taking a census
It never ceases to amaze me how God still uses words written centuries ago to record the history of a nation to convict me. Over and over again He does it!
In 1 Chronicles 21, after reading about the victories of David against the surrounding nations, we find him back at home where he figures that doing some housekeeping seems to be in order.
“Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” But Joab said, “May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord’s servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” But the king’s word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem. And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. ”
Here and now in the US, we take a census every 10 years. It seems completely benign to us. But God lets us know before we even get into the story, that this is no small thing. Satan stood against Israel. It was Satan who was tired of their victories. And it was Satan who incited David to number Israel. So David asked Joab, his nephew and commander of the military, to count everybody in Israel so that he could know their number. And I get this. I’m a counter. I count to 8 countless times a day. I count how many meatballs I make as I add them to the crockpot. I count the steps to the top of the house. I count how many cookies go in each bag for school lunches. I’ve counted 55 goldfish crackers into a measuring cup to find out that they fill roughly one cup. I know.
Count von Count with my favorite number
Joab responds wisely. He sees right through this whole census business and advises David against it. But David is king over Israel and so the census is completed and a report is made back to David about the numbers of Israel.
“But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.””
God was displeased and like a child caught doing wrong, David recognizes that he messed up. He confesses. He begs forgiveness. He sees his foolishness. Throughout the Old Testament there are several instances of recording the number of Israelites. So what was so wrong about David’s census?
If you recall, in the chapters prior to this one, God had delivered victories over the Philistine giants, over the Ammonites, over the Moabites, the Syrians, and a list of other nations (see 1 Chronicles 18). David was getting on in years by this point. In fact, this chapter is a turning point in 1 Chronicles. Prior to chapter 21 David is still fighting battles. He doesn't always go out to war, but scripture shows that he is still involved at this point. After chapter 21, we will find David making preparations for the future. He will instruct his son, Solomon. He will prepare for the temple to be built, organize the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the army, and still others. Perhaps David was facing his own mortality in chapter 21; we don’t know, but his defenses were down and Satan, ever prowling, was quick to pounce.
Regardless of what might have been going on in David’s head, we can see what happens in his heart. He just doesn’t know if he can really trust God. I can relate to this too. Can I trust God with a wayward child? Can I trust Him to provide? Can He handle what I can’t? Can I trust that He can change my own sinful heart? In taking the census, David reveals that he wants the surety of the numbers. He wants to know that Israel can hold their own…even without God. I believe that this is why David’s census was such an affront to God. David essentially put his trust in the number of the army instead of the living God. I’m guilty of the same. Maybe we all are. It got me thinking of the many things that I put my trust in, while completely losing sight of God’s faithfulness. Parenting books, other people, the church, the car, technology, calendars, organization systems, my own grit and fortitude, bridges, roadways, airplanes, lifeguards, I’m sure the list could go on forever. But my God does go on forever. He is unchanging, faithful to the end. I can trust in Him for all of my needs. He alone is able to give victory. He alone is able to heal. He alone is able to save.
“So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.””
To my human eyes, the punishment seems harsh. And it is a hard punishment. It needed to be because God is a jealous God. He doesn’t share his throne. You can’t split your trust between God and…anything. He is jealous for us because He knows that only He can meet our need. He is the only way to victory, the only way to salvation. And even in His chastisement of David, there is such grace. Do you see it? He gives David three choices. Three years of famine. Three months of devastation as the sword of his enemies overtook him. Three days of the sword of the Lord. We see David accept the Lord’s redemption in his response. David decides to trust the Lord because of His great mercy. He trusts the Lord instead of nature. He trusts the Lord over man. He trust the faithfulness of his God.
Many years later David’s heir would choose to trust His Father and take the punishment for all mankind. For three days, he was in the grave before rising victorious over death. This is the Jesus we can trust. We can trust His Father. He loves us more than we can ever fathom.
