Through the Bible – Day 116

₁₈Joab's brother Abishai was the leader of the Thirty Warriors, and in one battle he killed three hundred men with his spear. He was as famous as the Three Warriors ₁₉and certainly just as famous as the rest of the Thirty Warriors. He was the commander of the Thirty Warriors, but he still did not become one of the Three Warriors.

₂₀Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was a brave man from Kabzeel who did some amazing things. He killed two of Moab's best fighters, and on a snowy day he went down into a pit and killed a lion. ₂₁Another time, he killed an Egyptian, as big as a giant. The Egyptian was armed with a spear, but Benaiah only had a club. Benaiah grabbed the spear from the Egyptian and killed him with it. _22-23Benaiah did these things. He never became one of the Three Warriors, but he was just as famous as they were and certainly just as famous as the rest of the Thirty Warriors. David made him the leader of his bodyguard.

_24-39Some of the Thirty Warriors were:

₁The LORD was angry with Israel again, and he made David think it would be a good idea to count the people in Israel and Judah. ₂So David told Joab and the army officers, “Go to every tribe in Israel, from the town of Dan in the north all the way south to Beersheba, and count everyone who can serve in the army. I want to know how many there are.”

₃Joab answered, “I hope the LORD your God will give you a hundred times more soldiers than you already have. I hope you will live to see that day! But why do you want to do a thing like this?”

₄But when David refused to change his mind, Joab and the army officers went out and started counting the people. ₅They crossed the River Jordan and began with Aroer and the town in the middle of the river valley. From there they went towards Gad and on as far as Jazer. ₆They went to Gilead and to Kadesh in Syria. Then they went to Dan, Ijon, and on towards Sidon. ₇They came to the fortress of Tyre, then went through every town of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Beersheba in the Southern Desert of Judah. ₈After they had gone through the whole land, they went back to Jerusalem. It had taken them nine months and twenty days.

₉Joab came and told David, “In Israel there are eight hundred thousand who can serve in the army, and in Judah there are five hundred thousand.”

₁₀After David had everyone counted, he felt guilty and told the LORD, “What I did was stupid and terribly wrong. LORD, please forgive me.”

₁₁Before David even got up the next morning, the LORD had told David's prophet Gad _12-13to take a message to David. Gad went to David and told him:

₁₄David was really frightened and said, “It's a terrible choice to make! But the LORD is kind, and I'd rather be punished by him than by anyone else.”

_15-16So that morning, the LORD sent an angel to spread a horrible disease everywhere in Israel, from Dan to Beersheba. And before it was over, seventy thousand people had died.

When the angel was about to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD felt sorry for all the suffering he had caused and told the angel, “That's enough! Don't touch them.” This happened at the threshing place that belonged to Araunah the Jebusite.

₁₇David saw the angel killing everyone and told the LORD, “These people are like sheep with me as their shepherd. I have sinned terribly, but they have done nothing wrong. Please, punish me and my family instead of them!”

_18-19That same day the prophet Gad came and told David, “Go to the threshing place that belongs to Araunah and build an altar there for the LORD.”

So David went.

₂₀Araunah looked and saw David and his soldiers coming up towards him. He went over to David, bowed down low, ₂₁and said, “Your Majesty! Why have you come to see me?”

David answered, “I've come to buy your threshing place. I have to build the LORD an altar here, so this disease will stop killing the people.”

₂₂Araunah said, “Take whatever you want and offer your sacrifice. Here are some oxen for the sacrifice. You can use the threshing boards and the wooden yokes for the fire. ₂₃Take them—they're yours! I hope the LORD your God will be pleased with you.”

₂₄But David answered, “No! I have to pay you what they're worth. I can't offer the LORD my God a sacrifice that I got for nothing.” So David bought the threshing place and the oxen for fifty pieces of silver. ₂₅Then he built an altar for the LORD. He sacrificed animals and burnt them on the altar.

The LORD answered the prayers of the people, and no one else died from the terrible disease.

₁Jesus told his disciples a story about how they should keep on praying and never give up:

₆The Lord said:

₉Jesus told a story to some people who thought they were better than others and who looked down on everyone else:

₁₄Then Jesus said, “When the two men went home, it was the tax collector and not the Pharisee who was pleasing to God. If you put yourself above others, you will be put down. But if you humble yourself, you will be honoured.”

₁₅Some people brought their little children for Jesus to bless. But when his disciples saw them doing this, they told the people to stop bothering him. ₁₆So Jesus called the children over to him and said, “Let the children come to me! Don't try to stop them. People who are like these children belong to God's kingdom. ₁₇You will never get into God's kingdom unless you enter it like a child!”