David’s Census and the Matter of Trusting in a Merciful God
“Let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man” (1 Chron. 21:13).1
I have been meditating upon the census of David mentioned in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21, which incurred divine wrath upon the nation of Israel. Satan was instrumental in delivering the temptation (1 Chron. 21:1), but God was superintending the course of events to address a fault in the king (2 Sam. 24:14). David yielded to his own sinful inclinations, and reached out to grab at the Devil’s sinful enticement. Satan’s goal was to destroy David, but God’s desire was to sanctify David, and lead the king towards a true evaluation of things.
When David orders the census, we already know something is off, particularly with the response of Joab, the commander-in-chief of Israel’s army, “May the LORD add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” (1 Chron. 21:3; cf. 2 Sam. 24:3). Joab was abhorred about the whole deal and never finished the task (2 Chron. 21:6).
Nothing was wrong with taking a census per se; however, the motives underlying David census edict were impure. Martin J. Selman in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, indicates,
God was displeased with David (1 Chron. 21:7), and David even to realize the of his own way. This prompted him to pray “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly” (1 Chron. 21:8).
Forgiveness was received, but there were consequences to the sin. God spoke through the prophet God and David was given the option of either a season of famine, a period of military defeats against his enemies, or the angel of the Lord bringing several days of pestilence upon the land (1 Chron. 21:11-12; cf. 2 Sam. 24:12-14). The way the king would respond to the options would serve to bring to the surface what he trusted him. Did he really trust in the hand of God? Did he place his trust in something else? David’s response was to trust in an ever merciful God. He says, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man” (1 Chron. 21:13). Keil and Franz Delitzsch note,
Life in a sinful and fallen world is full of all sorts of troubles. We can never make it on our own. We have to trust in something to make it through this life to the next. Well placed trust is always in the mercy of God. Misplaced trust is always in the might of men.
Some of us think placing trust in a politician will save the day, or at least be the lesser of two evils. Whether one places trust in the one the left or on the right that logic train ultimately fails. It probably a like “when a man flees from a lion | And a bear meets him,| Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall | And a snake bites him” (Amos 5:19). Others might think a noble path is to cast a vote for neither the party on the left or the part on the right, but even that person has to come to the realization that the two bad options are out there, and it is more likely that one or the other bad options is going to get released to wreak havoc on the common good than the choice for the one who will serve the common good. We can still carry out our civic duties and vote according to our conscious; however, at the end of the day know this: Our best bet of making it through the day is in placing our trust in a merciful God. This is always true in in every season, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Jeremiah prophesied, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD” (Jer. 9:23-24). Moreover, Christ speaks to us today, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
—WGN
________________
Notes:
1. All Scripture cited from New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), unless noted.
2. Martin J. Selman, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: 1 Chronicles (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 204, 205.
3. Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 709.
I have been meditating upon the census of David mentioned in 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21, which incurred divine wrath upon the nation of Israel. Satan was instrumental in delivering the temptation (1 Chron. 21:1), but God was superintending the course of events to address a fault in the king (2 Sam. 24:14). David yielded to his own sinful inclinations, and reached out to grab at the Devil’s sinful enticement. Satan’s goal was to destroy David, but God’s desire was to sanctify David, and lead the king towards a true evaluation of things.
When David orders the census, we already know something is off, particularly with the response of Joab, the commander-in-chief of Israel’s army, “May the LORD add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why does my lord seek this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt to Israel?” (1 Chron. 21:3; cf. 2 Sam. 24:3). Joab was abhorred about the whole deal and never finished the task (2 Chron. 21:6).
Nothing was wrong with taking a census per se; however, the motives underlying David census edict were impure. Martin J. Selman in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, indicates,
Censuses in the Old Testament were not in themselves objectionable to God, and were carried out a number of times — for military purposes (Nu. 1:3, 45; 26:2), for sanctuary taxation (Ex. 30:11-16; 38:25-28; Nu.3:40-41), for populating the land (Nu. 26:52-55; Ne. 7:4-5), for organizing the Levities (Nu. 3:14-19; 1 Ch. 23:2ff.), and for building the temple (2 Ch. 2:17-18)….
…though the context of David’s action was a military one, he seems to have forgotten that the people were not his but God’s. His self-centered motive expressed itself in one or more of the following errors: (i) he did not raise the half-shekel poll tax mentioned in the Mosaic law, an omission which might result in a plague (Ex. 30:12); (ii) he failed to recognize that God’s people could not ultimately be numbered because of the nature of God’s promise (v. 3; 27:23-24); (iii) whereas all other Old Testament censuses anticipated a particular God-given purpose, this one seems to have been an end in itself. Even Joab recognized that God might yet multiply his troops a hundred times (v. 3), and Solomon also accepted that Israel could not be counted because they were the Lord’s people (1 Ki. 3:8) (emphasis in the original). 2
God was displeased with David (1 Chron. 21:7), and David even to realize the of his own way. This prompted him to pray “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly” (1 Chron. 21:8).
Forgiveness was received, but there were consequences to the sin. God spoke through the prophet God and David was given the option of either a season of famine, a period of military defeats against his enemies, or the angel of the Lord bringing several days of pestilence upon the land (1 Chron. 21:11-12; cf. 2 Sam. 24:12-14). The way the king would respond to the options would serve to bring to the surface what he trusted him. Did he really trust in the hand of God? Did he place his trust in something else? David’s response was to trust in an ever merciful God. He says, “I am in great distress; please let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great. But do not let me fall into the hand of man” (1 Chron. 21:13). Keil and Franz Delitzsch note,
David chose the third judgment, since pestilence comes directly from God. On the other hand, in flight from the enemy, he would have fallen into the hands of men. It is not easy to see, however, how far this could apply to famine; probably inasmuch as it tends more or less to create dependence upon those who are still in possession of the means of life.3Trust in the might of men was something David wanted to forsake. He did not want to be dependent upon sinful people, who can be quite fickle and misplaced trust simply exacerbates the problems any person will face in this sinful and fallen world. David wanted to depend upon the hand of a merciful God. David intercedes on behalf of his subjects for the angel of the Lord to spare them and punish him alone (1 Chron. 21:11-17; cf. 2 Sam. 24:15-17). Although men perished from the wrath of God, mercy was extended to the greater number of people living in Jerusalem. God answered the king’s prayer for mercy. David then followed Lord’s instructions to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan (Araunah) so that the people would be spared from the plague. David even gave of his own wealth to acquire the property to be made into a place for worshipping Yahweh (1 Chron. 21:18-30; cf. 2 Kings 24:18-25).
Life in a sinful and fallen world is full of all sorts of troubles. We can never make it on our own. We have to trust in something to make it through this life to the next. Well placed trust is always in the mercy of God. Misplaced trust is always in the might of men.
Some of us think placing trust in a politician will save the day, or at least be the lesser of two evils. Whether one places trust in the one the left or on the right that logic train ultimately fails. It probably a like “when a man flees from a lion | And a bear meets him,| Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall | And a snake bites him” (Amos 5:19). Others might think a noble path is to cast a vote for neither the party on the left or the part on the right, but even that person has to come to the realization that the two bad options are out there, and it is more likely that one or the other bad options is going to get released to wreak havoc on the common good than the choice for the one who will serve the common good. We can still carry out our civic duties and vote according to our conscious; however, at the end of the day know this: Our best bet of making it through the day is in placing our trust in a merciful God. This is always true in in every season, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Jeremiah prophesied, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,’ declares the LORD” (Jer. 9:23-24). Moreover, Christ speaks to us today, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9).
—WGN
Notes:
1. All Scripture cited from New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), unless noted.
2. Martin J. Selman, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries: 1 Chronicles (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994), 204, 205.
3. Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch, Commentary on the Old Testament, vol. 2 (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 709.
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