In the last chapter of 2 Samuel, chapter 24, I find some of the strangest passages in the Bible so far. In fact, I had to read three different versions of the Bible to gain the proper knowledge as to what was being brought forth.
As you know throughout David's life as king of Israel, he had done some horrible things. Now it was time for his people to pay for those events. A census was taken, to give an exact count of the population. Joab, David's commander-in-chief, was against it. But he had to go with David's command.
Once the census was completed, God--speaking through the prophet Gad--gave David three choices: seven years of famine, flee the country for three months before his enemies would pursue him, or three days of a massive plague.
It was a difficult decision, but David chose the plague, for it was better to fall onto God's mercy than the mercy of men.
God ordered the death to stop at Jerusalem. There, David set up an altar to offer a sacrifice to the Lord. The owner of the nearby threshing floor even told David that he could have anything that he needed. But David refused and offered to pay for whatever he used.
The Lord answered David's prayer and stopped the plague completely.
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