Sermon Summary/Devotional of 2 Samuel 24
The epic of Samuel ends with a cliff hanger. Just like in Genesis 3, a people who were meant to rule under the love of God rebel, an angel comes with a sword, a sacrifice is made, utter destruction is averted, but the curse remains. What are we supposed to make of this? Well, the answer doesn’t come, until Jesus arrives, a thousand years later. Jesus is the true Adam, the true David, the true King, the true temple, the true sacrifice, and who many believe is actually the Angel of the Lord who appears in this chapter, only in physical form! And rather than raising his arm with a sword, and obliterating us, Jesus, raises both arms on a cross, in His great mercy, chooses to die in roughly the same area where 2 Samuel 24 occurred. And it doesn’t end there! Jesus doesn’t simply die as the true sacrifice, He raises from the dead, as the true resurrected King. Having defeated satan, evil, the world systems, and death itself, He now sits at the right hand of God, awaiting to return, to the rejoicing of believers, and the terror of those who ultimately oppose His kingship. This picture of Jesus, as both the Angel with the drawn sword (see Rev 19:11-21 for reference ), and the gracious sacrifice on the cross (see Luke 23:32-49), if carefully ruminated on, should bring us to awe, humility, and rejoicing. To realize that this great angelic warrior spared us and died for us, AND will return in His power and might, should humble us into the dust, and also lift us up to the height of heaven! Finally, if Jesus, who had the power to strike us all down, chose instead to offer us a cross and mercy, we too, should pick up our crosses and follow him.
Questions for reflection:
How are you taking “census” of your life, instead of letting God rule over it? Confess it to someone you trust, and take practical actions to do the opposite.
Jesus is both the Angel with the sword, and the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. He is both the Lion and the Lamb.
How are you resisting either, or both of these realities in your life? How are you being strengthened by either or both in your life?
Or: how are you letting Him take up the sword for the injustice in your life and the world?
How are you picking up your cross and following His example of mercy for those in your life or in the world?
Supplemental studies:
The Bible Project: ‘How to Read the Bible Videos’ – ‘How to Read Biblical Narrative’