We Need to Find the Threshing Floor of Araunah
The story of King David’s census of Israel (2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21) warns us of God’s judgment. When confronted about his sin and offered a choice of punishments, David repented, and chose that which would be from God (although really all the choices were ultimately from Him). When the plague reached the threshing floor of Araunah (or Ornan), the angel of death was somehow seen, and David made an offering to God that stopped it there.
What does this mean for us? We can reasonably infer that David’s sin was based on why he counted the people. The records indicate that the census counted the number of men who drew the sword. To puff up his ego David wanted to know the potential size of Israel’s army. He knew better. In his early days he had trusted in God and survived in the wilderness, while Saul used the army of Israel to hunt for him.
What is the modern analog?
Let’s make America great again!
The prophet Gad offered David three options to choose from: famine, military defeat, or plague.
Instructive it is, that the Spanish
flu epidemic of 1918-20, followed by the roaring twenties’ unrepentant
carnality, followed then by the Great Depression, was followed ten years after
that by World War 2. The course of society finally turned in the dark days of
the early defeats of the allies by the axis powers.
Who, how, and where would a meaningful sacrifice to God be offered? Can anyone envision the current President making a public offering of contrition, of worship to God? Where would such an offering be made? The cutting edge of Coronavirus hotspots shifts from month to month, but the epicenter of political pride is unmistakeable. Every month brings incredible new demonstrations of political chutzpah from Capitol Hill. But perhaps the National Cathedral is not the place, despite its location....
The problem is that it is not just politicians who need to repent. Society, from homeless to Capitol Hill (and at all stations in between), exhibits rebellion against or indifference to God. David pleaded with God for his people, knowing he was the guilty party (2 Samuel 24:17). But our elected leaders, in all their babble, espouse the values that we the people chose by election. A national day of fasting and prayer would be meaningless if only a small fraction of society really repents. So we will reap what we sow, predictably. Who will step into the role of John Wesley, of Jonathan Edwards or George Whitefield, of Billy Sunday or Billy Graham? The challenge is whether Americans, and people around the world, will listen and repent when a modern-day Gad confronts us?
