You will remember, faithful readers, that we have read the story of David's census and the plague before—in 2 Samuel 24. There is no need to recount all its details. But as you read this passage note that in 2 Samuel the emphasis is upon David's sin and God's judgment, here the emphasis is upon David's repentance and God's mercy. As usual, the chronicler shows David in a much more positive light.
He tells us that "Satan [stands] up against Israel, and [incites] David to count the people of Israel" (21:1). Satan is not exactly the devil as we think of him, as a cartoon caricature. Here Satan is portrayed as the opposite of good, the spiritual enemy, "the power of contradiction." He is evil at work in the world, and he "incites" David to make a census of the people.
Probably the census had the practical purpose of making taxation and forced labor more efficient, and those things are never popular. But the point here is that David's census was not ordered by God, nor was God consulted about it. The opposition of David's commander-in-chief Joab (21:6) suggests that the census goes against the traditions of Israel. Military men are often conservative politically. His opposition to the census suggests that some believe David's kingdom is becoming over-centralized. This is an overstepping of his authority as king—only God should know the exact number of his people. In any case, the census displeases the Lord, and he strikes Israel with a plague (21:7).
David immediately recognizes his guilt and repents, and he is then given a choice of punishments, and as in 2 Samuel he chooses "three days of the sword of the LORD" (21:12), reasoning that it is preferable to "fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is very great," rather than to "fall in human hands" where anything may happen to you (21:13), people being what they are.
So Israel is struck with the plague and great numbers die. The angel of God is seen standing "on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite" with unsheathed sword ready to strike the city of Jerusalem (21:15). David and the elders of the people plead for mercy, and the prophet Gad tells David to erect an altar on the threshing floor (21:18). So David buys the property at an exorbitant cost, builds "there an altar to the LORD" and presents offerings upon it (21:26). God sends fire from heaven to consume them, and commands the angel of death. The angel puts "his sword back into its sheath" (21:27) and Jerusalem is spared.
So it is divinely revealed that on this place, on the threshing floor of Ornan," the temple is to be built. Henceforth it is there that David goes to offer sacrifices rather that to the tabernacle in Gibeon (22:1). And now that a site is chosen, David begins to gather precious metal and the building materials for a temple that must be "exceedingly magnificent" (22:5).
David instructs his son Solomon, who is "young and inexperienced" what he must do (22:5). Solomon has been chosen for the actual construction of the temple because, unlike David, who has "shed much blood" (22:8), Solomon will be a "man of peace" (22:9). But in order for him to prosper, the young prince must be "careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances that the LORD commanded Moses." If he does that he has no reason to be "afraid or dismayed" (22:13). The Lord will be with him (22:16), as he has been with David, and he may go on to "seek the LORD" (22:19), which for Solomon means to construct the temple, the purpose for which God has made him king.
All this happens very peacefully. There is no mention in 1 Chronicles of the tragic rebellion of Absalom or the harem intrigues that mark the transfer of power. Here the kingdom passes peacefully to Solomon, who serves for a time as co-regent with his father (23:1), learning "the ropes."
Among David's last acts is a thoroughgoing reorganization of the Levites and a reassignment of their functions in preparation for the building of the temple in Jerusalem, where the LORD will reside "forever" (23:25). The tabernacle had been portable, and much of the work of the Levites had been in moving it from place to place. Now the Levites "no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the things for its service" (23:26). It will have a permanent home, and new functions must be found and new organizational problems overcome.
This reorganization of the staff, religious and secular, will occupy our readings for the next several days.
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