Was it God or Satan who caused David to take a census?

WAS IT GOD OR SATAN WHO CAUSED DAVID TO TAKE A CENSUS?

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."

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.”

So who between God and Satan caused David to take the census?

This question needs to be handled with care giving regard to the divine attributes of the character of God as revealed in Scripture and the role of Satan as God's adversary and the enemy of His saints. We should also appreciate the operation of God's permissive and sovereign will over all His creatures including Satan.

The two Scriptures above 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 perspectives. Both 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 considers the permissive will of God as he penned his account in 2 Sam 24:1. This verse infers that only God had divinely permitted the census to take place so that His higher purposes are ultimately fulfilled. His ways are higher than our ways (Isaiah 55:9).

Elsewhere in Scripture, God sovereignly permitted Satan to try Job but only at His will and subject to the restrictions He permitted for the purpose (Job1:12).

This view 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, however tragic, neither influence nor deflect God's ultimate purposes and neither do they extinguish his sovereign power and grace toward us.

We know from David's own life that God used some of his tragic events to work out His will. He used David's marriage to Bathsheba to raise the next King after him but He still punished David for his transgessions! God also chose out of His sovereign will to reach out to us in Christ while we were yet sinners and legally condemned to die (Romans 5:8).

The Chronicler on the other hand viewed the event as the direct result of Satan's instigation so that God is not the author of this act of disobedience, a fact that agrees with James 1:13-15. He recognizes the principal agency of Satan in causing David to disobey God. It was a common practice among heathen kings to determine by a census the number of men that could be conscripted into the army.

Taking a census was an act of pride on David's part because Israel's might did not lie in their military numbers but with their God. The Bible declares in Zechariah 4:6 "...not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.

Viewed in this context, we see the evil hand of the enemy at work. He tempted the man of God into sin and not once but on several occasions recorded in the Bible.

It is important to appreciate that the Chronicles were written much later in history when the compilers were able to synchronize historical events and draw critical reflections for the readers. The chronicler saw the hand of Satan in the event because the focus of his writings was to demonstrate how God raised David from obscurity to fame; from a shepherd boy to a great king, to the glory of God.

Does this describe some aspects of your personal with God?

THEOLOGICAL SYNTHESIS

How do we theologically integrate these two Scriptures in manner that is consistent with the overall teaching of Scripture?

If we are agreed that these Scriptures and their broader passage contexts describe the same event from two distinct theological standpoints, then we should view the event in the same way that we would do the variances in the 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). 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.

I would therefore consider that the Scriptures of 2 Samuel 24:1and 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 do not contradict each other but explain the same event from two positions.

The writer of 2 Samuel considers that God is supreme and sovereign over all things. Accordingly therefore Satan, wicked as he is, can never exceed the confines of Gods sovereign will over him. At the same time God, though He tempts no one (Jas.1:13-15) is ultimately sovereign over all that happens to His saints.

MORAL LESSONS FROM THE TWO SCRIPTURE PASSAGES

What moral lesson can we draw from these Scripture passages?

From our integrated theological analysis of these two passages, we learn as follows:

1) God is always sovereign over kings and rulers. Satan conspired evil against David so that by his imprudence he sinned against God but God used the consequences of his digression to teach him a vital lesson that God, and not David, was the ultimate King over Israel.

2) Pride comes before a fall. There are many situations in life that we find ourselves glorying in our human achievements yet without God's hand we would never have made it in life. Beware of self pride! David could have avoided the consequences had he not allowed power to get into his head.

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 not merely a private matter between us and God. It affects others within our sphere of influence. David's sin carried grave consequences 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 affect 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 (2 Samuel 24:16).

4) We learn that God punishes sin but even in the rage of His divine fury God is merciful. He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our inequities (Psalm 103:10). He tampers justice with mercy. His compassions fail not and His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136). His hand 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, God graciously withheld His anger and the plague ended.

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) We learn from David's example that serving God must cost us our precious resources including time, money and undivided devotion.

David bought the land on which he built the altar, saying in 1 Chronicles 21:24-25 "Then King David said to Ornan, “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) We learn that 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 our 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).

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 keep a covenant relationship with Jesus Christ.

8) We should seek counsel 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 is later joined the Adonijah rebellion and was later executed by Solomon for the murder of Abner (1 Kings 1-2).

Back to our analysis....

On this occasion before King David, Joab rightly discerned that the king was in error and had unsuccessfully tried to drive sense into the king's mind..

When we ignore wise counsel and specifically 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?

May we always heed the voice of God in His written word and by His Spirit so that we may depart from evil and fulfill God's purposes for our lives.


Shalom

© Ezekiel Kimosop Teaching Series 2019