By Grace Through Faith

2 And ^(A)you He made alive, ^(B)who were dead in trespasses and sins, ^2 (C)in which you once walked according to the ^[a]course of this world, according to ^(D)the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in ^(E)the sons of disobedience, ^3 (F)among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in ^(G)the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and ^(H)were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

⁴ But God, ^(I)who is rich in mercy, because of His ^(J)great love with which He loved us, ^5 (K)even when we were dead in trespasses, ^(L)made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up together, and made us sit together ^(M)in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in ^(N)His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. ^8 (O)For by grace you have been saved ^(P)through faith, and that not of yourselves; ^(Q)it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of ^(R)works, lest anyone should ^(S)boast. ¹⁰ For we are ^(T)His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Brought Near by His Blood

¹¹ Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called ^(U)the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— ¹² that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Christ Our Peace

¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ¹⁵ having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one ^(V)new man from the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and that He might ^(W)reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby ^(X)putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸ For ^(Y)through Him we both have access ^(Z)by one Spirit to the Father.

Christ Our Cornerstone

¹⁹ Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰ having been ^(AA)built ^(AB)on the foundation of the ^(AC)apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being ^(AD)the chief cornerstone, ²¹ in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into ^(AE)a holy temple in the Lord, ^22 (AF)in whom you also are being built together for a ^(AG)dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

David’s Census of Israel and Judah^(A)

24 Again ^(B)the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, ^(C)“Go, ^[a]number Israel and Judah.”

² So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, ^(D)from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that ^(E)I may know the number of the people.”

³ And Joab said to the king, “Now may the Lord your God ^(F)add to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire this thing?” ⁴ Nevertheless the king’s word ^[b]prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Therefore Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel.

⁵ And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in ^(G)Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward ^(H)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to ^(I)Dan Jaan and around to ^(J)Sidon; ⁷ and they came to the stronghold of ^(K)Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(L)Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. ⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king. ^(M)And there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

The Judgment on David’s Sin^(N)

¹⁰ And ^(O)David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So ^(P)David said to the Lord, ^(Q)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have ^(R)done very foolishly.”

¹¹ Now when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to the prophet ^(S)Gad, David’s ^(T)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and tell David, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.” ’ ” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him; and he said to him, “Shall ^(U)seven^[c] years of famine come to you in your land? Or shall you flee three months before your enemies, while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ plague in your land? Now consider and see what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”

¹⁴ And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(V)for His mercies are great; but ^(W)do not let me fall into the hand of man.”

¹⁵ So ^(X)the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died. ^16 (Y)And when the ^[d]angel stretched out His hand over Jerusalem to destroy it, ^(Z)the Lord relented from the destruction, and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of ^[e]Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁷ Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Surely ^(AA)I have sinned, and I have done wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be against me and against my father’s house.”

The Altar on the Threshing Floor^(AB)

¹⁸ And Gad came that day to David and said to him, ^(AC)“Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. ²⁰ Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

²¹ Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

^(AD)And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that ^(AE)the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

²² Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. ^(AF)Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. ²³ All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”

And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God ^(AG)accept you.”

²⁴ Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So ^(AH)David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. ²⁵ And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ^(AI)So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and ^(AJ)the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

The Power of God in His Deliverance of Israel^(A)