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Article IMPRUDENCE OR INADVERTENCE OF DAVID? ← Page 2 of 3 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Imprudence Or Inadvertence Of David?
It is commanded , in Exodus xxx . 12 , "When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number , then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord , when thou numberest them , that there be no plague among them , when thou numberest them . " 1 he King of Israel was commanded at all times to have a copy of the Jaw , written expressl y for his own private use , so that he misrht he fullv
acquainted with all liis duties , and thus be enabled to govern and rule his nation with paternal care . Agreeably with this arrangement , King David must have known , from the knowledge he had in the laws of God , that he had clone wrong in numbering the people without tlie usual ceremony ; but more especially are we convinced of the fact , when we refer to the second verse ofthe twenty-fourth chapter ofthe second hook of Samuel , when King David tells Joab the of
, captain the host , " Go , number the people . " Joab expostulates with the king on the impropriety of numbering the people anci says to him , that no good can possibly accrue from it , but evil may . Hie king , however , insisted on having it done , and his orders were consequentl y obeyed . A t the expiration of nine months and ten days , Joab brought the number of the people to the king , who , when he heard it ins Heart smote him , on the reflection of having numbered the people alter the exhortation of the captain of his army . The king confessed ins sm before the Lord , and prayed to him to be pardoned for having acted , as ha CQI . 1 f ( i '„^ t : „ i , t .. " 1 o
_ King David knew that he had done wrong , and that he hacl acted imprudently , in not having attended to the warning given him by Joab in the twenty-first chapter of the first book of Chronicles , where the history is repeated , it is written , "Ancl Satan stood up against Israel , and provoked David to number Israel . " The word Satan is here made use of clearl y to illustrate the passage in the Book of Samuel , where there occurs an ellipsis , which is not uncommon in the sacred writings . The bible renders the verse in Samuel thus : "And he moved David to number the people , leaving a doubt , as to what or whom the nominative applies .
« 3 , B ff a , rned -p"cAi observes , that the ellipsis mentioned is the word J . 1 , heart ; and he renders the verse thus : "And David ' s heart was moved by Satan ; " an expression used in Hebrew to signify an oppressor , or evil conscience . And if we reflect on the subject , and observe the punishment inflicted T rV , ,, . ' , commission of the crime , can we for a moment suppose that the Almighty who is all and merciful
, just , would punish a frail mortal tor that which might have been done inadvertentl y , when , on the contrary , we daily see many very heinous crimes committed imprudently and yet mercy is extended to the sinner ? David , sensible of his error and his imprudence , in not following the fhJ , ° t f ? ' ? onfesses his sin , and prays to the Lord ( who directs ' fi ? f lnt Ut t 0 David three Mictionsto choose of
h w „ P ° u , one the duee ) that the punishment may only be extended to him and his household , he alone having committed the crime , and not Israel . from the quotations here given , it must appear evident that David had acted imprudently ancl not inadvertentl y as is supposed by some , for in that case , the confessions made b y David would have been quite unnecessary . A Having thus treated the subject compatibly with the construction of
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Imprudence Or Inadvertence Of David?
It is commanded , in Exodus xxx . 12 , "When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel after their number , then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the Lord , when thou numberest them , that there be no plague among them , when thou numberest them . " 1 he King of Israel was commanded at all times to have a copy of the Jaw , written expressl y for his own private use , so that he misrht he fullv
acquainted with all liis duties , and thus be enabled to govern and rule his nation with paternal care . Agreeably with this arrangement , King David must have known , from the knowledge he had in the laws of God , that he had clone wrong in numbering the people without tlie usual ceremony ; but more especially are we convinced of the fact , when we refer to the second verse ofthe twenty-fourth chapter ofthe second hook of Samuel , when King David tells Joab the of
, captain the host , " Go , number the people . " Joab expostulates with the king on the impropriety of numbering the people anci says to him , that no good can possibly accrue from it , but evil may . Hie king , however , insisted on having it done , and his orders were consequentl y obeyed . A t the expiration of nine months and ten days , Joab brought the number of the people to the king , who , when he heard it ins Heart smote him , on the reflection of having numbered the people alter the exhortation of the captain of his army . The king confessed ins sm before the Lord , and prayed to him to be pardoned for having acted , as ha CQI . 1 f ( i '„^ t : „ i , t .. " 1 o
_ King David knew that he had done wrong , and that he hacl acted imprudently , in not having attended to the warning given him by Joab in the twenty-first chapter of the first book of Chronicles , where the history is repeated , it is written , "Ancl Satan stood up against Israel , and provoked David to number Israel . " The word Satan is here made use of clearl y to illustrate the passage in the Book of Samuel , where there occurs an ellipsis , which is not uncommon in the sacred writings . The bible renders the verse in Samuel thus : "And he moved David to number the people , leaving a doubt , as to what or whom the nominative applies .
« 3 , B ff a , rned -p"cAi observes , that the ellipsis mentioned is the word J . 1 , heart ; and he renders the verse thus : "And David ' s heart was moved by Satan ; " an expression used in Hebrew to signify an oppressor , or evil conscience . And if we reflect on the subject , and observe the punishment inflicted T rV , ,, . ' , commission of the crime , can we for a moment suppose that the Almighty who is all and merciful
, just , would punish a frail mortal tor that which might have been done inadvertentl y , when , on the contrary , we daily see many very heinous crimes committed imprudently and yet mercy is extended to the sinner ? David , sensible of his error and his imprudence , in not following the fhJ , ° t f ? ' ? onfesses his sin , and prays to the Lord ( who directs ' fi ? f lnt Ut t 0 David three Mictionsto choose of
h w „ P ° u , one the duee ) that the punishment may only be extended to him and his household , he alone having committed the crime , and not Israel . from the quotations here given , it must appear evident that David had acted imprudently ancl not inadvertentl y as is supposed by some , for in that case , the confessions made b y David would have been quite unnecessary . A Having thus treated the subject compatibly with the construction of