Numbers 22:22, 1 Chronicles 21:21

Question:

Why did David number Israel?

Comment:

You must have the citations wrong. Neither passage has anything to do with David numbering the people of Israel. I find the census reported at 2 Samuel 24:1,10; and again at 1 Chronicles 21:1,7.

In 2 Samuel we read that it was the Lord himself who instigated the census, and then punished David for taking it: "Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying 'Go, number Israel and Judah.'" And later: "But David's heart smote him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord 'I have sinned greatly in what I have done." In 1 Chronicles the source is very different: "Satan stood up against Israel, and incited David to number Israel. ... But God was displeased with this thing, and he smote Israel."

These two versions of the story were written more than 500 years apart, and both report that a plague followed the census. The people needed to find a reason for why the plague had happened. They blamed the census. In the first version it's a punishment from God—even though it was God who ordered the numbering in the first place. Five centuries later people were no longer believing that their God was capable of punishing acts, so they attributed it to Satan instead. Either way, it's hard to understand the point—especially when in Numbers, earlier in the history, there were two censuses taken at the instigation of the Lord.

The reason has been debated for centuries. It may, of course, be a complete fabrication—a folktale people told as an explanation for the plague that was ravaging them. But it's recorded in scripture, so we need to dig deeper. I think perhaps the taking of a census—the numbering of the people—meant that David was relying on the size of his army and his kingdom as his source of power, instead of realizing that all power comes from God. And today we still often try to deal with a challenge by counting our resources—how many people are 'with' me, how much money do I have, and so on. The Truth is always that it is the Divine—the Spirit that is our true identity—that is our source in all things.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed