By Ezekiel Kimosop
2 Samuel 24:1 says "Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah." (NKJV).
1 Chronicles 21:1-2: says "Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” (NKJV).
So who between God and Satan caused or moved David to take the census?
This question appears to lie on a theological paradox. How could two texts of Scripture contradict each other? How should the reader of Scripture comprehend and unravel this theological mystery?
The paradox requires to be handled with utmost care in view of the divine attributes of the holy and righteous God of Scripture. God cannot speak from the two sides of His mouth! The Bible proclaims that God cannot lie (Numbers 23:19). He cannot therefore contradict Himself in His word.
Scripture projects Satan as God's adversary and the enemy of His saints. He deceived the woman and lured her into sinful disobedience (Genesis 3:1-6). We should also appreciate the operation of God's permissive and sovereign will over all His creatures including Satan. God is not an absentee deity!
The two texts of Scriptures above may appear to contradict each other at the outset but in essence they are the works of two independent narrators who were observing the same event from two distinct theological standpoints. Both writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17). There is therefore no manifest contradiction in Scripture.
Here is why....
The writer of 2 Samuel conveys the permissive will of God as he penned his account in 2 Sam 24:1. This verse infers that God had permitted the census to take place so that His higher purposes are ultimately fulfilled. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). This does not suggest or imply that David was innocent or blameless in ordering the census.
The two texts of Scriptures above may appear to contradict each other at the outset but in essence they are the works of two independent narrators who were observing the same event from two distinct theological standpoints. Both writers were inspired by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16-17). There is therefore no manifest contradiction in Scripture.
Here is why....
The writer of 2 Samuel conveys the permissive will of God as he penned his account in 2 Sam 24:1. This verse infers that God had permitted the census to take place so that His higher purposes are ultimately fulfilled. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9). This does not suggest or imply that David was innocent or blameless in ordering the census.
Elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that God permitted Satan to try Job subject to the restrictions and limitations that He permitted for the purpose (Job 1). Satan was however forbidden from fatally harming or taking Job's life (Job 1:12).
This agrees with Romans 8:28, which teaches that in all things (whether pleasant or not) God ultimately works for the good of them that love Him, who are called according to His divine purposes. Our circumstances of life, however unpleasant, neither prejudice God's ultimate purposes nor extinguish His sovereign will and power.
This agrees with Romans 8:28, which teaches that in all things (whether pleasant or not) God ultimately works for the good of them that love Him, who are called according to His divine purposes. Our circumstances of life, however unpleasant, neither prejudice God's ultimate purposes nor extinguish His sovereign will and power.
Elsewhere in Scripture, we learn that God uses the difficult circumstances of our lives for His divine purpose. Notice the theological implication Joseph's statement in Genesis 50:20 which says "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." (NKJV).
We learn from David's own life that God used some of his unpleasant and distressful experiences to work out His will for him. Notice the theological implication of the events described in 1 Samuel 29-31.
We learn from David's own life that God used some of his unpleasant and distressful experiences to work out His will for him. Notice the theological implication of the events described in 1 Samuel 29-31.
David and his men went to join the Philistines in the battle of Mt. Gilboa but God superintended David's withdrawal from battle only to expose him to another distressful experience. David's people had been captured by the Amalekites in the Negev! God ultimately gave David victory after he and his men wept in distress and David inquired of the LORD (1 Samuel 30).
By withdrawing David from the battlefield, God effectively spared David of blood guilt knowing that the battle would witness Saul's ultimate demise alongside his three sons, including Jonathan, David's covenant friend.
THEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS & CONCLUSION
How can we theologically integrate and consolidate these two Scriptures within armpits of the revelation and authority of Scripture? This concluding section of the article seeks to amalgamate the truths that we have distilled from our evaluation of the two "conflicting" texts of Scripture.
MORAL LESSONS FROM THE TWO SCRIPTURE TEXTS
What moral lessons can we draw from our analysis of these Scripture texts?
We learn from other sections of Scripture that God used David's controversial marriage to Bathsheba to raise Solomon, the next king of Israel after David but He still punished David for his transgressions against Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba's lawful husband, including taking away David's first child by Bathsheba! (2 Samuel 12).
Turning to our parallel account of 1 Chronicles 21:1-2, we notice that the writer understood David's census as the direct result of Satan's instigation. God was therefore not the author of this act of disobedience. This agrees with the moral conveyed in James 1:13-15 which states that God does not tempt believers into sinful disobedience.
We can therefore conclude that the writer of Chronicles recognized Satan's agency as instrumental in causing David to disobey God. David was therefore liable for his transgression and this explains why God sent the plague that consumed tens of thousands.
It was a common practice among heathen kings to determine by a census the number of men that could be conscripted into the army. However, Israel's case was distinct. David's act of taking a census was understood as an act of pride on his part because Israel's military might was not anchored on their numbers or arsenal but on God who was their ultimate ruler. God proclaims to Zerubbabel in Zechariah 4:6 saying "...Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts.
When we examine the paradox in this context, we notice the evil hand of the enemy at work. He tempted the man of God into sin and not only once but on other occasions recorded in the Bible.
It is important to appreciate that the Books of Chronicles were written much later historically when the compilers were able to synchronize historical events and draw critical reflections for the readers. The chronicler saw the hand of Satan in David's transgression. The God of Scripture could not have influenced David to sin against God! Some scholars consider 2 Samuel as majorly dedicated to David's life and reign in Israel while 1 Chronicles reveals the excesses of the Israeli kingship.
When we examine the paradox in this context, we notice the evil hand of the enemy at work. He tempted the man of God into sin and not only once but on other occasions recorded in the Bible.
It is important to appreciate that the Books of Chronicles were written much later historically when the compilers were able to synchronize historical events and draw critical reflections for the readers. The chronicler saw the hand of Satan in David's transgression. The God of Scripture could not have influenced David to sin against God! Some scholars consider 2 Samuel as majorly dedicated to David's life and reign in Israel while 1 Chronicles reveals the excesses of the Israeli kingship.
THEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS & CONCLUSION
How can we theologically integrate and consolidate these two Scriptures within armpits of the revelation and authority of Scripture? This concluding section of the article seeks to amalgamate the truths that we have distilled from our evaluation of the two "conflicting" texts of Scripture.
If we acknowledge that these Scriptures, when examined in their broader passage contexts, describe the same event from two distinct theological standpoints, then we should construe the event in the same way that we would interpret the notable inconsistencies in some narratives of the Gospels.
For instance, how do we reconcile the apparent contradiction between Matthew 15:38 on one hand and the express words of Jesus in Matthew 16:9 which are affirmed by Mark 6:44? (cf. John 6:10, Luke 9:14). Matthew 15:38 reports that Jesus fed four thousand men bedsides women and children. In Matthew 16:9 Jesus discloses that he fed five thousand people.
For instance, how do we reconcile the apparent contradiction between Matthew 15:38 on one hand and the express words of Jesus in Matthew 16:9 which are affirmed by Mark 6:44? (cf. John 6:10, Luke 9:14). Matthew 15:38 reports that Jesus fed four thousand men bedsides women and children. In Matthew 16:9 Jesus discloses that he fed five thousand people.
My view is that if both Scriptures describe the same event, then we should conclude that Jesus' teaching in Matthew 16:9 corrects the figure mentioned in Matthew 15:38.
It is therefore theologically justifiable to conclude that the Scriptures of 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 do not contradict each other. Both explain the same event from two theological positions. The first Scripture reveals God's anger against David for his apparent disobedience in submitting to the enticements of Satan and ordering the census. The second text explains Satan's role in influencing David's ungodly act. The two texts therefore serve the purposes of the writers, and of God, in their respective theological contexts.
The writer of 2 Samuel considers God as supreme and sovereign over all things. His anger against David was therefore a legitimate expression of His divine displeasure. While God does not tempt or lure believers into sinful disobedience (James 1:13-15), He is ultimately sovereign over all that happens to His saints. He may permit certain things to happen to us for His higher purposes.
It is therefore theologically justifiable to conclude that the Scriptures of 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 do not contradict each other. Both explain the same event from two theological positions. The first Scripture reveals God's anger against David for his apparent disobedience in submitting to the enticements of Satan and ordering the census. The second text explains Satan's role in influencing David's ungodly act. The two texts therefore serve the purposes of the writers, and of God, in their respective theological contexts.
The writer of 2 Samuel considers God as supreme and sovereign over all things. His anger against David was therefore a legitimate expression of His divine displeasure. While God does not tempt or lure believers into sinful disobedience (James 1:13-15), He is ultimately sovereign over all that happens to His saints. He may permit certain things to happen to us for His higher purposes.
God permitted Job's suffering in Job 1 yet Scripture proclaims that Job was a righteous man! Job's afflictions therefore served God's higher purposes in the end (John 42).
A reader who stops at Job 1 will most likely blame God for Job's afflictions. Reading through to Job 42 refines our theological reflection and pieces together the missing links and reveals the overflow of God's grace and mercy even in the intensity of our Christian suffering.
MORAL LESSONS FROM THE TWO SCRIPTURE TEXTS
What moral lessons can we draw from our analysis of these Scripture texts?
From our integrated theological evaluation of the two passages, we can establish as follows:
1) God is always sovereign over kings and rulers. Satan conspired evil against David so that by his imprudence David sinned against God but God used the consequences of David's imprudence to teach him a vital lesson that God, and not David, was the ultimate King over Israel. God's sovereignty cannot be relegated to obscurity. It cannot be extinguished under a theological paradox.
2) Pride comes before a fall. There are situations in life under which we may find ourselves glorying over our human achievements yet without God's hand we would never have made it in life. David could have avoided the consequences of his disobedience had he not allowed the trappings of power to get into his head. The parable of the Rich Fool reveals that chest-thumping over God's blessings has its divine consequences (Luke 12:13-21).
Psalm 20:7 says "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright."
3) Sin is contagious. Our transgressions are not merely a private matter between us and God. They may affect other people within our sphere of influence. David's sin carried grave consequences for Israel because seventy thousand innocent people died from the plague for which David was personally liable (2 Samuel 24:15). Our imprudence can be contagious and may harm other innocent people.
We can conclude that Satan had indeed conspired to bring down David by leading him into disobedience but God's mercies ultimately prevailed over His wrath and David was graciously spared by God when he repented of his sin (2 Samuel 24:16).
4) God is just and merciful. We learn that God punishes sin but even under the rage of His divine fury, God is exceedingly merciful. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our inequities (Psalm 103:10). God tampers justice with mercy. His compassions fail not and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136). His hand of grace is consistently stretched out to His covenant people in all ages.
When David bought a parcel of land from Arunah and erected an altar and burnt sacrifices on it, God graciously withheld His anger and the plague ended. David did not deserve God's mercy. It was graciously granted by God. We should plead for God's mercy when His righteous anger burns against us!
2 Samuel 24:25 says "And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel."
5) Serving God comes with sacrifices. We learn from David's example that serving God must cost us our precious resources including time, money, skills, and undivided devotion.
David bought the land on which he built the altar, saying in 1 Chronicles 21:24-25 “...No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” 25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place."
What sacrifices are you making in serving God?
6) God is touched by a broken heart. When we turn to God in truth and in brokenness of heart, even in the darkest moments of our lives, He will graciously forgive us and restore us to fellowship with Him (1 John 1:8-10). This is because Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and opened the way to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16). God will never despise a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).
1) God is always sovereign over kings and rulers. Satan conspired evil against David so that by his imprudence David sinned against God but God used the consequences of David's imprudence to teach him a vital lesson that God, and not David, was the ultimate King over Israel. God's sovereignty cannot be relegated to obscurity. It cannot be extinguished under a theological paradox.
2) Pride comes before a fall. There are situations in life under which we may find ourselves glorying over our human achievements yet without God's hand we would never have made it in life. David could have avoided the consequences of his disobedience had he not allowed the trappings of power to get into his head. The parable of the Rich Fool reveals that chest-thumping over God's blessings has its divine consequences (Luke 12:13-21).
Psalm 20:7 says "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
8 They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright."
3) Sin is contagious. Our transgressions are not merely a private matter between us and God. They may affect other people within our sphere of influence. David's sin carried grave consequences for Israel because seventy thousand innocent people died from the plague for which David was personally liable (2 Samuel 24:15). Our imprudence can be contagious and may harm other innocent people.
We can conclude that Satan had indeed conspired to bring down David by leading him into disobedience but God's mercies ultimately prevailed over His wrath and David was graciously spared by God when he repented of his sin (2 Samuel 24:16).
4) God is just and merciful. We learn that God punishes sin but even under the rage of His divine fury, God is exceedingly merciful. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our inequities (Psalm 103:10). God tampers justice with mercy. His compassions fail not and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136). His hand of grace is consistently stretched out to His covenant people in all ages.
When David bought a parcel of land from Arunah and erected an altar and burnt sacrifices on it, God graciously withheld His anger and the plague ended. David did not deserve God's mercy. It was graciously granted by God. We should plead for God's mercy when His righteous anger burns against us!
2 Samuel 24:25 says "And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel."
5) Serving God comes with sacrifices. We learn from David's example that serving God must cost us our precious resources including time, money, skills, and undivided devotion.
David bought the land on which he built the altar, saying in 1 Chronicles 21:24-25 “...No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” 25 So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place."
What sacrifices are you making in serving God?
6) God is touched by a broken heart. When we turn to God in truth and in brokenness of heart, even in the darkest moments of our lives, He will graciously forgive us and restore us to fellowship with Him (1 John 1:8-10). This is because Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and opened the way to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:14-16). God will never despise a broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17).
Struggle no further. Turn to God's throne today for His healing grace and restoration.
7) It is a terrible thing to fall under God's judgement. The Bible proclaims that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). We can only escape the wrath of God if we turn to him in repentance and forsake a life of rebellion.
8) We should seek God's counsel and wisdom on the issues of life. We should turn to God's wisdom in His word and pray for God's leading before making critical decisions in life. David forsook the counsel of his close advisors on the census issue. Notice that Joab his army commander was perplexed by the royal decree. 1 Chronicles 21:3 says: “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”
Joab was overly a wicked man, having shed the innocent blood of Abner in a calculated act of vengeance for the killing of Asahel, Joab's cousin (2 Samuel 2; 3:27-28). Joab later joined the Adonijah rebellion and was executed by Solomon for the murder of Abner (1 Kings 1-2).
7) It is a terrible thing to fall under God's judgement. The Bible proclaims that the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). We can only escape the wrath of God if we turn to him in repentance and forsake a life of rebellion.
8) We should seek God's counsel and wisdom on the issues of life. We should turn to God's wisdom in His word and pray for God's leading before making critical decisions in life. David forsook the counsel of his close advisors on the census issue. Notice that Joab his army commander was perplexed by the royal decree. 1 Chronicles 21:3 says: “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”
Joab was overly a wicked man, having shed the innocent blood of Abner in a calculated act of vengeance for the killing of Asahel, Joab's cousin (2 Samuel 2; 3:27-28). Joab later joined the Adonijah rebellion and was executed by Solomon for the murder of Abner (1 Kings 1-2).
Back to our case...
On this occasion, when Joab stood before King David, he rightly discerned that the king was had erred. He rightly discerned and spoke the mind of God to the king.
On this occasion, when Joab stood before King David, he rightly discerned that the king was had erred. He rightly discerned and spoke the mind of God to the king.
When we ignore wise counsel and violate God's commands, we drift away from God's leading. Prov. 14:12 says "There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death."
Which way are you headed in life? Do you discern the mind of God in the things of life? Do you heed wise counsel when offered to you? Do you have the courage to rebuke those who violate God's law?
May we always heed the voice of God in His written word and discern the leading of His Spirit so that we may depart from evil and fulfill God's purposes for our lives.
Shalom
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
But its end is the way of death."
Which way are you headed in life? Do you discern the mind of God in the things of life? Do you heed wise counsel when offered to you? Do you have the courage to rebuke those who violate God's law?
May we always heed the voice of God in His written word and discern the leading of His Spirit so that we may depart from evil and fulfill God's purposes for our lives.
Shalom
© Ezekiel Kimosop 2019
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