David and the Census

2 Samuel 24

            The end of 2 Samuel and another sentence that gives us pause: “The Lord incited David against Israel.”

            The chapter starts with the Lord’s anger burning against Israel. We don’t know why. They certainly have a history of idolatry. The center of this book has related how they rebelled against David, the Lord’s anointed. We just don’t know. I think it’s important that the Lord used David as the instrument of His wrath, so He wasn’t just riling David up for no reason.

            But still, it says the Lord incited David. James 1:13-14 is very clear that God does not tempt people to sin. And, in the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 21, the Chronicler writes, “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David…” So, what we have is a complicated picture. There’s an underlying sin in Israel, which the Lord needs to eradicate. Satan is involved somehow both against Israel and against David. And the Lord is in the mess accomplishing His purposes. Maybe that’s the thing we need to think about. Maybe we should spend less time worrying about the righteousness of God; maybe we should just take for granted that the Lord is and acts righteously, that He’s the very definition of righteousness. And maybe we should ponder that somehow in the mess of human sin and powers that oppose His plans and purposes, the Lord somehow manages to accomplish what He wants—in this case calling Israel to repentance.

            Let me highlight two other quick things. First, the problem with the census is that it shows a reliance on military power as humans measure it rather than on relying on the Lord. Remember how the Lord reduced Gideon’s army from 32,000 to 300 exactly for this reason, so that Israel couldn’t boast in her own power (Judges 7:1-3). Remember, too, Deuteronomy’s prohibition on the king owning horses (17:16), which again was a matter of military strength. Second, the plague stops at the threshing floor of Araunah, and that becomes the site for the temple. From 2 Samuel 7 to this last section of 2 Samuel, the future construction of the temple has been in the background. So, Solomon’s great work, which we’ll read about later this week, has had its roots laid down for a long time.