Why Did King David's Census Provoke the Wrath of God?

[Mr. M]

1 Chronicles 21:1. Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
2 Samuel 24:2. So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

 

[Mr. M]

1 Chronicles 21:1. Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
2 Samuel 24:2. So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

2 Samuel 24:3, 4. And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God 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?” Nevertheless the king’s word 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.
V. 8. So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
V. 10. And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “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 done very foolishly.”
V. 15. So 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.
V. 25. 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 So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

 

[gym_class_hero]

Because God thought it was prideful?

 

[Mr. M]

1 Chronicles 21:1. Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

1 Chronicles 21:6, 7. But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.
V. 15. And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
V. 17. David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd, have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? LORD my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

Why did the people suffer for David's sin?

 

[HARK!]

Because he was treating the people as a commodity?

 

[A_Thinker]

2 Samuel 24:3, 4. And Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God 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?” Nevertheless the king’s word 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.
V. 8. So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
V. 10. And David’s heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD, “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 done very foolishly.”
V. 15. So 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.
V. 25. 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.

Because David was to depend upon God for his success as a national leader, ... rather than depending upont the numbers of fighting men he could possibly assemble ...

 

[Halbhh]

1 Chronicles 21:1. Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
2 Samuel 24:2. So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

Because it was an act of non-faith, in effect. It was like: how many are we, so that maybe we could rely on ourselves to plan out our strength and such. That's not a faith in God at that moment, in that situation, where God has already explicitly communicated to them that He will protect them (if they will keep His words), that He will create peace around them when they keep His word.

Ellicott's commentary from verse 1 agrees also: "This [anger] was not in consequence of the numbering of the people, but in consequence of that which ultimately led to that act. We are not told why the anger of the Lord was kindled, but doubtless because He saw both in king and people that rising spirit of earthly pride and reliance on earthly strength which led to the sin."
2 Samuel 24:1 Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He stirred up David against them, saying, "Go and take a census of Israel and Judah."
(Ellicott also explains regarding the superficial seeming conflict of the verse to the Chronicles verse)

 

[Dave L]

Numbers begins with numbering Israel at God's command to Moses. David numbered the troops so he could trust in the arm of the flesh and not in God. Not having the number of troops always depended on having faith in God.

 

[ZNP]

1 Chronicles 21:1. Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
2 Samuel 24:2. So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.”

He violated the law concerning a census. According to the Law of moses if you take a census the way you are supposed to do it is to collect a coin from every person (most likely made of silver since we are not aware of copper coins that date to the time of Moses). Those coins would then be sent from every town to Jerusalem to be counted. This system would prevent plague. Infectious diseases cannot live very long on silver, by the time they got to Jerusalem there would be no infectious agents.

At the time of war no one would complain about this, but there was no war, just David's pride. So instead of doing the prescribed approach he leaned unto his own understanding and sent people to every town and every home to count. By walking in and out of every home they picked up every contagious disease there is and spread it all over the land.

 

[icxn]

...Why did the people suffer for David's sin?

But it wasn't David's sin, but the people's. Read the first verse again. It doesn't say "...the anger of the Lord burned against David" but against Israel. God allowed Satan to tempt David and through him to incur a punishment upon Israel. David took the blame upon himself, just like Christ did when He became sin for us and through His suffering (burnt offering) the plague towards us ceased.

 

[Mr. M]

He violated the law concerning a census. According to the Law of moses if you take a census the way you are supposed to do it is to collect a coin from every person (most likely made of silver since we are not aware of copper coins that date to the time of Moses). Those coins would then be sent from every town to Jerusalem to be counted. This system would prevent plague. Infectious diseases cannot live very long on silver, by the time they got to Jerusalem there would be no infectious agents.

At the time of war no one would complain about this, but there was no war, just David's pride. So instead of doing the prescribed approach he leaned unto his own understanding and sent people to every town and every home to count. By walking in and out of every home they picked up every contagious disease there is and spread it all over the land.

Now you are talking!
Exodus 30:12, “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them.
Verse 16. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves.
A Torah violation by any other name is a Torah violation. The Memorials of YHWH must be honored.

 

[Mr. M]

But it wasn't David's sin, but the people's. Read the first verse again. It doesn't say "...the anger of the Lord burned against David" but against Israel. God allowed Satan to tempt David and through him to incur a punishment upon Israel. David took the blame upon himself, just like Christ did when He became sin for us and through His suffering (burnt offering) the plague towards us ceased.

Context, context, context!

At the time of war no one would complain about this, but there was no war, just David's pride.

Not so ZNP, this event takes place on the heels of Absalom's rebellion. He seduced a large number of the people to fall in behind him. The bloodshed of civil war was a clear provocation for wanting a census. Ironically, David abandoned Jerusalem to avoid bloodshed there, then almost destroyed the city by taking the census without enforcing the Memorial.

 

[Mr. M]

But it wasn't David's sin, but the people's. Read the first verse again. It doesn't say "...the anger of the Lord burned against David" but against Israel. God allowed Satan to tempt David and through him to incur a punishment upon Israel. David took the blame upon himself, just like Christ did when He became sin for us and through His suffering (burnt offering) the plague towards us ceased.

Consider this as a theme throughout scripture:
David's "approval rating" was at an all time low after Absalom. To enforce a levy along with the census would have provoked further rebelliousness. Fear of Man overrides fear of YHWH.
Aaron provoked wrath at the foot of Sinai in the golden calf incident. Fear of man.
Saul had his reign cut short by an ill-advised sacrifice. Fear of man.
Peter played the hypocrite before the Gentiles, admonished by Paul. Fear of man.
Can you think of any other examples?
Psalm 119:38. Establish thy word unto thy servant, who is devoted to thy fear.
Galatians 1:10. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.

 

[ZNP]

Context, context, context!

Not so ZNP, this event takes place on the heels of Absalom's rebellion. He seduced a large number of the people to fall in behind him. The bloodshed of civil war was a clear provocation for wanting a census. Ironically, David abandoned Jerusalem to avoid bloodshed there, then almost destroyed the city by taking the census without enforcing the Memorial.

I must have missed that, can you show the verses where after this census he raised an army? Thanks

 

[Amittai]

... David numbered the troops so he could trust in the arm of the flesh and not in God. Not having the number of troops always depended on having faith in God.

Many sects and cults, catholic & protestant alike, openly brag about collecting low-hanging fruit, as a ploy to award themselves brownie points against some scale of "evangelising value". I and my pals have been told by them that they went for susceptible cases like us.

Our accruing around their totem is cited as proof of fruit.

Fair enough but did they then attend to quality - did they sacrificially nurture our integrity so that we might run further in the race than them (like St Paul and St James and the last 21 verses of Proverbs and Is 55, 58, 61)?

Or are they patronisingly and passive-agressively daring us to challenge their reinforcing of their superiority?

Those po-faced, vaguely spoken types with their moral equivalency ("we're almost as degenerate as you and here's a sample") are quite skilful in disguising all this, it takes us little ones a lifetime to see through it.

Or are they distracting us by infecting us with the contagion of their own mania?

The arm of God with David is like when the crown of the others becomes a letter of recommendation of Paul. Otherwise, sincere and sharp-eyed agnostics should be commended for their scepticism.

 

[Mr. M]

I must have missed that, can you show the verses where after this census he raised an army? Thanks

1 Chronicles 21:5. And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.
This expression does not necessarily imply a draft, but an availability.
"Raising an army" might be overstating a bit.

 

[Petros2015]

Exodus 30:12, “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, that there may be no plague among them when you number them

Wow. Very specific. I did not know that verse, explains a lot.
Thank you and other poster who mentioned the silver I have often wondered about this

 

[Mr. M]

Wow. Very specific. I did not know that verse, explains a lot.
Thank you and other poster who mentioned the silver I have often wondered about this

One of many Memorials commanded in the Torah. Passover observance is the first.
Exodus 12:14. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance for ever.
I have posted about a dozen essays on the subject of Memorial and Remembrance under Blogs.

 

[icxn]

Context, context, context!

Not so ZNP, this event takes place on the heels of Absalom's rebellion. He seduced a large number of the people to fall in behind him. The bloodshed of civil war was a clear provocation for wanting a census. Ironically, David abandoned Jerusalem to avoid bloodshed there, then almost destroyed the city by taking the census without enforcing the Memorial.

Context! Yes! Thank you! The undelined part is the reason God was angry with them. They sided with Absalom, just like we sided with the Devil through our sinning. The scriptures make it appear as if it was David's fault, which is why this story typifies Christ becoming sin for us.

 

[Amittai]

Wow. Very specific. I did not know that verse, explains a lot.
Thank you and other poster who mentioned the silver I have often wondered about this

A superstition about silver scaring off vampires presumably developed by "parallel inference" from some contagions being spread by blood-sucking creatures. Copper itself (so I read the other day) is relatively quicker-sterilising than some of the other metals, against viruses of the covid type.