“And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know the number of the people. And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth my lord the king delight in this thing? Notwithstanding the king’s word prevailed against Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the captains of the host went out from the presence of the king, to number the people of Israel. And they passed over Jordan, and pitched in Aroer, on the right side of the city that lieth in the midst of the river of Gad, and toward Jazer: Then they came to Gilead, and to the land of Tahtimhodshi; and they came to Danjaan, and about to Zidon, And came to the strong hold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites, and of the Canaanites: and they went out to the south of Judah, even to Beersheba. So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men” (2 Samuel 24:1-9).
Introduction
In 2 Samuel 22 we find a psalm, which appears to be almost the same as Psalm 18, in which David praises God for delivering out of the hands of his enemies. Chapter 23 begins with a short hymn of praise referred to as David’s last words (:1-7). This is not to be taken literally but symbolic of his thoughts of what an ideal king should be like, and has the ring of a Messianic reign about it. The rest of the chapter contains a list of David’s mighty and valiant men. Chapter 24 describes God’s anger towards Israel and David’s numbering of the people.
The command
This event may have taken place when Israel was in relative peace, which offered David a chance to inspect his forces. No doubt he believed that he was preparing for the future defence of his people when he commanded Joab to go and number the people. He was not too interested in how many people lived in Israel but instead he wanted to build the biggest military force as possible. So in reality this was not a census, it was a conscription list, for the final total contained only those who could wield a weapon. Also the fact that David commands Joab, his military chief, to number the people is added proof for this.
The opening verse reveals that God was angry with the people of Israel, though we are not told exactly what for, but we can rightly assume that is was because of sin and disobedience on their part. “God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalm 7:11). The judgement for this is found in permitting David to take the census. When we read the parallel text in 1 Chronicles 21:1 we are presented with the fact that God allowed Satan to inspire David to make an unwise decision, “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.” We cannot ignore the fact that this temptation would not have taken root in his heart unless there was already pride there. Notice he says, “I want to know how many people we have”, therefore he is at fault and cannot blame it on the devil. As we shall see in the next section, David also delighted himself in this.
The consternation
Joab often comes under fire in Scripture for the brutish way he conducts himself, yet here he reveals true understanding and wisdom. He tried to talk the king out of taking the census, but his protest would fall on deaf ears. If Joab thought that it was evil, then it must have been! He even rebuked David for thinking up and delighting in something as foolish as this, and believed that there was no reason for it if one is living according to God’s word. He boldly asked David, “Why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?” (1 Chronicles 21:3). He knew that nothing good was going to come from this and that judgement was sure to follow. The punishment that followed was because David robbed God of glory, for he was trusting in human might instead of the Lord’s. Had he forgotten what he wrote in Psalm 20:7? “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
Joab could find no way to hinder David from taking this evil course of action. Verse 4 reveals that the other military leaders, maybe at the coaxing of Joab, voiced their opinion against the king’s command. This being the case, we clearly see that David would notice listen to wise counsel but was determined to enforce his desire.
The coercion
David demanded that his wishes be carried out to the letter. If we take a higher view of this we come to the conclusion that he was ordering his men to sin and go against their own conscience. David was commanding them to sin on his behalf. They travelled throughout the length and breadth of the country numbering the able bodied men who were fit for military service. It does seem that even David had some reservations about the census and put a limitation on the age of the person enlisted. “David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens” (1 Chronicles 27:23).
It took almost ten months to complete the census. Joab came back with a number, but in fact it was not true. “Joab the son of Zeruiah began to number, but he finished not, because there fell wrath for it against Israel” (1 Chronicles 27:24). God intervened, as we will see in our next study, with judgement, and, as it turns out, David did not bother to make a record of the number, “Neither was the number put in the account of the chronicles of king David” (1 Chronicles 27:24).
Conclusion
Doing foolish things is never far from any one of us. We refuse to follow the clear instruction of God’s word or follow the advice of others. David went headlong into taking the census, but it would be a waste of time and life.
Living Word Bible Church 