Just across from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem is a small mountain called Moriah. Today the Dome of the Rock stands as the old city’s most visible landmark. But there was a time when, on that very site, one of the most striking ancient structures of all time stood, calling the people of Israel to worship God. I’d like to tell you why the Solomon’s temple was located there.
It all started with a colossal failure in leadership that left 70,000 people dead.
And the leader? Israel’s wonder-boy, David.
You remember David, right?
- Singer/songwriter, with hands that would play a harp, yet grip a living lion’s mane when needed.
- Trash talker for God, who mixed it up with a giant and lived to tell about it.
- Anointed shepherd-leader.
- Immensely popular because of his tender kindness to his own people, yet fierce defense of them on the battlefield.
- Famous for who he was willing to fight. Not as famous, but just as remarkable, for who he was unwilling to fight.
- Amazing restraint when he was running from Saul. Alarming lack of restraint when Bathsheba was getting cleaned up.
- Able to command the undying loyalty of an army of ragtag misfits he called his mighty men. Strangely unable to make his own household a family.
Stupid on a Stick
After the whole gut-wrenching episode with Absalom had ended and things had settled down, David hatched up a gi-NOR-mously stupid idea, and then had it carried out. It seemed innocent enough: let’s count heads. But even David’s advisor and commander Joab (not exactly Captain Virtue) recognized this for what it was – a nine-month ego trip at taxpayer expense so the king could prove to himself he was still a man. (Hmmm. I wonder if THAT ever happens anymore.)
Nine months! (Sound familiar?) On any given day, the king could have checked his pride, admit to a foolish idea and called the whole thing off. But he didn’t. He stubbornly insisted on getting what he wanted. After all, he was king, and he had the authority to make it happen. So 42 weeks later, Joab returns with the thing that was supposed to satisfy David’s ego craving.
“Here. Here’s your number.”
(Quickly to be filed away in the “so what?” department.)
That’s all? All that time and expense and army down-time, for a number?
Happy now, David? Fulfilled? That what you were looking for?
(Oh, and in case you’re curious… there were 800,000 fighting men in Israel, another 500,000 in Judah. Woo Hoo!)
To his credit, David recognized his own vanity. Too little and too late, unfortunately. After his affair with Bathsheba, David had said, “I have sinned.” After this, he said, “I have sinned greatly?” (2 sam 24:10). After the sexual misconduct, five people died. After this, 70 thousand died from a plague that God sent. Oh, and just to turn the knife a little, the Lord gave him three choices. Which would you pick: (1) Seven years of famine, (2) Three months of fleeing from his enemies, or (3) Three days of pestilence?
Does that math seem a bit cold to you? It isn’t to God. Sins of the flesh are costly, no doubt. But sins of the spirit, like pride, are nuclear in their destruction. And in order to humble a leader, the harsh reality is that sometimes innocent lives get caught up in the process.
What Makes This Leader Different?
There’s more to the story, but first I want to point out how David, the leader, handled his failure. This process still works for leaders today, in spite of what their lawyers or advisors may tell them.
1. Wise up – recognize where you blew it.
There was no need for Nathan the prophet this time. David recognized what Joab had tried to tell him – only it was too late to stop the consequences. Something remarkable can happen when bull-headed leaders actually come up for air and take a hard look at their mistakes.
2. Own up – confess it for what it is.
“I have sinned greatly,” the king said. While he didn’t writhe in agony and shame himself, David nevertheless called a donkey a donkey. That works on both levels – with God with people. Here’s a thought: if you’re in leadership, the next time a constituent comes up and demands that you account for some boneheaded thing you did or said, try saying this: “I made a mistake.” That may just totally confuse them.
3. Show up – be personally engaged in the solution.
In a dramatic scene, God’s death angel is halted from completely destroying Jerusalem at the climax of the plague. The place where he stopped was over a threshing floor, owned by a man named Araunah. God sent David to build an altar there and offer sacrifices in order to complete the halting of the plague. David did what true leaders do: he got personally got involved in the situation. He didn’t send a priest, a prophet, or a military commander. He showed up, first as a man, then as king. I would suggest you do the same, even when you don’t have all the answers yet.
4. Pay up – be personally invested in the solution/future.
Aranuah offered to give the king the property, but David refused, saying those famous words: “I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God which cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). It was his privilege as king to take or receive anything anybody offered. But taking advantage of his authority was what got him in trouble in the first place.
Moreover, David wanted to be personally engaged in his worship to the Lord. This needed to cost him something in terms of ownership and price (though he hardly felt it). The principle is not that David had a huge cash outlay; the purchase price for the whole deal was just over $340 in today’s measures. It was that:
- David would not piggyback on somebody else’s expense in order to worship the Lord.
- He would not abuse his privilege as king.
- He would “own” the sin which prompted the worship in the first place.
- He would be personally involved, even in the negotiation.
The Rest of the Story
Because David’s sacrifice stopped the plague, the site was consecrated as a place for worship – and later became the place where Solomon’s temple was built. And until David’s death, that site – Moriah – where Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice to the Lord and where three temples would later stand – became the object of new vision and deep fascination for the king. And though the Lord would not allow him to actually build the temple, He did allow David to make it ready – at a personal cost of somewhere around $3.24 billion in gold, and $63 million in silver, in today’s U.S. dollars.
Interesting that two of David’s greatest legacies grew, not out of his victories, but out of his failures. Solomon, the son of David and Bathsheba, succeeded him as king and became the wisest man who ever lived. And there on the site where the death angel was stopped, Solomon erected the house that his father could only dream of.
That tells me something about leaders.
About failures.
About grace.
About God.
Dear Pastor: In an earlier post I said that there was at least a weeks worth of food on this site. Silly me, I have found a grazing pasture where I can feed until Jesus comes.
I hope you don’t mind another dinner guest.
Have a wonderful day in the Lord.
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