It is no secret that the so-called biblical heroes of the old testament were not perfect men. David is one of the clearest examples of this. The man after God’s own heart who was anointed king over Israel had his fair share of moral failings. Most would think of his interactions with Bathsheba and sending her husband to the frontlines of battle to be slain. He always repented of his wrongdoings however and the Lord forgave him. There is one particular account of David that may bring up difficulty and confusion. I am referring to the seemingly harmless census that he commanded to take place over Israel. This account is given to us twice in scripture, once in 2 Samuel 24 and again in 1 Chronicles 21. Both accounts are very similar with minor differences in wording but we will be exploring these differences as we walk through the passage. This truly is one of those passages that make more sense with a biblical understanding of God’s holiness. Eyes Opened Ministries has a blog series and a Podcast covering the holiness of God if you wish to review that material.

David Incited to Number Israel

2 Samuel 24:1-2 ESV “Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army, who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

It is important to understand that both 2 Samuel and 1 Chronicles are both categorized as historical books of the Bible. They cover the historical events of God’s people from the time they came into the promised land up to their exile in Babylon and finally their restoration in Jerusalem as told in the book of Nehemiah. It is important to note however that the events in these books are not always in chronological order. Sometimes the writer will give us the narrative of the story and then reverse time to give us more detail. This is what occurs in our current passage. We see that God is once again angry at Israel’s disobedience but simply going back to the previous chapter will not tell us why. Chapter 23 is an account of David’s last words and a list of all his mighty men. Very useful information about God’s people but not directly related to our text. However, reading up to this point in the narrative it is not hard to see how stiffnecked Israel has been towards God. In Chapters 17 and 18 we see that they even had to deal with an attempted coup by Absalom, David’s own son. Suffice to say there was not one particular isolated incident that kindled God’s anger against Israel. A number of communal sins against God were likely the cause.

Before we move on I would like to make a special note about verse one. In 2 Samuel 24:1 it says “the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them” however in 1 Chronicles 21:1 it states that “Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel”. This presents interpretive challenges between the two accounts of David’s census. However, this is not my current focus for the text. Just know that I plan to write a future blog specifically on these two verses. 

Joab Questions King David

2 Samuel 24:3 “But Joab said to the king, “May the LORD your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?”

We can already see from the reaction of Joab that David deep down should have known not to enact this census. Joab recognizes God’s promise to bless Israel and develop them into a great nation through whom all the world would be blessed. We can not be sure but perhaps Joab has in the mind the Covenant that God made with their forefather Abraham. Nevertheless, Joab wishes for David’s reign to be successful and his kingdom to be multiplied but he knows that his request to number Israel seems wrong. Perhaps this can be a lesson for our day. In a world where there are more and more megachurches with celebrity pastors who are not held accountable by anybody, it would be wise to take the counsel of those who may be under us but nevertheless still in positions of authority. If David would have listened to Joab he could have avoided the calamity that was about to come his way. David did not head this rebuke and ordered the census to take place. The only difference between this account and the one in 1 Chronicles is that it mentions Joab counted the inhabitants and military might of all in Israel and Judah except for the Levites since “the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab” (1 Chron. 21:6). This again reinforces the idea that Joab knew that this command was wrong in the sight of God.

David Given a Choice

2 Samuel 24:10 “But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O LORD, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly.””

It did not take long for David to realize that what he did was displeasing to God. What is most notable about this passage is how God responded to David in the next few verses.  

2 Samuel 24:11-13 “And when David arose in the morning, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the LORD, Three things I offer you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ ” So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall three years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.””

God now makes it perfectly clear to David that He is displeased with the census. Since David failed in his kingly duties to lead Israel and serve the Lord with uprightness, God forces David as king to choose what punishment Israel must suffer for his disobedience. It is important to note from the start of our passage that God was already angry towards Israel. This single act was not the straw that broke the camel’s back so-to-speak. At this point, perhaps one may be asking why the census of Israel was so bad in the first place? Theologians have been asking this for many years and are not 100% sure but the consensus seems to be that David had pride in his heart over his own military strength rather than reliance on God. If this is the case it is indeed a slight towards God for David to boast in the number of soldiers in his army rather than God’s provision. From the beginning of their conquest in the land of Cannan, God makes it perfectly clear that it is He who goes into battle with Israel and grants them victory. Though Israel is physically doing the fighting it is God who protects them, limits casualties and puts fear in the heart of their enemies. This is the source of all of David’s previous military success. Not the size of his army. There have been times where God has used very few men to beat armies of thousands. Consider how Gideon's army was slowly dwindled down to 300 brave men but still gained victory over their enemy (Judges 7).

The Mercy of God

2 Samuel 24:14,15 “Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.” So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men.”

There is more to this story but these two verses contain the main purpose I wanted to highlight in this passage. Though David has sinned greatly against God he has not lost all of his senses. He knows that the mercy of God, even in His wrath, is better than falling into the hands of man. He also recognizes that falling into the hands of nature through three years of famine is also a grim fate. In the chastisement of the Lord, it is always better to go to Him than to try and solve our problems on our own. Though 70,000 men in disobedience to God died at the hand of the Angel of the LORD through pestilence we can only imagine what three years of famine would have done to Israel. It would have been much worse to have fallen into the hands of their enemies even for just three months while God would not fight for them. David knew this and wisely chose the affliction of the Lord who he knew would have more mercy on them than sinful man. This is why I mentioned at the beginning that a correct understanding of God’s holiness was crucial to understanding this punishment. Because He is a perfectly holy God He can be wrathful, just, and angry but also merciful and loving all at the same time without contradiction. To better understand this, a parent can rightly be angry and frustrated with a child and justly punish them while still loving them. While this pales in comparison to our relationship with God, the same principle still applies. God absolutely has the right to punish his creation how he sees fit if they rebelled against Him, but praise be to God that He is also a merciful and loving God.

Conclusion

While God has every right to chastise his creation, He is also loving and merciful. Human history has shown that man has no mercy in our fallen world when it comes to war and conquest. One either perishes under the might of a stronger nation or is subjected to servitude when their nation is overtaken. It is only by the fear of God and His restraining hand that we have had times of peace. But as David realized it is better to fall under the chastisement of the Lord than the wickedness of men. His chastisement is a rod of correction that led Israel and kept them holy along the path of Salvation until the time Jesus came and died on the cross for every tribe, tongue, and nation, not just for Israel. This was all part of God’s divine plan to rescue the world from sin and death.