Shmuel | Samuel

The anger of Hashem again flared against Israel, and He enticed David because of them, to say, “Go count the people of Israel and Judah.”
24:1
But Joab said to the king, “May Hashem your God increase the number of the people over and over a hundred times, while the eyes of my lord the king [live to] see [it]: but why should my lord the king desire such a thing?
:24:3
Joab gave the sum of the number of people over to the king: [In] Israel were eight hundred thousand men of war — drawers of the sword — and the men of Judah, five hundred thousand men.
:9
David’s heart smote him after having counted the people, and David said to Hashem, “I have seen greatly in what I have done. Now, Hashem, please remove the sin of Your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.”
:10
David arose the next morning; and the word of Hashem had come to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying.
:11
“Go and say to David, ‘Thus says Hashem: I am holding three [things] upon you; choose for yourself one of them and I shall do it to you.’”
:12
David said to Gad, “I am exceedingly distressed. Let us fall into the hand of Hashem, for His mercies are abundant; but let me not fall into human hands.”
14
When the angel stretched out his hand against Jerusalem to destroy it, Hashem relented of the evil and told the angel who was destroying among the people. “Enough! Now stay your hand!” The angel of Hashem was at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
:16
David said to Hashem when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, “Behold, I have sinned and I have transgressed; but these sheep — what have they done? Let Your hand be against me and my father’s family.
:17
Gad came to David on that day and said to him, “Go up, erect and altar to Hashem on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
:18
So David went up as Gad had said, as Hashem had commanded.
:19
Araunah the king gave all of it to the king, and Araunah said to the king, “May Hashem your God accept your [offerings].”
:23
But the king told Araunah, “No; I shall purchase it from you for a price, and I shall not offer up to Hashem my God free elevation-offerings!” So David bought the threshing floor and the cattle of money — fifty shekels.
:24
David built an altar there to Hashem, and he offered elevation-offerings and peace-offerings. Hashem then answered the prayers of the land, and the pestilence ceased from Israel.
:25

Daily Holy Bible Reading

1 And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel and He moved David against them, saying, “Go count Israel and Judah.”
2 And the king said to Joab the captain of the host that was with him, “Go please, to and fro throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba and take census of the people, so that I may know the number of the people.”
3 And Joab said to the king, “May the Lord your God add to the people a hundredfold of whatsoever they may be, and the eyes of my lord, the king may see it; but my lord the king, why does he desire such a thing?”
4 But the word of the king prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people, the Israelites.
5 And they crossed the Jordan, and they camped in Aroer, to the right of the city that is [situated] in the middle of the valley of Gad, and to Jaezer.
6 And they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi; and they came to Dan to the city of Jaan and round about to Zidon.
7 And they came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the South of Judah, to Beer-sheba.
8 And they had gone to and fro throughout the entire land, and they came at the end of nine months and twenty days [back to] Jerusalem.
9 And Joab presented the sum of the number of the people to the king; And Israel consisted of eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.
10 And David’s heart smote him after he had counted the people. And David said to the Lord: I have sinned greatly in what I have done; and now, ‘O Lord, put aside please, the iniquity of your servant, for I was very foolish!
11 And David rose up in the morning; and the word of the Lord came to Gad the Prophet, the seer of David, saying:
12 “Go and speak to David, ‘So says the Lord, “Three things I offer you, choose for yourself one of them, and I shall do it to you”.
13 And Gad came to David and he told him, and he said to him, “[Do you prefer] that seven years of famine in your land shall come upon you? or three months that you shall flee before your oppressor while he pursues you? or, that there be three days pestilence in your land? Now know and consider what I shall reply to Him that sent me.
14 And David said to Gad; “I am greatly oppressed; let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for His mercies are great; but into the hand of man let me not fall.”
15 So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time; And there died of the people from Dan to Beer-sheba seventy thousand men.
16 And the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, and the Lord regretted the evil, and he said to the angel that destroyed among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was by the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Jebusite.
17 And David said to the Lord when he saw the angel that smote among the people, and he said, “Behold I have sinned, and have acted iniquitously; but these sheep, what have they done? I beg that Your hand be against me, and against my father’s house.”
18 And Gad came to David on that day, and said to him, “Go up to erect an altar to the Lord in the threshing-floor of Aravnah the Jebusite.”
19 And David went up according to the word of Gad, as the Lord had commanded.
20 And Aravnah looked afar and he saw the king and his servants passing on towards him: and Aravnah went out and he bowed down to the king with his face to the ground.
21 And Aravnah said, “Why has the lord my king come to his servant?” And David said, “To acquire from you the threshing-floor, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague be stayed from the people.”
22 And Aravnah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good in his eyes; behold the oxen for the burnt-offering and the threshing tools, and the [wooden] tools of the oxen for [fire] wood.”
23 All this Aravnah the king gave to the king. And Aravnah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”
24 And the king said to Aravnah, “No; for I will only buy it from you at a price; so that I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt-offerings [which I had received] for nothing.” And David bought the threshing-floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar to the Lord, and he offered up burnt-offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

Exposé | Moral

This Chapter Proves That Satan Is G-d’s Ally (cf. I Chronicles 21:1)

Contrary to church’s teachings that G-d and Satan are two opposing forces and/or kingdoms

Also, learn that G-d does not only use a person or people to bless, but also to punish or curse.

Most important of all, do not run after “Free,” if you are to serve or offer to G-d.