Thoughts on 2 Samuel 24

Today’s reading: 2 Samuel 24; Philippians 1

I really wanted to just write about Philippians 1 this morning because 2 Samuel 24 makes me a little uncomfortable and it would just be easier if I didn’t have to write about it. But if it makes me uncomfortable, then chances are that other people struggle with it as well, and we shouldn’t try to sweep that under the rug. So let’s talk about 2 Samuel 24.

What makes me uncomfortable about this chapter is that the opening paragraph tells us that God invited David to sin so that He could punish Israel. Him wanting to punish Israel for something, sure, I’m fine with that, but how could God actively lead someone to sin?? That is contrary to so much teaching on God in the Bible…

For quick context, for anybody who doesn’t already have it, the Israelites were not supposed to take a census. The reason a king would take a census in the ancient world was to assess their strength and military capacity, but God is supposed to be their strength. Israel is God’s people whom He promised to protect, so He wants them to rely on Him for what He said He would do and not try to lean on their own ability and strength. As such, except for when God expressly called for a census, Israel was not to take a census.

As a side-note here, I love seeing Joab try to stop David. This kind of follows from what I wrote about yesterday, but I tend to see Joab more as a godless killer than anything else. He murders multiple men in cold blood to protect his position as commander and that’s a lot of what we get from him, so that shapes my perspective of who he is and how he operates. But here he makes it clear that he knows his Scriptures. He knows what God has called for from Israel and is willing to stand against the king to fight for God’s Word. It’s honestly really impressive!

But back to the uncomfortable part… If God says it is sinful for them to take a census, then in having David take a census, isn’t God leading him into sin? The more I have thought about this this morning, the more I think that is not what is happening.

If we look a little closer at the text, after the census is complete we are told that David’s heart struck him and he says to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done.” If this was at the command of God, why would David feel this guilt or pray this confession as he does? He doesn’t say, “Why, O God, did you have me do this thing against Israel?” So when it says at the beginning that God incited Him saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah,” I think the rest of the passage forces us to understand that this was not a direct instruction of God. More than that, as we have already seen from Israel’s history, while it was wrong to take a census normally, if God called for it, it was not wrong. So while it definitely sounds like God is leading David to sin in this passage, I think the text itself indicates that that is not what is happening.

So what is going on? My best guess would be that this is more like God strengthening Pharaoh’s heart in the Exodus. God didn’t force Pharaoh to do something he didn’t want to do in refusing to let Israel go, He strengthened his resolve to do what he already wanted to do but was maybe too scared to act on. Maybe David was really wanting to do this, and God strengthened his heart to do what he was already wanting to do himself. In that case it would not be God leading David to sin, but simply giving him the will to carry out what he was, in his heart of hearts, really wanting to do. Maybe God had been restraining David from carrying out this sinful desire, but as Israel sinned against Him, this became an opportunity to bring needed discipline on the people, and so God stopped holding David back, essentially saying, “Go do what you want to do.”

That’s my best guess at it. I think we can say for sure that God did not speak directly to David and command this census be taken, even though the way it is written definitely sounds like that’s what happened at first blush. God does not tempt us or lead us into sin, but that does not mean He always has to protect us from our own sinful desires, and I think pulling back from David here and letting him do what he truly desired to do, is probably what is happening.