Why was God angry at David for taking the census?

[tonychanyt]

God commanded Moses in Exodus 30:

1 The LORD said to Moses, 12“When you take the census of the people of Israel, each one must pay the Lord a ransom for his life at the time he is counted. Then no plague will come on them when you number them.

In the case of Moses, the initiation of the census came from God and it was a general census of the population.

In the case of David, he was proud of the number of his army instead of giving glory to God. Some years earlier, David's friend, Jonathan, knew that nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few (1 Samuel 14:6b).

2 Samuel 24:

1Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

God was going to use this census occasion to punish Israel and David.

2So 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.”

Instinctively, Joab knew it was wrong to number the people.

3But 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?”

Joab knew that David would delight in the number. David wanted to know the actual number.

9And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.
10But 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.”

Even David realized that what he did was wrong. David was proud of the number instead of God. Gideon learned this lesson in Judges 7:

2The Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men. I cannot deliver Midian into their hands, or Israel would boast against me, ‘My own strength has saved me.’

Why was God angry at David for numbering the soldiers?

By numbering the people in the army, David was being boastful. Gideon knew this. Jonathan knew this. Joab knew this. Even David knew this.

 

[Terri Dactyl]

Yes!

 

[RDKirk]

That was the worst tragedy Israel suffered up to the Captivity. They lost more lives from David's arrogance than they had lost in all their previous wars combined.