Why did God incite David to take a census (2 Samuel 24)?

[Epistemes]

Yet again I am troubled by a passage from the OT.

In 2 Samuel 24, specifically verse 1 and its consequence in verses 10-16, we read about how God incited David “against the Israelites by prompting him to number Israel and Judah” yet after David does this sinful act (and why it is sinful, I don’t know) God delivers a pestilence killing 70,000 people – yet David, who is the sinner, remains untouched (yet again).

This passage presents a horribly complex theological problem. First, why does God incite David to sin? 1 Chronicles 21 revises this story attributing the incitement to Satan, thereby reflecting a changed theological outlook of post-exilic Israel, suggesting that the Israelites once deemed God to be the author of good and evil, but this presents a whole host of further problems, not the least of which affects biblical inspiration. If God is the author of all Scripture, then why such a blatant abrogation? Many Jewish and Christian commentators have taken it upon themselves to superimpose 1 Chronicles 21:1 on top of 2 Samuel 24:1, suggesting that the subject “he” to the verb “incited” refers to Satan, not God; however, not only is this notion grammatically untenable since the common reader will never infer that Satan is the subject of the verb, but 1 Chronicles 21:1 will not always be read immediately after reading the account in 2 Samuel (or at all), therefore I am forced to ask why God would allow such a slander against his name remain in print?

Secondly, why is the census considered so wrongfully sinful?
I echo with Matthew Henry: What harm was there in it? Did not Moses twice number the people without any crime? Does not political arithmetic come in among the other policies of a prince? Should not the shepherd know the number of his sheep? … It is certain that it was a sin, and a great sin; but where the evil of it lay is not so certain.

In my opinion, if God’s anger flared against Israel and Judah, and for good reason, then why not just say it was for such and such a reason (most likely idolatry) rather than inciting David to commit a sin, for which he personally is never punished?

 

[PeteVZ]

While I can’t offer an answer to your first question, I do have an opinion on the second.

According to the footnote in the NAB, “The narrative supposes that since the people belonged to the Lord rather than to the king, only the Lord should know their exact number.”

By calling for a Census, David was being prideful. He was saying “look at how many people I am king of” He wasn’t doing the Census to give glory to God, but to himself.

 

[tobinatorstark]

Here is the the verse from the Haydock Bible Commentary. Maybe you’ll get some insight from this

Ver. 1. Stirred up, &c. This stirring up, was not the doing of God, but of satan; as it is expressly declared, 1 Chronicles xxi. 1. (Challoner) — David was moved by vanity, &c., thus to displease God. — Among. Hebrew, “against;” as the king could have done nothing more prejudicial to his people, 70,000 of whom perished on this occasion, ver. 15. (Haydock) — We might also translate, “The anger of the Lord continued against Israel: for David, for their misfortune, was moved to say, Go,” &c., as this would obviate the harshness of the expression. (Calmet) — However, as it is the same in the Septuagint, &c., and as similar words do not prove that God is the author of sin, we may explain this in the same sense, allowing that he suffered the evil to take place, knowing how to draw good out of it. (St. Augustine, &c.) (Haydock) — Some take this Satan to be an evil counsellor. (Calmet) — The devil may be styled “the fury of God?” as he is his creature, though rebellious. (Worthington)

 

[Epistemes]

Here is the the verse from the Haydock Bible Commentary. Maybe you’ll get some insight from this

Ver. 1. Stirred up, &c. This stirring up, was not the doing of God, but of satan; as it is expressly declared, 1 Chronicles xxi. 1. (Challoner) — David was moved by vanity, &c., thus to displease God. — Among. Hebrew, “against;” as the king could have done nothing more prejudicial to his people, 70,000 of whom perished on this occasion, ver. 15. (Haydock) — We might also translate, “The anger of the Lord continued against Israel: for David, for their misfortune, was moved to say, Go,” &c., as this would obviate the harshness of the expression. (Calmet) — However, as it is the same in the Septuagint, &c., and as similar words do not prove that God is the author of sin, we may explain this in the same sense, allowing that he suffered the evil to take place, knowing how to draw good out of it. (St. Augustine, &c.) (Haydock) — Some take this Satan to be an evil counsellor. (Calmet) — The devil may be styled “the fury of God?” as he is his creature, though rebellious. (Worthington)

Again, as I stated, most commentators attempt to bridge the disparity by referencing the abrogation which the Israelites themselves made in 1 Chronicles 21. 2 Samuel 24 reads quite clearly that it is God who incited David to perform the census and ultimately sin.

Let’s look at it this way: just about every commentary I have read immediately and correctly infers that 2 Samuel 24 grammatically reads that God incited David to sin, but then reason and theological precepts kick in, reaffirm a common belief that God does not incite us to sin, and this is when the general conundrum presents itself, which can apparently only be explained by rationalizing that the subject “he” somehow does not pertain to God, but Satan, who is mentioned in a parallel verse in a different book which was written in a different decade or century.

I’m sorry, but it doesn’t add up for me.

 

[andrew_kayser]

Hi
The answer is relatively simple.
As in all the bible we have to understand what is written in terms of the understanding the people of that time would.
God had laid out specific rules for taking a census, and David had done it differently.The result was a contagious plague spread from one group to the next as the census collectors went from family to family- we can understand this today, but back then an explanation of viruses would be too much. God gave many rules about cleanliness etc. as well for hygeine, without giving the reasons( it takes a long time for an educational regime we have today.)
So Davids sin was not in actually doing a census, but in not doing it Gods way.
The so-called punishment was written for the people then, in terms they could understand–today we know it is a natural cosequence of unhygeinic practises, and so for them both Chronicles and Samuel would mean the same thing.
David knew it was wrong, and repented, but it was his fault the people died–God very rarely intercedes in the natural course of events,He gave us free will,
but always warns us beforehand by giving us laws on how to act–going against them will always have consequences.What David did wrong we continuously emulate today–with even more serious consequences.
All the best—Andrew