See also the additional treatment here. The skeptic accuses God of punishing the wrong people. the increasing size of Israel, was what caused the census. After a brief mention of four expeditions against the Philistines, the sacred writer records a sin of pride on David's part in his resolution to take a census of the people. But David did so anyway. The pestilence was thus halted. Further in the chapter, David admits this is a sin when he declares "I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing.(vs. It specifically says that God did in 2 Samuel 24:1, but it also says that Satan moved David to number Israel in 1 Chronicles 21:1. As a penance for this sin, he was allowed to choose either a famine, an unsuccessful war, or pestilence. God commanded Moses to take a census of the Israelites just before the building of the Tabernacle (Exodus 30:11-16), and we are told that it has been accomplished (Exodus 38-25-6). In closing. The Census of Quirinius was a census of Judea taken by Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, Roman governor of Syria, upon the imposition of direct Roman rule in 6 CE. 3. 1. What gives?! The question: In 2 Samuel 24 it says that God moved David to take a tragic census of Israel's military power, but in I Chronicles 21 it says that Satan moved him to do so. 21 Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. So, why is this text difficult? The account of David’s military census appears in the books of Samuel and Chronicles. David's heart smote him after that he had numbered the people. Question: "Why did God order a census in the book of Numbers?" Tools. Of the several questions that arise in this unusual episode, we will look at two: 1. Who is "Satan" and why does he incite David (v. 1)? And David said unto the LORD, I have sinned greatly in that I have done. Verse Concepts . Then Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. In Wednesday’s Mass, at the first reading from 2 Samuel 24, we hear the Story of How King David ordered a census to be taken. David's Tragic Census-who 'Moved' him to do it? The Gospel of Luke uses it as the narrative means to establish the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem ( Luke 2 , Luke 2:1–5 ), but the Gospel of Matthew places the birth within the reign of Herod the Great , who died 9 years earlier. God bestows evil consequences upon evil actions ("you reap what you sow"). God could have commanded the census to reveal His power in redeeming such a large number of people or to list those who were able to serve in war (Numbers 1:3). He opposes adultery, but ordains that Absalom should lie with his father's wives (Exodus 20:14; 2 Samuel 12:11). David chose the third and in three days 70,000 died. Why did God discipline David after telling him to take the census in 2 Samuel 24? It would be the threshing floor location on which David appeased God, and ended he and nation being punished, that another momentous event would take place! He makes plain that it is sin for David to take a military census of his people, but he ordains that he do it (2 Samuel 24:1; 24:10). Because of David’s census, the Bible says: “So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel from the morning till the appointed time. Numbers 1 records God telling Moses to take a census and determine the number of men who were able to go to war. God offers David a choice of punishments for having conducted the census (which god himself ordered in the first place): 1) seven years of famine, 2) three months fleeing from enemies, or 3) three days of pestilence. David chose the pestilence, figuring that it was better to fall by God’s hand than an enemy’s. After the census, David decided that he had done something wrong, which is weird since he had only taken a census that God told him to take. In the verse you snipped out, we see Joab and the commanders of the army argue against David that it is simply vanity that causes this census to be taken. 2 Samuel 24:2 2 Sam 24:2. 2 Samuel 24:1, 1 Chronicles 21:1 Again Yahweh's anger blazed against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, 'Go and take a census of Israel and Judah!' 2 So 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.” For Egypt there is evidence of a regular periodic census every 14 years extending back to 773/20 and it is not improbable that … God punishes David by sending a plague on Israel killing 70,000 of the people 4. David was taken by surprise and was forced to flee from ... the sacred writer records a sin of pride on David’s part in his resolution to take a census of the people. That occurrence was only one month before this census is commanded. God offered David his choice of punishments: a three-year famine, three months of military fighting from Israel’s enemies, or three days of pestilence. I love it when people actually ask interesting questions about the Bible! So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” a. Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king : he results showed that there were 1,300,000 fighting men among the twelve tribes, reflecting an estimated total population of about 6 million in Israel. SUMMARY. As a penance for this sin, he was allowed to choose either a famine, an unsuccessful war, or pestilence. Why did god tell David to take a census, then kill thousands of people after David did what he was told? Take note that the very census that caused Joseph and Mary to come to Bethlehem was the first of its kind to take place. 8)" So the context of the passage plainly demonstrates that the census was an act against God. Later, God's anger blazed forth against Israel, so he incited David to move against them by telling him, "Go take a census of Israel and Judah." David’s general Joab strongly cautioned the King against such a measure, but David insisted on it anyway. Analysis. God did 2 Samuel 24:1, "Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah." David chose the plague, in which 70,000 men died. Did a census really take place in the entire Roman world during that time, and did Mary & Joseph actually go up to Bethlehem to be registered, as Luke Gospel says? ISV. 1 Chronicles 27:24 Joab son of Zeruiah began to count the men but did not finish. God caused Caesar to call for the census. And Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. Anger Of God, Examples Of God Urging. Instead, the Bible implies that David’s intentions (and thus his actions) were dishonorable, foolish, and sinful (cf. David forces Joab to take a census of the people for military purposes, displeasing God and resulting in severe plagues. (5-9) The census is taken. God was satisfied with David's offering (2 Samuel 24:25, 1 Chronicles 21:26), and the end of the matter was complete. Satan was actively involved in David being moved to have a census. 2 So 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.” 2 Samuel 24.10 And God was angry, too, at least that's what the prophet Gad told him. When the census had been completed, the Prophet Gad informed David of God’s anger and of His intention to punish David and all Israel. David chose the third and in … Provoking God Tribes Of Israel. Bible Answer: First, we will look at the historical event and then look at why God disciplined David. From Dan to Beersheba seventy thousand men of the people died” (2 Samuel 24:15). Answer: There are a couple possible reasons to explain why God ordered a census of the people of Israel in the book of Numbers. Both God and Satan incited David to number Israel. David pleaded for mercy and was told to build an altar to God on a particular threshing floor (2Samuel 24:16 - 18). David's repentance leads to the purchase of Ornan's threshing floor, which God designates as the site for the temple. Old Testament > King David > God Kills 70,000 Israelites. 1 Chronicles 21:1-17 New Living Translation (NLT) David Takes a Census. 1. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which was called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. God had not commanded a census be taken, nor did David instigate it for some noble cause. This seems wrong. The historical event is recorded in both 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. God ordained David’s sin, but He is not to blame for the temptation, for Satan did the tempting. For many Bible readers, the parallel accounts that describe David’s numbering of Israel (found in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21) pose a serious problem. 1 Chronicles 27:23 David did not count the men aged twenty or under, because the LORD had said that He would make Israel as numerous as the stars of the sky. And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. David Commands Israel Be Counter. God has Gideon wage the battle only with the 300 who did not kneel- with those soldiers who understand that it is only permissible to kneel before God. God offers David a choice of punishments for having conducted the census (which god himself ordered in the first place): 1) seven years of famine, 2) three months fleeing from enemies, or 3) three days of pestilence. God did not command David to take a census, rather David's pride in the blessing God had given him, i.e. 1 Chronicles 21 New Living Translation (NLT) David Takes a Census. In 2 Chronicles 2:17-18, Solomon took a census of the foreigners in the land for the purpose of distributing laborers. New Testament scholar Dr. Harold W. Hoehner has summarized some of the top challenges faced by those who hold to the historical accuracy of Luke’s account. Why does God need the people to be counted so often? Probably because David was supposed to rely on God to protect Israel, not his own resources. Fourteen times in that one chapter God repeats the instruction to number the men who were able to “go to war”—even though He had just recently confirmed His promise to fight on their behalf. The pestilence was thus halted. 2 Samuel 24:3,10ff.). Before addressing the question, it’s worth quoting the relevant texts. Friends, Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because it was God's will for Jesus to be born there. David commanded a census because the Lord ultimately planned that he do so, but Satan was used as the secondary cause to incite David. So, putting it in a nutshell, Israel was facing punishment from God and Satan was the means of this punishment by tempting David to take an illegal census; David … God was angry at Israel so he incited David to take a census 2. This was accomplished by an "angel who was afflicting the people" 5. David decides to take a census of the fighting men 3. 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