1Once again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he caused David to harm them by taking a census. “Go and count the people of Israel and Judah,” the Lord told him. 2So the king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.” 3But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?” 4But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel.
10But after he had taken the census, David’s conscience began to bother him. And he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt, Lord, for doing this foolish thing.” 11The next morning the word of the Lord came to the prophet Gad, who was David’s seer. This was the message: 12“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these, and I will inflict it on you.’ ”
2 Samuel 24:1–4, 10-12 NLT
When we reread the same story in 1 Chronicles 21, we found more variants:
1Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. 2So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.” 3But Joab replied, “May the Lord increase the number of his people a hundred times over! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this? Are they not all your servants? Why must you cause Israel to sin?” 4But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab traveled throughout all Israel to count the people. Then he returned to Jerusalem
7God was very displeased with the census, and he punished Israel for it. 8Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by taking this census. Please forgive my guilt for doing this foolish thing.” 9Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer. This was the message: 10“Go and say to David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will give you three choices. Choose one of these, and I will inflict it on you.’ ”
1 Chronicles 21:1-4, 7-10 NLT
This added more confusion to the text. Maybe by now, you have figured out the puzzle of 1) Why did God tell David, ‘Go and count the people of Israel and Judah‘ (2 Sam. 24:1) and then inflict suffering when David did that (2 Sam. 24:12). But with 1 Chronicles 21, you will need to solve another puzzle: 2) Is the Lord (2 Sam. 24:1) the same as Satan (1 Chron. 21:1)?
How would you resolve these ‘contradictions’ and ‘discrepancies’?
We are down a few teams left, so the question is harder: “How would you explain the contradiction between ‘the Lord’ (2 Sam. 24:1) and ‘Satan’ (1 Chron. 21:1)? How would that help explaining why God was letting David take the census?”
Hint: I briefly touched on it last Sunday, but even if you missed it, we live in the Internet age where all answers are at our finger tips.
Haha! This is a good one😁 For this question, there are actually many different considerations to apply, but for the sake of time I will take the one that stands out most to me. (Bumble already touched on the idea of linguistic chalkenges regarding the word “incite” in his sermon on Sunday. In the original language, there is actually no subject for the verb “incite” in our passage in 2 Samuel🤔).
It seems to me that one thing we can glean from the context of the entire Bible is that often times, God will sovereignly allow Satan to act in order to achieve His greater, redemptive purposes. So perhaps in this case, while Satan was inciting David to sin against the Lord, the Lord Himself was allowing this to happen with the intention of 1) bringing judgement against Israel with whom He was angry, and 2) bringing David to repentance through this, thus bringing about His plan to draw David’s heart closer to His, and thereby continue to further His greater redemptive plan for Israel and for the world! Paul takes this idea even a little further in Romans 11, and points out that God allows men to pursue our sinful inclinations as a means to display His glory in demonstrating His grace and mercy. “For God has committed them all to disobedience that He might have mercy on all. Oh the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and His ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:32-33).
The author of 2 Samuel wrote this story in a sense that God was ultimately in control of all things, while the writer of 1 Chronicles displayed Satan’s plot and how God used it for His judgment. It is clear in James 1:13 that “God cannot be tempted with evil,” so it was not God who tempted David to sin but Satan. In a handful of instances in scripture, Satan did what God permitted Him to do (like Job 1-2). When God has a plan in mind, He will sometimes allow Satan to act. Ultimately, Satan and His demons are working the will of God. Therefore, God permitted Satan in tempting David to take the census in order to bring forth His purpose: to bring forth judgement and punish Israel for their sins.
From Becky
God didn’t want David to take the Census for the purpose that David wanted it for, but God allowed Satan to prompt David to do so. What we see at work is the Sovereignty of God in that Satan cannot do anything without the Permissive will of God. Even Satan is bound to God’s will. You could say that because God allowed it (not blessed it or approved of it) that it was at his prompting, but Chronicles tells who the real culprit was. Satan could not have tempted David if God did not allow it. God allows his people to be tempted but he is not the tempter, but ultimately nothing can come to pass unless he allows it. God wanted David to depend not on his number of men in his country, but upon God, and Satan wanted to tempt David in depending upon his own power and might. God allowed Satan to tempt him to do so and David failed in doing what God wanted him to do because he delighted in seeing how powerful he really was, and for David’s sin the people of Israel suffered greatly. The real issue was not the census, but the purpose of the Census. David wanted to depend on the might of his numbers and not relying on God. But again both are correct, and you can see God’s anger from the beginning which clues you in that he may have allowed it, but he didn’t approve of it
the accounts in 1 Chronicles 21:1-4 and 2 Samuel 24:1-4 describe the same event in which David decided to take a census of Israel. While the passages may appear to have some variations, they are generally complementary rather than contradictory. The idea that God allowed Satan to incite David to take the census aligns with the concept that God can use various means, including difficult situations, to achieve His purposes and discipline or refine His people.
This lesson from David’s experience can be applied to our lives. Sometimes, we may find ourselves in situations or making choices that don’t align with God’s will, even if they don’t seem like obvious sins to others. In such cases, we might be tempted to use excuses or rationalize our behavior rather than repenting and seeking God’s forgiveness.
David’s example reminds us that it’s crucial to have a sensitive conscience and to be willing to repent when we sense that our actions are not pleasing to God, even if they don’t appear wrong to others. Rather than making excuses, we should strive to align our lives with God’s will and seek His forgiveness and guidance in all circumstances. This way, we can grow in our faith and relationship with God.
In 2 Samuel 24, the Lord tested David to determine if his faith in God was absolute or not (As we know, he failed the test). On the other hand, in 1 Chronicles 21, Satan tempted David. Both of them allowed David to take the census. David informed Joab and the commanders of the army right away because, in those days, counting and knowing the population meant grasping military power, which made David and Israel proud of themselves. And that is the reason for God’s wrath upon Israel.
I think that the two readings may seem like a contraindication of one another but in reality it’s the same. I think when we face temptations, it will seem like only Satan is playing a role; however, God is also involved. He lets us be tempted by Satan. I don’t remember specifically which part of the Bible it was, but Satan asked God if he can tempt someone and God allowed it. I think this is the same case here with David counting the census. I think God and Satan were both involved in his counting of the census. Satan came and tempted David and God allowed it. HOWEVER, their ultimate purpose is different. I think Satan’s purpose is to destroy Israel but God has a different plan. God wanted to save Israel from their sins. He could’ve easily wiped Israel out completely but he gave them a chance to redeem themselves through David and they suffered famine (or was it a plague?) for 3 days. I think every time we see someone being tempted, we need to remember that God is still watching us and he is allowing it to happen because he has bigger plans for us. I think through temptations we can be redeemed and we can learn from our temptations and do better if we encounter the same temptations again.
From Dean
I think it’s the idea of God allowing us to sin and we as believer should not fill our thoughts with false justification but for us to seek forgiveness. In the story David sinned and he went to seek for forgiveness and admitted to his wrong doings. The contradiction would be the lord allowing David to sin but Satan was the one that tempted David to sin.