1 Chronicles 23:24

1 Chronicles 23:24 says, These were the sons of Levi after the house of their fathers; even the chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls, that did the work for the service of the house of the Lord, from the age of twenty years and upward.  The tribe of Levi had been identified and they did the work of service in the house of God.  We need to be named among the followers of Christ to be saved and we need to do His work in the world.  Verse twenty-five adds, For David said, The Lord God of Israel hath given rest unto his people, that they may dwell in Jerusalem for ever:  David stated that God had given the people of Israel rest so that they could live in Jerusalem forever.  Still, Jerusalem was not and is not the permanent home of God's people, but heaven is.  Our forever spiritual home will never be this earth, but it is a heavenly home.  Verse twenty-six continues, And also unto the Levites; they shall no more carry the tabernacle, nor any vessels of it for the service thereof.  David said that the Levites were no longer going to carry the tabernacle of the Lord, because a temple, a permanent dwelling place, was going to be built for Him.  We as followers of Christ on the other hand are called on to carry the word of God everywhere and not to try and confine it to a particular place or building.  Verse twenty-seven states, For by the last words of David the Levites were numbered from twenty years old and above:  The Levites over thirty had been numbered, but David changed that to those over twenty.  We must assume that God had led him to do this.  We don't need to set a minimum age at which people can start to serve God but must rely on His calling of them.  Verse twenty-eight adds, Because their office was to wait on the sons of Aaron for the service of the house of the Lord, in the courts, and in the chambers, and in the purifying of all holy things, and the work of the service of the house of God;  This implies that the age was lowered because the amount of work to be done was to increase.  I do know that the number of people needing to hear the gospel today has increased, so the number of those sharing it needs to increase as well.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Both for the shewbread, and for the fine flour for meat offering, and for the unleavened cakes, and for that which is baked in the pan, and for that which is fried, and for all manner of measure and size;  This is a list of part of the duties that the Levites were to do, and it was to be done to support the Aaronic priests.  There are many things that need doing in the church today that the members need to do so that the preacher can be free to prepare to deliver God's word to the congregation.  Verse thirty says, And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even:  This verse and the next two just continue to list some of their duties.  Verse thirty-one adds, And to offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, according to the order commanded unto them, continually before the Lord:  Verse thirty-two continues, And that they should keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the charge of the holy place, and the charge of the sons of Aaron their brethren, in the service of the house of the Lord.  As stated earlier, they were to be responsible for the everyday duties in the Temple.  They were to be ready to serve the sons of Aaron, but this did not make them inferior, but only called to a different service.  As Christians, we are not inferior to preachers today, but are called to support them in doing God's work and not to be subservient to them, nor are they to believe themselves to be superior to us.  We all need to follow God's calling in life, no matter how great or small it may seem to the world, and we are to do so under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and for God's glory. 

1 Chronicles 23:7

1 Chronicles 23:7 says, Of the Gershonites were, Laadan, and Shimei. The next several verses tell us the names of the descendants of these three sons of Levi.  First, we have the descendants of Gershon, starting with his sons Laadan and Shimei and following on from there.  I will simply list these verses, unless there is something specific said about some of the descendants.  Verse eight adds, The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel, three.  First, we are given the names of Laadan's three sons, then of Shimei's sons.  Verse nine states, The sons of Shimei; Shelomith, and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were the chief of the fathers of Laadan.  Though three here are listed as the sons of Shimei, we are told that they were the chiefs of the fathers of Laadan.  Verse ten adds, And the sons of Shimei were, Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei.  Matthew Henry says the three mentioned in the last verse as being sons of Shimei were likely a different Shimei who was a descendant of Laadan. Verse eleven continues, And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father's house.  Jahath was said to be the chief, with Zizah, or Zina being his second, and the sons of Jeush and Beriah being combined, since they didn't have many sons.  Verse twelve states, The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.  Kohath, a second son of Levi, had four sons.  Verse thirteen adds, The sons of Amram; Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before the Lord, to minister unto him, and to bless in his name for ever.  Moses and Aaron were his descendants, and they are included just like the other descendants, and not listed as somehow being greater.  They were only made greater by following God's calling and not by the fact of their birth.  We are told that Aaron was called to sanctify the most holy things, but this was by God's calling and not Aaron's superiority to anyone else, just as we are never called because we are morally superior to others by our own nature. Verse fourteen continues, Now concerning Moses the man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi.  We are told that the sons of Moses were named in the tribe of Levi, and the next few verses list them.  Verse fifteen says, The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer.  Verse sixteen adds, Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was the chief.  Verse seventeen continues, And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many.  Eliezer had only one son, but his son Rehabiah had many.  If we only reach one person with the gospel, we may never know how many they will reach.  Verse eighteen states, Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.  Verse nineteen adds, Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. Verse twenty continues, Of the sons of Uzziel; Micah the first and Jesiah the second.  Verse twenty-one states, The sons of Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish.  Verse twenty-two adds, And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them.  Eleazar died without having any sons, and his brethren, the sons of Kish took them in.  We need to be willing to help those who are without help in the world today, and women in that day had little ability to care for themselves.  Verse twenty-three continues, The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and Jeremoth, three.  

1 Chronicles 23:1

1 Chronicles 23:1 says, So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.  David was old and close to the end of his life when he made Solomon king over Israel.  We need to serve God where he has called us to serve, but we also need to realize that there is coming a day when we will be too old to serve any longer, so we need to be getting our replacement ready, even if we don't know for sure who that will be.  Verse two adds, And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and the Levites.  When David was naming Solomon as his successor, he gathered all the other princes, or those who possibly could have claimed power, and the Levites, the religious leaders of Israel.  If we are naming a successor in the church today, we need to have everyone in agreement about the successor.  Of course, we first need to make sure this is the person God has chosen.  Verse three continues, Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.  There were thirty-eight thousand Levite who were thirty years old and older.  These would have been the ones actively serving.  Verse four states, Of which, twenty and four thousand were to set forward the work of the house of the Lord; and six thousand were officers and judges:  Twenty-four thousand of them were assigned the task of building or assisting in the building of the temple, and an another six thousand were to remain as officers and judges over the people.  Even though the building of the temple was to be a priority, the other duties of the Levites were not to be dismissed.  We should never get so caught working on buildings so much that we forget the other needs of the people in the church.  Verse five adds, Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand praised the Lord with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.  The other eight thousand Levites were set aside for other work, with four thousand who serving as porters and four thousand that serving by praising God with instruments that David had made for that purpose.  Matthew Henry says the playing of the instruments was a newly created office in the service to God.  As the world changes, we may find the need for people to serve in areas that didn't exist in the past, such as putting worship services out on social media to reach more people.  Though David assigned people to this new position, I have to believe he did it by God's leadership and that God equipped them to serve.  Verse six continues, And David divided them into courses among the sons of Levi, namely, Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.  David divided the rest among the families of the sons of Levite, Gershon, Kohath and Merari.  We may come from different families, but as followers of Christ we all become a part of the priesthood of believers, and we are all called to a purpose in God's kingdom.  

1 Chronicles 22:6

1 Chronicles 22:6 says, And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God:  David told Solomon that he had intended to build a house for God.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we should tell our children that we intend to do all that we can to advance God's kingdom, under the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eight adds, But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight.  David said God had told him he would not be allowed to build Him a house, since David had shed so much blood in war.  David may have been justified in most of this, but God did not choose to allow Him to build the house of God, or temple.  We may have decided to do some particular thing for God without first consulting Him and find that He tells us no.  We must always work under God's guidance. Verse ten continues, Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest from all his enemies round about: for his name shall be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto Israel in his days.  David then revealed to Solomon that God had told him that he was going to give David's son, Solomon himself, a time of peace and quietness when he became king in David's place.  God then later sent another descendant of David, Jesus Christ, to bring us everlasting peace with Himself, and also to bring us spiritual peace in the world today.  Verse ten states, He shall build an house for my name; and he shall be my son, and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel for ever.  David said that Solomon would build the temple and that God would be his Father and Solomon would be God's son, and He would establish his throne over the kingdom of Israel forever.  Though Solomon did build a temple, I believe that this was also a reference to Jesus Christ, Who is God's only begotten Son, and through Him God's kingdom is established forever.  Verse eleven adds, Now, my son, the Lord be with thee; and prosper thou, and build the house of the Lord thy God, as he hath said of thee.  David asked that God be with Solomon as he built the house of God. We need to pray that God will be with us today as we build His kingdom by sharing the gospel.  We need to pray that we will be able to lead our children to Him as well.  Verse twelve continues, Only the Lord give thee wisdom and understanding, and give thee charge concerning Israel, that thou mayest keep the law of the Lord thy God.  As David asked for Solomon, we need to pray that we will act under the wisdom of God.  We may have all the wisdom of the world, but it is the wisdom of God that really matters.  Verse thirteen says, Then shalt thou prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfil the statutes and judgments which the Lord charged Moses with concerning Israel: be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed.  David said that Solomon would prosper if he fulfilled the laws God had given to Moses and told him to be of courage and not be dismayed.  Though we are saved through faith in Jesus Christ, if we want to be successful in our spiritual journey, we still must obey God's laws, and if we do, no matter what happens, we should be of good courage and not be dismayed.  Verse fourteen adds, Now, behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord an hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand thousand talents of silver; and of brass and iron without weight; for it is in abundance: timber also and stone have I prepared; and thou mayest add thereto.  David told Solomon that even in his days of destress, while he was fighting wars with many people, that he had still amassed all that Solomon would need to build the temple.  Even as we are at war with the world today, we have already amassed everything we need to make our bodies a temple to the Holy Spirit if we have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse fifteen continues, Moreover there are workmen with thee in abundance, hewers and workers of stone and timber, and all manner of cunning men for every manner of work.  David also told Solomon that he had all the workmen needed to build the temple.  We as Christians today have the gospel to share, and we are not individually alone in doing this.  God has called those necessary to do all that is needed to build His kingdom, and we all have our particular calling.  Verse sixteen states, Of the gold, the silver, and the brass, and the iron, there is no number. Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.  David told Solomon that he also had all the gold, silver and brass that he would need, so Solomon needed to arise and start building.  God has supplied us with all we need to be building His kingdom, so we need to arise and start building.  We cannot allow the bad conditions in the world to stop us from working to help build the kingdom of God.  Verse seventeen adds, David also commanded all the princes of Israel to help Solomon his son, saying,  David commanded all the princes of Israel to support Solomon in the building of the temple, and God expects all of His people to work together to support the work of building His kingdom today.  Verse eighteen continues, Is not the Lord your God with you? and hath he not given you rest on every side? for he hath given the inhabitants of the land into mine hand; and the land is subdued before the Lord, and before his people.  David reminded Solomon that God was with him and had subdued all his enemies, and God is with us today as Christians, and He has spiritually subdued all our enemies, even death itself.  Verse nineteen concludes, Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.  Like David told Solomon we need to set our heart on God and do the work He has called us to do.  He will equip us to do so as long as we live by faith in Jesus Christ.

1 Chronicles 22:1

1 Chronicles 22:1 says, Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.  David declared the threshing floor that had been owned by a Jebusite as the place the temple would be built.  Matthew Henry says this was an presage to the gospel going into all the world and not just to the people of Israel.  This was also the spot that God had chosen, and if we are to build church buildings today, they must be built where God chooses for them to be built.  The temple was to be built to support the altar that was already there.  Israel had altars, places to sacrifice to and worship God, long before having a temple.  If we are building churches without God's guidance, then we are not going to be successful spiritually, no matter how large the church may grow.  Verse two adds, And David commanded to gather together the strangers that were in the land of Israel; and he set masons to hew wrought stones to build the house of God.  David ordered the strangers in Israel to be gathered and set masons to hew the stones for the temple.  David had wanted to build God a house, but he had been told by God that he couldn't.  Instead of getting upset, he started gathering the things that would be needed to build the temple, because God had said that it would be built.  If God tells us we are not going to be allowed to do something that needs to be done for His kingdom and tells us that it is going to be done one day, we can never just quit working toward making things ready.  Matthew Henry said that David was old by this time and knew that his successor, who was Solomon, would be young when he started to rule and gathering things for the temple might not be his priority, so David was making things easier for him.  As we get older as followers of Christ, we don't need to just quit serving, but need to do everything we can to make the spreading of the gospel and the worship of God as easy as possible for the next generation, who may not have our wisdom to begin with.  Verse three continues, And David prepared iron in abundance for the nails for the doors of the gates, and for the joinings; and brass in abundance without weight;  David had gathered the stones and stone masons, and now he gathered other things necessary for building and making the temple ornate.  Verse four says, Also cedar trees in abundance: for the Zidonians and they of Tyre brought much cedar wood to David.  David also amassed the cedars from Lebanon that would be used in building the temple.  We may concentrate on making a beautiful house of worship, but if we are going to do so, we need all those things that may not be considered beautiful to support the building.  We may admire the facade, but we should also be thankful for all unseen things that hold the building together.  We cannot put all our resources into supporting the facade and ignore the foundation and supporting structure, and everything we do should be to glorify God and not just to show off our greatness as a congregation.  Verse five adds, And David said, Solomon my son is young and tender, and the house that is to be builded for the Lord must be exceeding magnifical, of fame and of glory throughout all countries: I will therefore now make preparation for it. So David prepared abundantly before his death.  As stated earlier, David knew that Solomon, his successor was young and might not be up to the task of gathering everything needed to build the temple, which David said must be exceedingly magnificent, so he prepared abundantly for building it before he died.  As Christians, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ is the foundation and will supply us with all we need to serve and glorify Him.  

1 Chronicles 21:18

1 Chronicles 21:18 says, Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.  The angel had Gad tell David what he needed to do, and the angel did not tell David directly.  This to me would indicate that David's relationship to God was still not fully restored.  As Christians, if we get too far outside of the will of God, we may no longer hear Him even if He speaks to us, but if we do get that far away, we need to hope that He will send someone to speak to us for Him.  David was to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.  Verse nineteen adds, And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord.  David did what Gad had told him God had instructed him to do.  If we do get far out of God's will and He sends someone to speak to us we need to listen to them, but all they can tell us to do really is to repent and put our faith in following Jesus Christ once more, and then we will be restored.  There is nothing we can do to be restored to a right relationship to God except to return to Him in repentance by faith.  Verse twenty continues, And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.  While Ornan was threshing wheat, he saw the angel of the Lord and his four sons and he hid themselves from the angel, or I would say tried to at least.  If God sends a messenger to us today, whatever we are doing, we don't need to try and hide in fear but need to listen to God's messenger instead.  If we are followers of Christ, we should never try to hide from whatever He has to say to us.  Verse twenty-one states, And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground.  Ornan then saw David and went out to meet him, bowing himself down with his face to the ground.  The people of Israel were never told by God to bow themselves before their kings that I know of, but they began to place the kings in a position of honor, even though they were just another of God's people doing what God had called them to do.  Verse twenty-two adds, Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the Lord: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people.  David asked Ornan to sell him the threshing floor for full price.  At least he didn't just demand that Ornan give it to him, in which case Ornan would be paying the price for David's restoration, and by his restoration, the restoration of Israel.  We cannot ask others to pay the price for our restoration to God if we have strayed away.  Only through faith in Jesus and obedience to the Holy Spirit after we repent can we be restored if we have fallen into sin once more.  Verse twenty-three continues, And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all.  Ornan offered to give everything he had to David, and we might be willing to give everything we have to God to save someone else or even the nation, but it doesn't work that way.  We cannot pay the price for someone else's sins.  Most Christian parents would willingly give all they have for the salvation of their children, but we cannot buy salvation for them.  Verse twenty-four says, And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.  At least David recognized the fact that Ornan could not pay the price for David's sins.  David said he would not offer burnt offerings without it having cost him something.  We must all accept responsibility for our own sins, and we must also recognize that even though the gift of salvation is free to us, it cost Jesus Christ His death on the cross to make it possible.  If we are to be saved, we must give everything that we are and have to God to be used for His glory.  Verse twenty-five adds, So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight.  David paid Ornan the fair price for his threshing floor.  Though David paid Ornan the fair price for his threshing floor, we cannot pay the fair price for salvation, which would be living a sin free life and dying for others.  Jesus Christ is the only One Who is able to do this.  Verse twenty-six continues, And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering.  David then did what Gad had told him God said for him to do.  Once we become a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit will direct us in all that we do, and we just need to be obedient to His guidance.  Verse twenty-seven states, And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof.  The angel had still been standing by with a drawn sword, but now after David was obedient to Him, God had the angel put the sword away.  I wonder if we as Christians are all that stand between a person and God's judgment at time.  Verse twenty-eight adds, At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.  When David saw that God had answered him, he offered a sacrifice to God on the threshing floor.  Once we are restored to a right relationship with God, we need to offer everything we have as a sacrifice to Him. Verse twenty-nine adds, For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon.  God's tabernacle was at Gibeon at that time.  We are blessed that as Christians, that wherever we are we can come to God.  We don't have to go to a special place to find Him.  Verse thirty continues, But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord.  David could not go before the tabernacle to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the angel.  For that reason, David offered a sacrifice where he was.  We can only offer sacrifices to God where we are.  I will say again, we don't have to go to a particular place, like a church building for instance, to offer sacrifices to God, but wherever we are every day we need to offer the sacrifice of all that we are and all that we have to God.

1 Chronicles 21:9

1 Chronicles 21:9 says, And the Lord spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying,  Gad was referred to as David's seer, and God spoke to him.  Gad was not said to have gotten a vision by his own psychic abilities, but was said in the next verse to have gotten a message from God.  God did at times allow certain people in the Old Testament to see into the future, but today we are only given signs of the coming of the return of Jesus Christ, and I don't believe we are given any new revelations about God.  Verse ten adds, Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee.  Gad was told to go tell David that He was giving him three choices as punishment for his arrogance in numbering the people for his own glory.  We only have one choice.  We can either accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord or reject Him and go away into everlasting punishment.  Verse eleven continues, So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee  Gad delivered God's message to David, and we can only deliver the gospel to people today, and there is no other choice for redemption from sin.  Verse twelve states, Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the Lord, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me.  None of the choices were good, and all involved the whole nation, which may not seem fair, and they would last for different periods of time depending on their severity.  Again, we only have the one choice, and it lasts forever whichever one we make.  Verse thirteen adds. And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the Lord; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man.  David asked he fall into the hand of God and not into the hand of man, because God was merciful, but men aren't always.  That eliminated the choice of three years of famine or three months while David's enemies destroyed him.  David chose to leave it in God's hands, maybe hoping He would just forgive him and not really punish him.  Still, sin can never be overlooked by God, and a penalty must be paid, but as followers of Jesus Christ, He paid that penalty for us, and He is the only One Who can pay it.  Verse fourteen continues, So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.  David had been proudly numbering the people of Israel, and because of his prideful action, there were now seventy-thousand fewer people to be numbered.  We might say that these seventy thousand men did nothing to deserve death, and that might be true, but we are talking about physical and not spiritual death.  Those who had put their faith in God simply went on to their heavenly reward sooner, and those who didn't had made their choice to not do so.  Verse fifteen says, And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.  God then sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem.  He didn't send a legion of angels, but an angel.  As the angel was doing so, God decided that the people had been punished enough and stopped the angel from any further destruction.  Still, the angel stood by the threshing floor.  Matthew Henry says that when David repented of his sin that God repented of His punishment, but to repent implies that someone has done something wrong, and God certainly hadn't.  I believe that He simply decided that he would show mercy to Jerusalem, even if the people might have deserved punishment.  We all deserve punishment for our sins, and it is only by God's mercy that we escape it.  Verse sixteen adds,  And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.  David saw the angel with sword drawn standing between heaven and earth over Jerusalem.  That must have been quite a terrifying sight, but it pales in comparison to what hell will be like.  David and the elders fell on their faces before God, even though we are not told that the elders saw the angel.  Whether we ever see an angel about to destroy the world around us or not, if we are guilty of sin, we need to fall on our faces before God and ask for forgiveness.  Just because we are forever forgiven by putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not free to sin with no remorse nor repentance.  Verse seventeen continues, And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O Lord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued.  David then asked that since he was the one who had sinned by numbering the people of Israel that God punish his family and him and not the rest of the people.  One thing we can be sure of is that each individual will be punished only for their own sins, and the only way to avoid that punishment is by accepting Jesus Christ as oor personal Savior and Lord.