:53,740
A very wobbly tent. 
Remove the bases and what do you

538
00:32:53,740 --> 00:32:57,860
have? 
A very shaky and unpredictable 

539
00:32:58,300 --> 00:33:01,580
arena. 
So this is this is not optional.

540
00:33:01,580 --> 00:33:04,860
This is crucial, like anything 
else, when you're building any 

541
00:33:04,860 --> 00:33:09,740
size project, to have the base 
in place and the base by the 

542
00:33:09,740 --> 00:33:13,740
spirits. 
Insight, we're told, is used by 

543
00:33:13,740 --> 00:33:18,580
the material of the silver. 
What did the silver represent? 

544
00:33:20,300 --> 00:33:24,440
Atonement. 
It was a confession that apart 

545
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:28,400
from atonement, I cannot be who 
God called me. 

546
00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:31,320
I cannot have a future. 
I cannot be truly a child of 

547
00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:32,800
God. 
I need my sins covered. 

548
00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:38,240
And the Holy Spirit takes that 
truth and applies it to the base

549
00:33:38,360 --> 00:33:40,400
of the Tabernacle. 
You know why? 

550
00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:43,280
Because in the same way you 
could not have a Tabernacle 

551
00:33:43,560 --> 00:33:46,800
without the silver bases, you 
can't have a relationship with 

552
00:33:46,800 --> 00:33:49,200
God apart from the reality of 
atonement. 

553
00:33:51,680 --> 00:33:56,800
That's the truth. 
God could Tabernacle with man in

554
00:33:56,800 --> 00:34:00,760
the Old Covenant on the basis of
the revelation of Atonement. 

555
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:05,200
Christ can only Tabernacle in 
your heart upon the same 

556
00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:08,639
reality, not with silver or 
gold, as Peter said, but upon 

557
00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:10,920
the precious blood of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. 

558
00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:13,360
That's the truth. 
Do you see how the Old Testament

559
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:15,960
is exciting? 
Do you see how you can't skip 

560
00:34:15,960 --> 00:34:18,230
it? 
You see how when you get deep, 

561
00:34:18,230 --> 00:34:21,670
there's meat waiting for you. 
So even the basis of the silver,

562
00:34:21,670 --> 00:34:23,350
you think, why am I being told 
this? 

563
00:34:23,350 --> 00:34:24,710
Well, what is a silver 
represent? 

564
00:34:25,070 --> 00:34:27,750
Oh, you can't have a Tabernacle.
You can't know God. 

565
00:34:27,750 --> 00:34:30,030
You can't meet with God. 
You can't have the glory of God 

566
00:34:30,190 --> 00:34:33,909
apart from me confessing I need 
to be atoned for. 

567
00:34:35,469 --> 00:34:41,310
It's pointing to something. 
Now this is making more sense 

568
00:34:41,310 --> 00:34:43,310
when you come to Second Samuel 
20 4. 

569
00:34:44,230 --> 00:34:45,830
Hold on. 
We're still in the category not 

570
00:34:45,830 --> 00:34:48,550
of the motive, but of the method
of the senses. 

571
00:34:50,070 --> 00:34:53,550
What was the danger? 
What was the punishment if the 

572
00:34:53,550 --> 00:34:57,150
people under a census did not 
give up their toning silver? 

573
00:34:57,990 --> 00:34:59,750
A plague? 
Come back to second. 

574
00:34:59,750 --> 00:35:05,950
Same of 24. 
Look at verse 15. 

575
00:35:08,750 --> 00:35:12,870
So the Lord sent what pestilence
on Israel from the morning until

576
00:35:12,870 --> 00:35:15,710
the appointed time, and there 
died of the people from Dan to 

577
00:35:15,710 --> 00:35:25,150
Beersheba, 70,000 men, plague. 
It's very likely that when Satan

578
00:35:25,150 --> 00:35:30,990
tempted David, he not only 
tempted him to feed his pride, 

579
00:35:31,710 --> 00:35:36,510
but he tempted him to create his
senses while ignoring the 

580
00:35:36,510 --> 00:35:41,590
atonement offering. 
And that makes sense because the

581
00:35:41,590 --> 00:35:42,830
guilt didn't just come upon 
David. 

582
00:35:42,830 --> 00:35:44,670
Who did it come upon? 
The nation as a whole. 

583
00:35:45,870 --> 00:35:50,470
The nation as a whole. 
And so it could be that the 

584
00:35:50,550 --> 00:35:55,670
anger from verse one of of of 
God concerning the people is 

585
00:35:55,670 --> 00:36:01,990
that they themselves had their 
own pride going on and inciting 

586
00:36:01,990 --> 00:36:06,470
David to create this census. 
Without the need of the 

587
00:36:06,470 --> 00:36:10,790
atonement, only expose the pride
that was in their hearts. 

588
00:36:11,670 --> 00:36:15,350
Because what you have here is a 
great possibility that the 

589
00:36:15,350 --> 00:36:19,190
people neglected their 
participation, their 

590
00:36:19,190 --> 00:36:21,750
responsibility, in giving up 
half a shekel when they were 

591
00:36:21,750 --> 00:36:25,430
counted. 
What was Satan trying to do? 

592
00:36:25,710 --> 00:36:28,950
He was trying to, in essence, 
cause the people to deny their 

593
00:36:28,950 --> 00:36:33,630
need for redemption. 
It was an affront to God. 

594
00:36:33,830 --> 00:36:37,280
It was an offense to God. 
It was them saying, yeah, we're 

595
00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:39,240
numbered. 
But they divorce themselves of 

596
00:36:39,240 --> 00:36:42,120
their need for saving, their 
need for redemption. 

597
00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:46,120
How only their sins being 
covered is any hope for their 

598
00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:48,120
future. 
And David wanted to blur that 

599
00:36:48,120 --> 00:36:52,640
message. 
And so we encouraged David to 

600
00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:54,680
create a senses, which is not 
inherently wrong. 

601
00:36:54,680 --> 00:36:58,880
But when you did it your way 
without this key component, oh, 

602
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,480
you were sending a clear message
to God Almighty and to your 

603
00:37:01,480 --> 00:37:03,520
neighbors. 
We don't need atonement. 

604
00:37:04,670 --> 00:37:06,030
Is Satan still doing the same 
today? 

605
00:37:06,030 --> 00:37:09,310
Absolutely. 
Satan doesn't mind you 

606
00:37:09,310 --> 00:37:11,990
acknowledging your existence. 
He doesn't mind you living it up

607
00:37:11,990 --> 00:37:15,630
here. 
As long as you do not see your 

608
00:37:15,630 --> 00:37:19,950
desperate condition. 
He'll let you live in self 

609
00:37:19,950 --> 00:37:22,550
righteousness. 
He'll let you live in a works 

610
00:37:22,550 --> 00:37:26,710
based philosophy as long as you 
don't come to the self 

611
00:37:26,710 --> 00:37:30,150
realization that I need 
covering. 

612
00:37:30,450 --> 00:37:33,570
I need redemption. 
I need something outside of 

613
00:37:33,570 --> 00:37:36,930
myself to rescue me. 
He's doing the very same thing. 

614
00:37:39,770 --> 00:37:42,370
And we see here that this is the
essence of the crime of Second 

615
00:37:42,370 --> 00:37:46,930
Samuel, Chapter 24. 
A census without atonement. 

616
00:37:47,290 --> 00:37:50,490
A census without an offering. 
A census without the 

617
00:37:50,490 --> 00:37:53,370
proclamation of the desperation 
of the people's spiritual 

618
00:37:53,370 --> 00:37:56,930
condition. 
And we're going to close to show

619
00:37:56,930 --> 00:38:00,640
just how severe this crime was. 
We're just in verse 2. 

620
00:38:00,640 --> 00:38:03,560
How are we going to finish this?
I don't know, but let's keep 

621
00:38:03,560 --> 00:38:05,120
going. 
Verse 3. 

622
00:38:05,120 --> 00:38:07,400
But Joe upset to the king, may 
the Lord your God add to the 

623
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:09,800
people 100 times as many as they
are, while the eyes of the Lord 

624
00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:11,520
still see it, my king still see 
it. 

625
00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:14,640
But why does my Lord the King 
delight in this thing? 

626
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:17,680
Again, I said earlier, where was
this man's courage and 

627
00:38:17,680 --> 00:38:19,240
conviction when it came to 
Abner? 

628
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:24,200
When it came to Uriah, when it 
came to the people that he 

629
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:27,760
murdered in cold blood? 
I thought to myself, where was 

630
00:38:27,760 --> 00:38:31,640
this man? 
With Amasa when he kissed them 

631
00:38:31,640 --> 00:38:34,360
and stabbed them and let his 
entrails spill out. 

632
00:38:35,240 --> 00:38:37,320
Because what he's saying here is
righteous. 

633
00:38:37,320 --> 00:38:42,640
It is right, It is correct. 
But see, jobs problem was this 

634
00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,480
that he was willing to stand up 
against evil as long as that 

635
00:38:45,480 --> 00:38:52,040
evil did not, did not cause any 
of his personal interests to be 

636
00:38:52,040 --> 00:38:57,570
endangered if. 
Evil promoted his position, 

637
00:38:57,570 --> 00:39:00,250
protected his authority. 
He was for it, but when it was 

638
00:39:00,250 --> 00:39:03,890
outside of himself, he was 
willing to speak out against it.

639
00:39:03,890 --> 00:39:07,490
This is what we call selective 
sanctification, that you are 

640
00:39:07,490 --> 00:39:09,930
bold and courageous on your 
social media and in your 

641
00:39:09,930 --> 00:39:12,210
conversations and in your 
debates with others with 

642
00:39:12,210 --> 00:39:14,810
cultural issues. 
But when it comes to sins that 

643
00:39:14,810 --> 00:39:18,410
you enjoy and justify, you have 
a different tone, don't you? 

644
00:39:19,690 --> 00:39:21,650
You have you have a different 
attitude, don't you? 

645
00:39:21,650 --> 00:39:25,130
That's that's a joab like 
spirituality. 

646
00:39:26,610 --> 00:39:29,010
And so as much as this is to be 
commended, this is also 

647
00:39:29,010 --> 00:39:32,530
concerning with Joe AB willing 
to speak out against evils that 

648
00:39:32,530 --> 00:39:34,730
don't pertain or affect his 
life. 

649
00:39:35,130 --> 00:39:37,490
But when it came to his life, he
was more than willing to commit 

650
00:39:37,490 --> 00:39:39,770
evil. 
And it's more than just Job. 

651
00:39:39,770 --> 00:39:42,410
Look at verse 4. 
But the King's word prevailed 

652
00:39:42,410 --> 00:39:45,410
against Job and the commanders 
of the army. 

653
00:39:45,410 --> 00:39:48,410
So now you have other guys in 
high prominent positions that 

654
00:39:48,410 --> 00:39:52,010
are siding with Joe AB and are 
trying to convince the King King

655
00:39:52,010 --> 00:39:54,590
don't do this. 
Please don't do this. 

656
00:39:54,590 --> 00:39:56,950
This is going to be really bad 
for you and really bad for all 

657
00:39:56,950 --> 00:39:58,550
of us. 
We're begging you not to do 

658
00:39:58,550 --> 00:40:02,030
this. 
But unfortunately it says here 

659
00:40:02,030 --> 00:40:04,310
the King's word prevailed 
against Job. 

660
00:40:05,350 --> 00:40:06,630
What do you take out of verse 
four? 

661
00:40:08,030 --> 00:40:10,070
What do you take out of verse 
four with Job and the commanders

662
00:40:10,070 --> 00:40:12,430
of the army standing up against 
the King? 

663
00:40:13,830 --> 00:40:15,350
Look at it from a. 
Divine standpoint. 

664
00:40:15,350 --> 00:40:17,310
Look at it from God's 
perspective more than from a 

665
00:40:17,310 --> 00:40:19,590
human standpoint. 
Do you know what I see from 

666
00:40:19,590 --> 00:40:21,190
this? 
An act of God's mercy. 

667
00:40:23,100 --> 00:40:26,220
I see that as much as David has 
been given over to himself in 

668
00:40:26,220 --> 00:40:29,100
this season, God still gives him
a way out. 

669
00:40:29,580 --> 00:40:31,980
It's almost as though God is 
giving him yet another chance, 

670
00:40:32,580 --> 00:40:36,540
another chance to escape, a 
furtherance into disobedience 

671
00:40:36,540 --> 00:40:38,780
and the the consequences and the
outcomes thereof. 

672
00:40:38,780 --> 00:40:41,420
Do you remember what happened 
with David on the rooftop in 

673
00:40:41,420 --> 00:40:43,700
Second Samuel 11 when he 
inquired of Bathsheba? 

674
00:40:45,220 --> 00:40:47,020
The servants came back and what 
did they say? 

675
00:40:47,020 --> 00:40:50,140
They they told him that this is 
a married woman and she's 

676
00:40:50,140 --> 00:40:51,980
actually married to one of your 
mighty men. 

677
00:40:51,980 --> 00:40:55,320
Remember that. 
And we concluded that that was 

678
00:40:55,320 --> 00:41:00,440
an act of intervention, to shock
David and to sober David to him,

679
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:03,280
to realize, okay, this is a 
married woman. 

680
00:41:03,600 --> 00:41:05,360
And this is not just any married
woman. 

681
00:41:05,360 --> 00:41:07,800
This is, that should be enough. 
But this is one of my best 

682
00:41:07,800 --> 00:41:15,200
friend's wives. 
And so the promise there in the 

683
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:17,560
New Testament that whenever we 
are tempted, the Lord will 

684
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,840
always provide a way of escape 
that's always promised in every 

685
00:41:20,840 --> 00:41:23,390
situation, every scenario. 
And it's no less true. 

686
00:41:23,390 --> 00:41:26,790
Here in Second Samuel 11, David 
had a chance to say what am I 

687
00:41:26,790 --> 00:41:28,270
thinking, Thank you servants, go
ahead. 

688
00:41:28,790 --> 00:41:30,950
And he could have smacked his 
head a couple times on the on 

689
00:41:30,950 --> 00:41:33,150
one of the walls and you would 
have been justified in doing so.

690
00:41:33,150 --> 00:41:35,390
What am I thinking? 
And here we have him again in 

691
00:41:35,390 --> 00:41:40,430
this chapter where he has of all
people, Joe AB being the voice 

692
00:41:40,430 --> 00:41:42,550
of reason and having the moral 
high ground. 

693
00:41:42,550 --> 00:41:45,470
Hey, don't do this like if you 
have if you have a job. 

694
00:41:45,470 --> 00:41:48,390
Telling you not to do something,
you would think okay, maybe I'm 

695
00:41:48,390 --> 00:41:49,750
not. 
Maybe I'm doing something wrong 

696
00:41:49,750 --> 00:41:52,920
here? 
And he still doesn't catch it. 

697
00:41:53,920 --> 00:41:58,600
He still doesn't catch it. 
Many people in their sin, 

698
00:41:58,720 --> 00:42:02,400
especially in their premeditated
sin, do the same thing David 

699
00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:03,840
does. 
They fail to hear the voice of 

700
00:42:03,840 --> 00:42:06,600
God now. 
I'm not talking about the 

701
00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:08,200
audible voice of God. 
I'm talking about the the 

702
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:12,080
natural means of providential 
interruptions, providential 

703
00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:13,840
interruptions. 
So like when the sermon you hear

704
00:42:13,840 --> 00:42:19,550
on that Sunday that speaks 
directly to your situation and 

705
00:42:19,550 --> 00:42:21,870
you're just like, OK, God is 
saying something to me and yet 

706
00:42:21,870 --> 00:42:24,270
you still choose to persist in 
your disobedience, right? 

707
00:42:24,590 --> 00:42:27,030
The rebuke of a friend, or when 
a friend texts you or calls you,

708
00:42:27,030 --> 00:42:28,510
says brother, I don't know 
what's going on with you man. 

709
00:42:28,510 --> 00:42:30,350
You seem different. 
The Lord put you on my heart, 

710
00:42:30,350 --> 00:42:31,790
and I just want to Is everything
OK? 

711
00:42:31,790 --> 00:42:32,670
Yeah, everything's fine, 
brother. 

712
00:42:32,670 --> 00:42:36,230
God is good all the time. 
God is good and and you're not 

713
00:42:36,230 --> 00:42:38,150
catching it. 
The Lord is even impressing it 

714
00:42:38,150 --> 00:42:42,110
on people who care for you to 
get your attention right, or the

715
00:42:42,110 --> 00:42:45,510
very difficult hurdles that have
been brought about on the path 

716
00:42:45,510 --> 00:42:47,390
as you're trying to plan your 
sin. 

717
00:42:47,770 --> 00:42:51,690
And you're not catching on that 
God is trying to stop you from 

718
00:42:51,690 --> 00:42:54,890
doing this, though you will not 
infringe upon your free will. 

719
00:42:54,890 --> 00:43:00,370
I know that word irks people, 
but and So what do we make of 

720
00:43:00,370 --> 00:43:02,370
this? 
It's a very clear example and 

721
00:43:02,370 --> 00:43:04,570
illustration of how stubborn we 
are in our sin. 

722
00:43:05,770 --> 00:43:07,930
And God tries to get our 
attention in many ways, and we 

723
00:43:07,930 --> 00:43:10,970
still choose to, in our 
blindness, move forward. 

724
00:43:11,650 --> 00:43:13,930
But I see something else here. 
I see something else that's 

725
00:43:13,930 --> 00:43:15,530
deeper than that truth. 
And it's this. 

726
00:43:16,250 --> 00:43:19,290
That when the child of God is 
outside of fellowship with the 

727
00:43:19,290 --> 00:43:22,330
Lord, clearly David was not in a
good place to begin with for him

728
00:43:22,330 --> 00:43:25,810
to be incited in this way, for 
him to be so hardened. 

729
00:43:27,450 --> 00:43:31,410
When the child of God is outside
of fellowship with the Lord, 

730
00:43:31,530 --> 00:43:35,050
they are capable of making 
foolish decisions that even men 

731
00:43:35,050 --> 00:43:41,530
like Job would never entertain. 
When we. 

732
00:43:41,530 --> 00:43:45,980
Forfeit communion with God. 
You and I, even as Christians, 

733
00:43:45,980 --> 00:43:49,260
are capable of becoming 
something that even the world 

734
00:43:49,260 --> 00:43:53,260
would not tolerate. 
You don't believe me? 

735
00:43:54,500 --> 00:43:57,420
Remember what Paul said about 
that man in First Corinthians 5 

736
00:43:58,780 --> 00:44:01,260
who needed to be excommunicated 
from the church because his sin 

737
00:44:01,260 --> 00:44:04,740
was very public and it was 
atrocious and it was being 

738
00:44:04,740 --> 00:44:08,430
tolerated by the by the church. 
He said in verse one of First 

739
00:44:08,430 --> 00:44:11,070
Corinthians 5, it is actually 
reported that there is sexual 

740
00:44:11,070 --> 00:44:14,670
morality among you and of a kind
that is not tolerated even among

741
00:44:14,670 --> 00:44:20,230
pagans. 
I this is how This is why you 

742
00:44:20,230 --> 00:44:23,550
need to stay close to Jesus. 
Like very close. 

743
00:44:24,270 --> 00:44:27,190
Because to remove yourself from 
that close protection in the 

744
00:44:27,190 --> 00:44:31,350
presence of God can create 
something in you that even the 

745
00:44:31,350 --> 00:44:33,110
world would say. 
That's pretty insane. 

746
00:44:34,950 --> 00:44:39,390
That behavior is out of place, 
that kind of attitude, those 

747
00:44:39,390 --> 00:44:42,710
kind of decisions. 
Even the world can say we 

748
00:44:42,710 --> 00:44:44,710
wouldn't even go that far. 
Now I know that's becoming 

749
00:44:44,710 --> 00:44:48,750
increasingly difficult to 
believe in our age, but it's 

750
00:44:48,750 --> 00:44:51,910
true nonetheless. 
Here we have a great contrast. 

751
00:44:51,910 --> 00:44:54,110
You have a man like Job who was 
not a noble man, who was not a 

752
00:44:54,110 --> 00:44:55,790
man of great character and 
integrity. 

753
00:44:56,030 --> 00:44:59,510
But even Joe AB can look at 
David, who has been brought so 

754
00:44:59,510 --> 00:45:01,190
low because of his distance from
God. 

755
00:45:01,190 --> 00:45:06,100
And he goes, I wouldn't even do 
that myself if that doesn't. 

756
00:45:06,140 --> 00:45:08,620
I mean, there are many things to
motivate you to cling to Jesus 

757
00:45:08,620 --> 00:45:11,340
Christ. 
Let this be one of them. 

758
00:45:11,740 --> 00:45:14,580
You don't want to know what you 
can become when you move away 

759
00:45:14,580 --> 00:45:19,060
from God. 
I don't want to know what I can 

760
00:45:19,060 --> 00:45:21,340
become. 
People say, brother, how do you 

761
00:45:21,340 --> 00:45:24,100
stay devoted in your disciplines
every single day? 

762
00:45:24,780 --> 00:45:26,140
It's not a matter of my 
feelings. 

763
00:45:26,140 --> 00:45:29,100
It's a matter of survival. 
Like I need this. 

764
00:45:29,100 --> 00:45:31,620
Not a matter. 
If I want this, I need it. 

765
00:45:32,240 --> 00:45:34,560
I don't know what I don't know. 
I just know myself. 

766
00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:36,920
I know myself. 
I know who Daniel can be when he

767
00:45:36,920 --> 00:45:38,840
doesn't spend enough ample time 
with the Lord. 

768
00:45:38,840 --> 00:45:40,320
I know. 
I know what happens to my 

769
00:45:40,320 --> 00:45:41,560
thinking. 
I know what happens to my flesh.

770
00:45:41,560 --> 00:45:42,760
I know what happens to my 
patience. 

771
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:43,920
I know what happens to my 
attitude. 

772
00:45:43,920 --> 00:45:46,760
I know what I know myself. 
So I need to stay very close to 

773
00:45:46,760 --> 00:45:50,800
him. 
And it's not just survival 

774
00:45:50,800 --> 00:45:55,120
satisfaction may add. 
I enjoy him and I hope you do 

775
00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:57,880
too. 
So what happens? 

776
00:45:59,240 --> 00:46:01,890
Verse 5. 
This elaborate, drawn out, 

777
00:46:01,890 --> 00:46:06,570
detailed journey meant to 
emphasize the absolute length 

778
00:46:06,570 --> 00:46:10,170
and breadth that Job and the 
commanders went to in order to 

779
00:46:10,170 --> 00:46:12,170
satisfy their leaders. 
Lust. 

780
00:46:13,410 --> 00:46:16,690
And verse 8 tells us the exact 
numbering of the whole campaign.

781
00:46:17,210 --> 00:46:19,330
So when they had gone through 
all the land, they came to 

782
00:46:19,330 --> 00:46:22,290
Jerusalem at the end of nine 
months and 20 days. 

783
00:46:24,690 --> 00:46:26,970
Yeah. 
What took them almost 10 months 

784
00:46:26,970 --> 00:46:29,330
would take us a few days, even 
here in America, Right. 

785
00:46:30,940 --> 00:46:33,580
So this is more than just us to 
get an idea of how much we'd 

786
00:46:33,580 --> 00:46:37,140
advance in technology. 
There's a lesson here. 

787
00:46:37,260 --> 00:46:40,860
What do you take out of that? 
Almost 10 months for this to be 

788
00:46:40,860 --> 00:46:44,140
completed? 
You know what I see? 

789
00:46:44,380 --> 00:46:46,220
Do you see the same? 
What? 

790
00:46:48,780 --> 00:46:51,500
Yeah. 
Well, your sin can take you and 

791
00:46:51,500 --> 00:46:53,540
keep you longer than you hope 
for sure. 

792
00:46:59,060 --> 00:47:04,380
Yes, that's primarily it. 
This nine months and 20 days was

793
00:47:04,380 --> 00:47:10,780
a window for David's repentance.
David had a chance to call out 

794
00:47:10,780 --> 00:47:11,780
to God. 
During this time. 

795
00:47:12,540 --> 00:47:14,860
David had a chance to come to a 
sense, say, shut this whole 

796
00:47:14,860 --> 00:47:16,540
thing down. 
What was I thinking two months 

797
00:47:16,540 --> 00:47:19,940
ago? 
And so you see here that David 

798
00:47:19,940 --> 00:47:23,380
persisted in his disobedience 
for almost a year. 

799
00:47:23,780 --> 00:47:27,880
And you also see God's patience 
to not immediately judge him and

800
00:47:27,880 --> 00:47:30,600
to wait for him to come to his 
senses in that same period of 

801
00:47:30,600 --> 00:47:33,400
time. 
God is so patient, gloriously 

802
00:47:33,400 --> 00:47:36,800
patient, merciful, beyond 
understanding. 

803
00:47:38,560 --> 00:47:43,360
And so David had this time, and 
it's just yet another revelation

804
00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:45,280
of God's mercy. 
It wasn't just through Job and 

805
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:47,600
the commanders. 
It was even in the period in 

806
00:47:47,600 --> 00:47:50,200
which this thing was being 
conducted and it still didn't 

807
00:47:50,200 --> 00:47:53,060
click. 
You say, oh, oh, David, it took 

808
00:47:53,060 --> 00:47:55,500
you that long to realize. 
Okay, how about you and me, How 

809
00:47:55,500 --> 00:47:57,100
many sermons do we have to hear,
huh? 

810
00:47:57,580 --> 00:48:00,660
How many years being in church? 
How many years being in the 

811
00:48:00,660 --> 00:48:01,860
ministry before we actually got 
it? 

812
00:48:01,860 --> 00:48:04,020
How many? 
How many this is? 

813
00:48:04,020 --> 00:48:06,700
This is to humble us. 
It's taken longer for other 

814
00:48:06,700 --> 00:48:09,020
people to come to their senses 
and their sin and their 

815
00:48:09,020 --> 00:48:12,620
spiritual maturity. 
So let's not get excited here 

816
00:48:12,620 --> 00:48:14,060
and say, oh, I'm glad I'm not 
like David. 

817
00:48:14,060 --> 00:48:15,420
I don't know. 
We might be worse than David in 

818
00:48:15,420 --> 00:48:19,580
many cases at the end of nine 
months and 20 days. 

819
00:48:20,230 --> 00:48:24,230
Job finally comes with the 
report back and let's skip over 

820
00:48:24,230 --> 00:48:28,030
here to verse 10. 
But David's heart struck him 

821
00:48:29,310 --> 00:48:32,110
very important word, after he 
had numbered the people. 

822
00:48:33,030 --> 00:48:35,910
And David said to the Lord, I 
have sinned greatly in what I 

823
00:48:35,910 --> 00:48:37,750
have done. 
But now, O Lord, please take 

824
00:48:37,750 --> 00:48:41,230
away the iniquity of your 
servant, for I have done very 

825
00:48:41,230 --> 00:48:45,750
foolishly, very foolishly. 
So when Job and the Commander 

826
00:48:45,750 --> 00:48:48,820
spoke up to David, his heart was
not stricken. 

827
00:48:48,820 --> 00:48:52,540
When the nine months and 28 went
by, nothing happened to him. 

828
00:48:53,420 --> 00:48:58,740
It wasn't only until after what 
we had hoped for would have 

829
00:48:58,740 --> 00:49:01,060
happened before, only happened 
after. 

830
00:49:02,220 --> 00:49:04,380
And again, we might say shame on
you, David. 

831
00:49:04,380 --> 00:49:07,460
No, no, no, shame on us. 
Because how true is it that most

832
00:49:07,460 --> 00:49:12,300
people are only ready to repent 
when they see what they thought 

833
00:49:12,300 --> 00:49:14,180
would bring them to light? 
Ends up disappointing them in 

834
00:49:14,180 --> 00:49:19,090
the end. 
This is a picture of the 

835
00:49:19,090 --> 00:49:22,850
tendency of man, even people who
profess Christ, that we only 

836
00:49:22,850 --> 00:49:26,610
tend to feel the guilt and the 
conviction that we should have 

837
00:49:26,610 --> 00:49:30,890
felt earlier when The Mirage has
been proven to be a mirage. 

838
00:49:33,170 --> 00:49:37,050
Because it it sounded really 
good when it was here, and when 

839
00:49:37,050 --> 00:49:39,810
we fantasized about it, and when
we thought about it, and when we

840
00:49:39,810 --> 00:49:45,210
had all our little schemes of 
how to escape it and to evade 

841
00:49:45,210 --> 00:49:48,290
the consequences of it, it 
sounded, and it looked really 

842
00:49:48,290 --> 00:49:52,530
good here, but only until you 
sipped from it and you felt what

843
00:49:52,530 --> 00:49:58,570
it did to your soul. 
You realize this is stupid, This

844
00:49:58,570 --> 00:50:00,930
didn't satisfy. 
This was dumb. 

845
00:50:00,930 --> 00:50:03,690
The shame is not worth it. 
The guilt is not worth it. 

846
00:50:03,690 --> 00:50:08,130
It's only usually until after we
do the thing, do we feel our 

847
00:50:08,130 --> 00:50:10,010
hearts springing with 
conviction. 

848
00:50:11,490 --> 00:50:14,790
It doesn't have to be that way, 
but look at his language. 

849
00:50:14,790 --> 00:50:16,510
What stands out to you from his 
confession? 

850
00:50:16,950 --> 00:50:19,430
And David said, I have sinned 
greatly in what I have done. 

851
00:50:19,430 --> 00:50:21,790
But now, Lord, please take away 
the iniquity of your servant, 

852
00:50:21,790 --> 00:50:24,110
for I have done very foolishly. 
Anything stand out to you it? 

853
00:50:29,190 --> 00:50:30,710
Helps when you have the rearview
mirrors up. 

854
00:50:30,710 --> 00:50:35,750
Yes, Okay, that's good. 
That's one of the points. 

855
00:50:36,590 --> 00:50:40,990
Does David say remove the 
consequences of my iniquity? 

856
00:50:43,820 --> 00:50:44,780
He doesn't say that. 
What does he say? 

857
00:50:44,780 --> 00:50:46,540
Remove what? 
The iniquity. 

858
00:50:47,860 --> 00:50:50,620
That's true confession. 
True confession is not just you 

859
00:50:50,820 --> 00:50:53,940
acknowledging you're wrong, it's
you actually professing and your

860
00:50:53,940 --> 00:50:58,300
desire to be changed. 
OK, not only is this wrong, I 

861
00:50:58,300 --> 00:51:01,580
need you to eradicate the 
Presence and the power of the 

862
00:51:01,580 --> 00:51:06,780
sin in my life. 
A lot of confession is provoked 

863
00:51:07,180 --> 00:51:09,620
when the sin is met with 
consequences. 

864
00:51:09,620 --> 00:51:12,960
And here's the thing. 
Worldly sorrow looks at the 

865
00:51:12,960 --> 00:51:16,960
consequences and sees the 
consequences as the reason for 

866
00:51:16,960 --> 00:51:21,880
you wanting God to intervene. 
A True Blood bot regenerate soul

867
00:51:21,880 --> 00:51:27,720
is not concerned as much as the 
consequences are are concerning 

868
00:51:27,720 --> 00:51:30,440
you more than the consecration 
of your own life. 

869
00:51:31,600 --> 00:51:35,600
The true believer when he sin 
says Lord, let the consequence 

870
00:51:35,600 --> 00:51:37,280
let the chips fall where they 
fall. 

871
00:51:37,640 --> 00:51:40,890
But I need to be changed. 
I don't want to be this person 

872
00:51:40,890 --> 00:51:42,050
again. 
I don't want to repeat this 

873
00:51:42,050 --> 00:51:43,890
vileness again. 
I don't want to be this. 

874
00:51:44,170 --> 00:51:48,690
You need to do something in me, 
not just for me, which is a lot 

875
00:51:48,690 --> 00:51:50,130
of confession. 
I want to get out of this 

876
00:51:50,130 --> 00:51:51,290
trouble. 
I don't want to go to jail. 

877
00:51:51,290 --> 00:51:53,410
I don't want to lose my friends.
I want to save my money. 

878
00:51:54,010 --> 00:51:58,490
That's not true repentance. 
Repentance, says okay as much as

879
00:51:58,490 --> 00:52:00,530
the consequences. 
There, I see it and I will deal 

880
00:52:00,530 --> 00:52:01,690
with it. 
God, you'll preserve me through 

881
00:52:01,690 --> 00:52:03,530
it. 
But Lord, this stinking heart of

882
00:52:03,530 --> 00:52:07,400
mine, purify it. 
Remove this sin. 

883
00:52:07,400 --> 00:52:10,280
Not just the problems that my 
sin brought into my existence. 

884
00:52:11,080 --> 00:52:14,920
Difference, big difference. 
And David here is truly 

885
00:52:14,920 --> 00:52:17,000
repenting. 
See, we look at David and we 

886
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:19,520
said, man, these past few weeks 
have been kind of troublesome. 

887
00:52:19,680 --> 00:52:21,720
All we've been seeing is David 
messing up and David 

888
00:52:21,720 --> 00:52:23,160
experiencing the consequences of
sin. 

889
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:26,360
And yet still, the Bible has the
audacity to crown him as a man 

890
00:52:26,360 --> 00:52:27,560
after God's heart. 
You know why? 

891
00:52:27,880 --> 00:52:30,640
Partly because this He really 
repented when he sinned. 

892
00:52:31,120 --> 00:52:34,840
Not that he didn't sin, but when
he did sin, he really, really 

893
00:52:34,840 --> 00:52:41,120
repented. 
Remove this iniquity, take it 

894
00:52:41,120 --> 00:52:43,480
away from your servant. 
But look at the first part. 

895
00:52:43,480 --> 00:52:47,560
I have sinned what greatly go to
Second Samuel 12. 

896
00:52:48,640 --> 00:52:51,080
And this is when Nathan the 
Prophet confronts David for his 

897
00:52:51,080 --> 00:52:53,720
adultery with Bathsheba. 
I've mentioned this before, so 

898
00:52:53,720 --> 00:52:55,320
this might be a reminder for 
many of you. 

899
00:52:56,200 --> 00:52:58,400
In Second Samuel chapter 12. 
Look at verse 3. 

900
00:53:00,760 --> 00:53:03,400
David said to Nathan. 
I have sinned against the Lord. 

901
00:53:03,480 --> 00:53:08,010
What's the difference? 
Chapter 24 He says What? 

902
00:53:11,810 --> 00:53:13,650
Yeah, so he's talking directly 
to the Lord instead of a 

903
00:53:13,650 --> 00:53:15,490
prophet. 
The Prophet's going to show up 

904
00:53:15,490 --> 00:53:18,490
in a few verses here, but what? 
What do we see here about his 

905
00:53:18,490 --> 00:53:20,610
confession pertaining to his 
sin? 

906
00:53:21,330 --> 00:53:24,770
He says in verse 10 of 24 I have
sinned. 

907
00:53:24,770 --> 00:53:27,250
What? 
Greatly? 

908
00:53:27,250 --> 00:53:28,930
When he sinned with Bathsheba, 
what did he say? 

909
00:53:29,650 --> 00:53:32,010
I have sinned? 
He didn't say sinned greatly 

910
00:53:34,530 --> 00:53:40,050
when it came to David's pride, 
He said I've sinned greatly when

911
00:53:40,050 --> 00:53:42,210
it came to his adultery, he says
I have sinned. 

912
00:53:44,290 --> 00:53:46,730
How many of us in here would 
consider David's adultery a 

913
00:53:46,730 --> 00:53:50,650
greater offense than his pride? 
I think most of us. 

914
00:53:52,970 --> 00:53:57,210
But for some reason, David at 
this time sees his pride as a 

915
00:53:57,210 --> 00:54:00,010
very serious offense against 
God. 

916
00:54:02,490 --> 00:54:04,570
I don't know if we would see our
pride the same way. 

917
00:54:04,570 --> 00:54:08,290
I don't know if we would 
calculate spiritual sin the same

918
00:54:08,290 --> 00:54:13,290
way we would tangible sin. 
But David here provides with an 

919
00:54:13,290 --> 00:54:16,690
awakened, conscious, accurate 
assessment of this particular 

920
00:54:16,690 --> 00:54:18,090
sin. 
Name of the sin of pride. 

921
00:54:19,290 --> 00:54:22,090
He realizes how vile and 
despicable it really is. 

922
00:54:22,290 --> 00:54:24,530
You remember the seven things 
that are abomination to God, 

923
00:54:24,530 --> 00:54:26,410
right? 
And proverb 6. 

924
00:54:26,610 --> 00:54:27,690
What's the first thing on the 
list? 

925
00:54:27,690 --> 00:54:32,090
Anybody remember haughty eyes? 
You're right. 

926
00:54:32,500 --> 00:54:34,340
Other transitions would say a 
proud look. 

927
00:54:34,340 --> 00:54:36,500
The number one thing on the list
of things that God hates is 

928
00:54:36,500 --> 00:54:38,500
pride. 
It's the mother of all sins. 

929
00:54:38,500 --> 00:54:41,900
It's the womb that brings forth 
the offspring of many offenses. 

930
00:54:43,780 --> 00:54:47,580
So David here, who fell into 
pride not just in the fact that 

931
00:54:47,580 --> 00:54:49,900
he wants to know the number, but
and assuming that he had the 

932
00:54:49,900 --> 00:54:53,340
prerogative to change God's 
order for the senses, feels the 

933
00:54:53,340 --> 00:54:55,340
weightiness of this disgusting 
sin. 

934
00:54:55,820 --> 00:54:58,860
And he says I have sinned 
greatly. 

935
00:54:59,900 --> 00:55:04,270
I have sinned greatly. 
If you ask God to see sin the 

936
00:55:04,270 --> 00:55:09,390
way he sees sin, you will know a
new maturity in your walk with 

937
00:55:09,390 --> 00:55:14,070
the Lord. 
Because many people calculate 

938
00:55:14,070 --> 00:55:17,950
the severity of sin based on the
effect it might have in the 

939
00:55:17,950 --> 00:55:21,310
physical, but Paul defines that 
there are actually. 

940
00:55:21,310 --> 00:55:24,670
Sins of the spirit that might 
not be perceivable necessarily 

941
00:55:24,670 --> 00:55:27,710
by the eye, but that occupy the 
inner man. 

942
00:55:28,020 --> 00:55:31,620
And those sins are just as much 
sinful as things that you do 

943
00:55:31,620 --> 00:55:33,820
with your hands, or with your 
mouth, or with your feet, or 

944
00:55:33,820 --> 00:55:37,980
with any part of your body. 
Ask God, I challenge you. 

945
00:55:37,980 --> 00:55:40,580
Ask God, Lord, let me see sin 
the way you see sin, and you 

946
00:55:40,580 --> 00:55:44,380
would find yourself confessing 
the way David confessed when it 

947
00:55:44,380 --> 00:55:46,460
comes to things like pride, you 
will say. 

948
00:55:46,540 --> 00:55:51,100
Oh wow. 
Lord, cleanse me right? 

949
00:55:53,220 --> 00:55:57,360
Not that other sins are more to 
be tolerated, but we begin to 

950
00:55:57,360 --> 00:56:00,200
see other sins that we might 
have not considered serious. 

951
00:56:01,640 --> 00:56:03,280
And So what do we see here in 
verse 11? 

952
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:06,360
And David arose. 
When David arose in the morning,

953
00:56:06,360 --> 00:56:09,760
the word of the Lord came to the
prophet Gad. 

954
00:56:10,720 --> 00:56:14,520
Where you been Gad? 
David Sears saying, go and say 

955
00:56:14,520 --> 00:56:16,560
to David. 
Thus says the Lord, three things

956
00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:19,520
Ioffer you choose. 
One of them that I may do it to 

957
00:56:19,520 --> 00:56:20,440
you. 
Pause. 

958
00:56:21,000 --> 00:56:22,400
When's the last time you've seen
Gad? 

959
00:56:23,640 --> 00:56:29,550
Any idea? 
God. 

960
00:56:29,550 --> 00:56:33,270
Where you been? 
God give you a hint it's not in 

961
00:56:33,270 --> 00:56:34,670
the neighborhood of Second 
Samuel. 

962
00:56:38,470 --> 00:56:40,910
Any idea where God was last 
mentioned before this? 

963
00:56:43,110 --> 00:56:45,910
I'll give you another hint. 
It was at a very low point in 

964
00:56:45,910 --> 00:56:49,950
David's life. 
I'll give you another hint. 

965
00:56:50,990 --> 00:56:54,950
He wasn't a king yet. 
Any light bulbs? 

966
00:56:56,590 --> 00:57:00,990
I'll give you another hint. 
It was in a dark hole somewhere.

967
00:57:02,910 --> 00:57:06,390
OK, First Samuel chapter 22, 
when David was in The Cave of 

968
00:57:06,390 --> 00:57:09,550
Adalam. 
The prophet Gad enters into that

969
00:57:09,550 --> 00:57:12,710
cave and gives David direction 
of where to go, moving forward. 

970
00:57:13,190 --> 00:57:14,390
In other words, you don't have 
to turn there. 

971
00:57:14,390 --> 00:57:16,870
But if you'd like to, you can 
read the 1st 5 verses. 

972
00:57:17,510 --> 00:57:20,430
The last time Gad showed up in 
David's life, at least in 

973
00:57:20,430 --> 00:57:25,410
record, it was when David needed
encouragement and direction from

974
00:57:25,410 --> 00:57:28,210
a very dark place in his life. 
David wasn't necessarily in sin.

975
00:57:28,210 --> 00:57:32,010
He was a fugitive running away 
from Saul, who was venomously 

976
00:57:32,010 --> 00:57:35,050
coming after him. 
And the next time you see God 

977
00:57:35,050 --> 00:57:37,010
appear in David's life is not 
necessarily to bring 

978
00:57:37,010 --> 00:57:40,210
encouragement, but to bring 
correction and to bring a very 

979
00:57:40,210 --> 00:57:43,770
hard truth, a hard warning, a 
word of judgment. 

980
00:57:45,090 --> 00:57:46,490
True friends know how to do 
both. 

981
00:57:47,890 --> 00:57:50,650
True messengers and vessels of 
God know how to do both. 

982
00:57:50,650 --> 00:57:53,810
You know how to encourage when a
St. is brought low, and you know

983
00:57:53,810 --> 00:57:57,450
how to redirect, even sometimes 
with difficult truths, when they

984
00:57:57,450 --> 00:58:01,250
have lost their way, When they 
have lost their way. 

985
00:58:01,850 --> 00:58:04,250
And it could be because I 
wondered, I mean why didn't God 

986
00:58:04,250 --> 00:58:06,290
send Nathan? 
Nathan confronted him with 

987
00:58:06,370 --> 00:58:09,490
Bathsheba and it could be 
because of the nature of 

988
00:58:09,490 --> 00:58:13,050
Davidson, which was pride. 
He brings forth Gad as a 

989
00:58:13,050 --> 00:58:16,400
messenger because the the last 
time you seen Gad was when David

990
00:58:16,400 --> 00:58:20,600
was a very humble man. 
And it could be that God's very 

991
00:58:20,600 --> 00:58:23,920
presence would remind David of 
his humble beginnings. 

992
00:58:24,840 --> 00:58:27,120
David, do you know where you 
came from? 

993
00:58:27,840 --> 00:58:31,320
I mean, maybe, maybe his very 
presence would elude that not 

994
00:58:31,320 --> 00:58:34,960
just the message, but the person
who delivered the message might 

995
00:58:34,960 --> 00:58:39,440
have brought extra conviction to
David, and he gives them a very 

996
00:58:39,440 --> 00:58:43,440
difficult decision to make. 
Here it is in verse 13. 

997
00:58:43,640 --> 00:58:47,850
So God came to David. 
And told them, and said to him, 

998
00:58:47,850 --> 00:58:51,330
Shall three years of famine come
to you in your land, or will you

999
00:58:51,330 --> 00:58:53,210
flee? 
Three months before your foes 

1000
00:58:53,210 --> 00:58:55,970
while they pursue you? 
Or shall there be 3 days 

1001
00:58:55,970 --> 00:58:59,530
pestilence in your land? 
Now consider and decide what 

1002
00:58:59,530 --> 00:59:01,890
answer I shall return to him who
sent me. 

1003
00:59:02,730 --> 00:59:06,810
How do you pick to pick your 
poison? 

1004
00:59:08,370 --> 00:59:09,930
What do you want? 
You want famine to come for 

1005
00:59:09,930 --> 00:59:11,650
three years? 
You want to flee for three 

1006
00:59:11,650 --> 00:59:13,130
months? 
I mean, David was used to that 

1007
00:59:13,610 --> 00:59:17,530
from your enemies or Three Days 
Pestilence. 

1008
00:59:20,810 --> 00:59:24,170
David's answer is brilliant and 
rich in wisdom. 

1009
00:59:26,090 --> 00:59:29,530
Look at verse 14. 
Then David said to God, I am in 

1010
00:59:29,530 --> 00:59:31,690
great distress. 
Of course you are. 

1011
00:59:32,610 --> 00:59:38,330
Let us fall into the hand of the
Lord, for his mercy is great. 

1012
00:59:38,330 --> 00:59:41,050
But let not let me not fall into
the hand of man. 

1013
00:59:42,910 --> 00:59:47,750
You know what his answer is? 
Communicating God, Whichever one

1014
00:59:47,750 --> 00:59:55,230
of these punishments promise God
as direct agent of it, I want 

1015
00:59:55,230 --> 00:59:58,670
that one. 
I don't want the chastisement 

1016
00:59:58,670 --> 01:00:04,670
where God uses human agency to 
interfere, because I know man 

1017
01:00:04,670 --> 01:00:09,030
enough that he is capable of 
exaggerating and inflating. 

1018
01:00:10,420 --> 01:00:13,220
What God originally attends in 
His goodness, even in difficult 

1019
01:00:13,220 --> 01:00:16,460
trials. 
So wherever God's hand is 

1020
01:00:16,460 --> 01:00:18,460
directly involved, give me that 
option. 

1021
01:00:18,460 --> 01:00:21,740
Because His mercy is great, His 
mercy is great. 

1022
01:00:23,260 --> 01:00:25,820
When I read that, I thought to 
myself, when it comes to the 

1023
01:00:25,820 --> 01:00:29,420
attributes of God, there is 
little debate of the fact that 

1024
01:00:29,420 --> 01:00:32,340
His justice and His Holiness is 
unlike man's. 

1025
01:00:32,740 --> 01:00:35,420
But for some reason, it's very 
difficult for people to believe 

1026
01:00:35,420 --> 01:00:40,260
the same about His mercy. 
His Holiness, His purity, His 

1027
01:00:40,260 --> 01:00:46,460
judgments, He's super intends, 
and he supersedes. 

1028
01:00:46,460 --> 01:00:48,820
All that man is concerning 
justice. 

1029
01:00:49,140 --> 01:00:53,540
But when it comes to his idea of
His grace and His mercy, we kind

1030
01:00:53,540 --> 01:00:59,780
of struggle with that. 
And David here had a revelation 

1031
01:00:59,780 --> 01:01:02,220
that many people don't have. 
God is merciful even in His 

1032
01:01:02,220 --> 01:01:03,100
judgments. 
He knows. 

1033
01:01:03,140 --> 01:01:06,810
He knows the exact measure. 
He knows the exact extent to 

1034
01:01:06,810 --> 01:01:09,290
which I should be under his 
heavy hand. 

1035
01:01:10,130 --> 01:01:12,570
You know, I was reading a book. 
I'm in the New Testament now, 

1036
01:01:12,570 --> 01:01:15,050
but a few days ago I was reading
the book of Zechariah, and there

1037
01:01:15,050 --> 01:01:19,450
was this one verse that stood 
out to me and helped me remember

1038
01:01:20,490 --> 01:01:22,450
many of the things in the Old 
Testament specific in the 

1039
01:01:22,450 --> 01:01:25,970
prophets. 
It's in Zechariah 115 and 

1040
01:01:25,970 --> 01:01:30,050
Zechariah. 115 The Lord says 
something quite insightful, he 

1041
01:01:30,050 --> 01:01:33,150
says. 
And I am exceedingly angry with 

1042
01:01:33,150 --> 01:01:37,510
the nations that are at ease. 
For a while I was angry, but a 

1043
01:01:37,510 --> 01:01:40,070
little they furthered the 
disaster. 

1044
01:01:42,390 --> 01:01:47,390
When God judged Israel in his 
final phases of discipline, he 

1045
01:01:47,390 --> 01:01:50,310
has a tendency of using Gentile 
nations as the instrument of His

1046
01:01:50,310 --> 01:01:53,710
judgment. 
And when God judges nations as a

1047
01:01:53,710 --> 01:01:56,230
whole, not just the people of 
God in the Old Covenant, when he

1048
01:01:56,230 --> 01:01:59,070
judges nations, I believe even 
today he uses foreign nations to

1049
01:01:59,070 --> 01:02:01,690
discipline that nation. 
So America better be careful. 

1050
01:02:02,890 --> 01:02:05,970
She thinks she's strong. 
But what we're seeing now is a 

1051
01:02:05,970 --> 01:02:08,890
weakening from the inside, 
making us vulnerable, from 

1052
01:02:08,890 --> 01:02:11,050
enemies in the outside. 
One of the ways in which God 

1053
01:02:11,050 --> 01:02:14,650
brings a finality to his 
chastisement, to a people group 

1054
01:02:14,890 --> 01:02:18,130
is when a foreign nation rises 
up and takes over with power. 

1055
01:02:19,890 --> 01:02:23,170
And yet, though this happened 
with Israel, God has a word of 

1056
01:02:23,170 --> 01:02:28,240
condemnation for those nations. 
God intended to use Babylon in 

1057
01:02:28,240 --> 01:02:30,320
his Syria to discipline his 
people. 

1058
01:02:30,480 --> 01:02:31,640
But look what he says about 
them. 

1059
01:02:31,840 --> 01:02:33,880
For a while I was angry, but a 
little. 

1060
01:02:33,920 --> 01:02:39,160
They furthered the disaster. 
They took it further than what I

1061
01:02:39,160 --> 01:02:41,200
intended. 
They went beyond. 

1062
01:02:41,840 --> 01:02:44,040
And that's why he ends up 
turning around and disciplining 

1063
01:02:44,040 --> 01:02:48,440
those nations. 
It's no wonder God says 

1064
01:02:48,440 --> 01:02:49,760
vengeance is mine, says the 
Lord. 

1065
01:02:51,240 --> 01:02:52,320
Don't take vengeance upon 
yourself. 

1066
01:02:52,320 --> 01:02:54,320
You know why that is the case. 
One of the reasons is this. 

1067
01:02:54,320 --> 01:02:57,540
Because we have. 
And impairment, when it comes to

1068
01:02:57,660 --> 01:02:59,980
what we believe somebody should 
receive in return for the wrong 

1069
01:02:59,980 --> 01:03:03,740
that they've done to us, meaning
we don't tend to give people an 

1070
01:03:03,820 --> 01:03:06,780
even retribution. 
We want to give more than what 

1071
01:03:06,780 --> 01:03:10,740
they gave us. 
And that's because our hearts 

1072
01:03:10,740 --> 01:03:13,220
are warped and we're poisoned 
and we're embittered. 

1073
01:03:13,460 --> 01:03:19,340
And again, our understanding of 
justice becomes very much foggy 

1074
01:03:19,740 --> 01:03:21,980
because of our fallenness. 
And so God says. 

1075
01:03:22,440 --> 01:03:26,440
Let then just be mine, because I
know exactly what to give to 

1076
01:03:26,440 --> 01:03:28,040
somebody else. 
You don't. 

1077
01:03:29,280 --> 01:03:31,520
In fact, in Isaiah 11, there's 
an incredible description of 

1078
01:03:31,520 --> 01:03:33,600
King Jesus when he rules and 
reigns on the earth. 

1079
01:03:33,800 --> 01:03:36,320
It says that he will not judge 
with his eyes or with his ears. 

1080
01:03:37,400 --> 01:03:39,000
He will not need to see any 
evidence. 

1081
01:03:39,000 --> 01:03:40,360
He will not. 
He need to hear from any Lord. 

1082
01:03:40,360 --> 01:03:43,240
He doesn't need a jury when he 
will be the King of the nations.

1083
01:03:43,600 --> 01:03:47,200
All he will need is what he is 
omniscience, because it is 

1084
01:03:47,200 --> 01:03:49,600
perfect knowledge of all things.
Nobody needs to make a case. 

1085
01:03:49,600 --> 01:03:52,790
He knows how to execute perfect 
judgment, perfect judgment. 

1086
01:03:54,030 --> 01:03:56,870
And so we see here that David 
had that revelation. 

1087
01:03:56,870 --> 01:03:59,110
The Lord knows exactly what to 
prescribe to me. 

1088
01:03:59,630 --> 01:04:01,750
I don't want this to be given 
over to the authority of man. 

1089
01:04:01,750 --> 01:04:06,510
So I fall upon the mercy of God.
And God receives that and brings

1090
01:04:06,510 --> 01:04:08,790
it back to the Lord. 
And So what comes, what he 

1091
01:04:08,790 --> 01:04:10,790
intended in his word, 
pestilence. 

1092
01:04:11,550 --> 01:04:14,030
Pestilence comes. 
And how many people died? 

1093
01:04:14,030 --> 01:04:15,030
Who remembers the number of 
verse? 

1094
01:04:15,030 --> 01:04:17,710
1570 thousand people. 
Here's my question in closing of

1095
01:04:17,710 --> 01:04:20,950
our Bible study. 
Is this the first time 

1096
01:04:20,950 --> 01:04:23,310
pestilence has been released 
upon the nation of Israel? 

1097
01:04:24,390 --> 01:04:26,070
I'm not talking about Egypt. 
I'm not talking about the 10 

1098
01:04:26,070 --> 01:04:27,150
plagues. 
I'm talking about the nation of 

1099
01:04:27,150 --> 01:04:29,070
Israel. 
Give me the other instances 

1100
01:04:29,070 --> 01:04:33,230
where pestilences or plagues 
have been unleashed upon God's 

1101
01:04:33,230 --> 01:04:35,910
own people. 
Good, very good. 

1102
01:04:35,910 --> 01:04:38,430
Where? 
Very good. 

1103
01:04:38,430 --> 01:04:40,430
One of them is in numbers, 
Chapter 25. 

1104
01:04:41,110 --> 01:04:45,130
In Numbers 25 nine we read 
Nevertheless, those who died by 

1105
01:04:45,130 --> 01:04:48,890
the plague were 24,000. 
What was the nature of sin that 

1106
01:04:48,890 --> 01:04:50,610
caused God to bring about this 
plague? 

1107
01:04:50,610 --> 01:04:56,130
Do you remember? 
They were mingling with the 

1108
01:04:56,130 --> 01:05:00,850
Mobite woman and part of that 
was false idol worship. 

1109
01:05:00,850 --> 01:05:04,290
So it was idolatry and sexual 
immorality. 

1110
01:05:04,290 --> 01:05:06,890
Slash adultery. 
God released the plague. 

1111
01:05:06,930 --> 01:05:10,250
And how many died? 
24,000 There's another plague. 

1112
01:05:10,330 --> 01:05:12,210
I believe there's a total of 
three, including the one and 

1113
01:05:12,210 --> 01:05:15,770
second same of 24 with the 
quail. 

1114
01:05:15,770 --> 01:05:18,530
OK, it was that a plague 
necessarily? 

1115
01:05:19,690 --> 01:05:22,290
You have to find the verse and 
you have to show us because I 

1116
01:05:22,290 --> 01:05:24,050
have another. 
I have another incidence in mind

1117
01:05:24,050 --> 01:05:31,000
very close to that one. 
Well, what happened? 

1118
01:05:31,000 --> 01:05:32,880
Was that a plague or were those 
serpents that came? 

1119
01:05:34,400 --> 01:05:35,760
It wasn't the same as a 
pestilence. 

1120
01:05:35,760 --> 01:05:38,000
I'm speaking specifically with 
pestilence. 

1121
01:05:38,400 --> 01:05:40,040
You got the first one right? 
Yes. 

1122
01:05:44,400 --> 01:05:47,230
OK. 
Challenging Moses is right, but 

1123
01:05:47,230 --> 01:05:50,870
not with Miriam. 
Because Miriam received leprosy,

1124
01:05:50,990 --> 01:05:53,350
yes, but you're you're in the 
lane. 

1125
01:05:58,640 --> 01:05:59,920
Not that. 
No, not that. 

1126
01:05:59,920 --> 01:06:02,440
I'm thinking of something else 
again, If you believe there is 

1127
01:06:02,440 --> 01:06:04,320
something, you have to show and 
prove it. 

1128
01:06:04,320 --> 01:06:05,560
But I'm thinking of another 
incident. 

1129
01:06:06,200 --> 01:06:07,280
You're there. 
I'm not going to give you any 

1130
01:06:07,280 --> 01:06:08,360
hints. 
I gave you too many hints last 

1131
01:06:08,360 --> 01:06:09,840
time. 
I'm not going to share anything.

1132
01:06:10,760 --> 01:06:13,960
Numbers 25 when they send with 
the woman of Moai. 

1133
01:06:13,960 --> 01:06:17,040
And there's another place. 
Yeah, you can scale through your

1134
01:06:17,040 --> 01:06:18,160
Bibles. 
Just don't Google it. 

1135
01:06:21,070 --> 01:06:24,030
Yes. 
Ah, he got it. 

1136
01:06:24,030 --> 01:06:29,190
Did you hear it? 
The rebellion of Cora, when Cora

1137
01:06:29,190 --> 01:06:32,550
rose up to challenge the 
authority of Moses and Aaron, 

1138
01:06:33,630 --> 01:06:37,190
and later on in #16, Because the
people, even after the earth 

1139
01:06:37,230 --> 01:06:40,030
opened up and swallowed up Cora 
and the those who associated 

1140
01:06:40,030 --> 01:06:44,670
with him, the people still tried
to convict Moses and condemn it 

1141
01:06:44,670 --> 01:06:47,750
for what had happened. 
And it says here number 1645. 

1142
01:06:48,030 --> 01:06:52,710
Now those who died in the plague
were 14,700, besides those who 

1143
01:06:52,710 --> 01:06:55,710
died in the affair of Korra. 
Unless there's something else 

1144
01:06:55,710 --> 01:07:00,830
I'm missing, these are the only 
clear, explicit records of of 

1145
01:07:00,830 --> 01:07:03,670
pestilences or plagues being 
released upon the nation of 

1146
01:07:03,670 --> 01:07:06,910
Israel. 
When Korra rebelled, when the 

1147
01:07:06,910 --> 01:07:11,910
men slept with the woman of 
Moab, and when David created his

1148
01:07:11,910 --> 01:07:15,660
senses. 
Now, out of all three, which one

1149
01:07:15,660 --> 01:07:20,340
had the most casualties? 
David's census. 

1150
01:07:22,820 --> 01:07:28,100
And if it is true that in this 
case, that number signify a 

1151
01:07:28,100 --> 01:07:34,780
message of the severity and the 
seriousness of a problem, then 

1152
01:07:34,780 --> 01:07:38,620
could it be that the reason for 
this overshadowing scale of 

1153
01:07:38,620 --> 01:07:41,940
death is because the greatest 
crime one can commit against God

1154
01:07:42,600 --> 01:07:44,560
is when one denies their need 
for atonement? 

1155
01:07:48,560 --> 01:07:51,720
When you don't believe, you need
to be redeemed? 

1156
01:07:54,040 --> 01:07:57,720
Yes, adultery is a problem. 
Yes, idolatry is heinous. 

1157
01:07:58,120 --> 01:08:02,760
Yes, rebelling against God's 
established authority is 

1158
01:08:02,760 --> 01:08:05,440
something that you don't want to
provoke God in. 

1159
01:08:06,080 --> 01:08:10,240
But when it comes to you not 
confessing that you need the 

1160
01:08:10,240 --> 01:08:14,030
atonement, that's the greatest 
offense that you can bring to 

1161
01:08:14,030 --> 01:08:16,590
God. 
When you read Second 

1162
01:08:16,590 --> 01:08:19,350
Thessalonians chapter one, you 
read how the Lord will return in

1163
01:08:19,350 --> 01:08:24,270
vengeance on those. 
And it says specifically who do 

1164
01:08:24,270 --> 01:08:32,350
not obey the gospel, who do not 
obey the gospel because that is 

1165
01:08:32,350 --> 01:08:35,189
the summation of the reason for 
God's judgment. 

1166
01:08:35,189 --> 01:08:37,870
When He does return, He will 
look for those who have 

1167
01:08:37,910 --> 01:08:41,430
ultimately denied their need for
the blood of Jesus Christ to 

1168
01:08:41,430 --> 01:08:45,270
cover them. 
And perhaps when you compare the

1169
01:08:45,270 --> 01:08:49,430
scale of God's judgment when it 
came to the senses, the fact 

1170
01:08:49,430 --> 01:08:52,510
that there was 70,000 much more 
in comparison to the previous 

1171
01:08:52,510 --> 01:08:56,630
two is to indicate that's how 
much God's anger is kindled to 

1172
01:08:56,630 --> 01:09:00,350
those who refused to humble 
themselves in the realization of

1173
01:09:00,350 --> 01:09:04,550
their need of salvation. 
May God open our eyes and keep 

1174
01:09:04,550 --> 01:09:07,350
us in that place of 
acknowledging our need for Him. 

1175
01:09:07,630 --> 01:09:11,410
And if you have not received 
Jesus Christ as Lord, yes, your 

1176
01:09:11,410 --> 01:09:14,370
sin is an offense to God. 
But the greatest offense that 

1177
01:09:14,370 --> 01:09:16,529
you can bring to Him is after 
hearing the gospel, saying no 

1178
01:09:16,529 --> 01:09:19,729
thank you. 
Acknowledging your existence 

1179
01:09:19,729 --> 01:09:22,290
apart from the reality that you 
need to be saved and delivered, 

1180
01:09:23,170 --> 01:09:25,569
is the ultimate offense before 
holy God. 

1181
01:09:27,170 --> 01:09:30,770
Well, we thank you for this 
chapter, how rich it is. 

1182
01:09:31,770 --> 01:09:35,649
So much more can be said, but we
trust that what the Spirit has 

1183
01:09:35,649 --> 01:09:37,930
spoken to us suffices for this 
night. 

1184
01:09:38,529 --> 01:09:42,120
We've received our bread. 
We pray that these truths would 

1185
01:09:42,120 --> 01:09:44,600
cause us to worship you with 
greater delight and joy. 

1186
01:09:45,120 --> 01:09:47,840
We pray that you would prepare 
us to finalize these verses in 

1187
01:09:47,840 --> 01:09:50,760
this chapter with even more 
excitement to see what you have 

1188
01:09:50,760 --> 01:09:53,040
to say. 
But for the time being, Lord, we

1189
01:09:53,040 --> 01:09:57,680
pause to reflect and to worship 
you because you are rich in 

1190
01:09:57,680 --> 01:09:59,760
love, rich in mercy, rich in 
wisdom. 

1191
01:09:59,760 --> 01:10:03,640
And we've experienced it today. 
We've tasted it today, although 

1192
01:10:03,640 --> 01:10:06,560
received glory and honor on this
Friday night, from this family 

1193
01:10:06,560 --> 01:10:09,800
of faith in Jesus name we pray. 
Amen. 

1194
01:10:10,040 --> 01:10:13,890
Amen. 
Isn't the Bible amazing? 

1195
01:10:16,890 --> 01:10:21,170
Filled with power. 
Filled with power, filled with 

1196
01:10:21,170 --> 01:10:24,050
glory. 
Well, you and I can rejoice 

1197
01:10:24,050 --> 01:10:26,130
tonight for many things. 
And one of the things we can 

1198
01:10:26,130 --> 01:10:29,810
rejoice in is the fact that our 
atonement, our atonement is the 

1199
01:10:29,810 --> 01:10:33,490
basis for us to meet with God. 
Apart from the blood, we have no

1200
01:10:33,490 --> 01:10:35,730
fellowship. 
Apart from the blood, we have no

1201
01:10:35,730 --> 01:10:38,260
presence. 
Apart from the blood, we have no

1202
01:10:38,260 --> 01:10:42,020
contact with the living God. 
But because the silver has been 

1203
01:10:42,020 --> 01:10:45,660
set and more precious and silver
is his blood, we can actually 

1204
01:10:45,660 --> 01:10:47,980
meet with God tonight. 
Why don't we stand and do that 

1205
01:10:47,980 --> 01:10:48,660
as we worship?