The twenty-fourth chapter of second Samuel begins by stating
that “The Lord’s anger again raged against Israel, and He incited David against
them, saying, ‘Go count Israel and Judah.’” (24:1) So David gives an
order to his general, Joab, telling him to “Go through all the tribes of Israel
from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army”
(24:2b). Now, this is not precisely what David had been commanded to do,
which is somewhat telling when it comes to an overall analysis of David’s
character, which was seriously flawed. Yes, David, as the Apostle Paul
would say, “served God’s purpose in his own generation” (Acts 13:36a), but this
statement is removed quite a distance from the initial report of David before
he was anointed to be king, in which Paul presents David as “a man after My
(God’s) heart” (13:22). With this, Paul borrows from the first book of
Samuel, where we read about the Lord having sought out, what is perhaps a
better translation, “a man who is loyal to Him” (13:14b).
God instructed David to number Israel and Judah. In
and of itself, this is not a problem. God has no problem with a census of
His people. In fact, in His law as given through Moses, the Lord gave
instructions as to how it was that the census was to be carried out, and what
it was that must occur along with the census. In fact, the book of
Numbers, for the most part, is itself a census. However, we know that the
Lord’s anger was raging against Israel, which is an indication that there was a
problem with which God intended to deal. It seems as if God knew that
David would not follow the directive that had been given, which might very well
be the implication of the author’s record of inciting David against
Israel. Rather than direct a numbering of the whole of the people, David
instead asks for a numbering of the army.
It seems that Joab better understood the Lord’s command than
did David, as he replies to the order that has been given, saying “May the Lord
your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord
the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?” (24:3)
It is worth repeating that the Lord wanted His people numbered, whereas David
asked for a numbering of his army. By all appearances here, Joab is
aghast at the king’s command. However, “the king’s edict stood, despite
the objections of Joab and the leaders of the army” (24:4a). So not only
did Joab have a grasp of what it was that the Lord wanted, but so too did the
leaders of the army, who were likely influenced by Joab to offer their
objections to the king. Ultimately, the record indicates that “Joab and
the leaders of the army left the king’s presence in order to muster the
Israelite army” (24:4b), so that David, as he said, could know its size.
After a period of time, “Joab reported the number of warriors to the king”
(24:9a). The given report stated that “In Israel there were 800,000
sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers”
(24:9b).
David’s response to the report of more than a million
soldiers at his disposal is not what one might expect. Rather than
exulting in the power that such a count represented, “David felt guilty after
he had numbered the army” (24:10a). Why would David feel guilty? Was
it because numbering the people was wrong? Not at all. Rather,
David felt guilty because he commanded something to be done that was not what
the Lord commanded him to do, which also served to give him an insight into his
own mindset. As a result, “David said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly
by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for
I have acted very foolishly.’” (24:10b) What was David’s sin?
Naturally, we can easily make the case that it was disobedience. God
asked for one thing, and David did something different. This is not
difficult to ascertain. However, there was something more substantial
than disobedience. It was the same problem that we saw with Saul and the
situation with the Amalekites.
God, through Samuel, had given specific instruction to Saul
as to how he was to deal with the Amalekites. Saul only partially carried
out the Lord’s command. This resulted in Saul being rejected by God as
king over His people. So in David’s actions, we see hints of the same
thing. Saul was given a specific instruction, as was David. Saul
followed the instruction to an extent, as did David. Saul is rejected as
king, and David, knowing this story of Saul and perhaps coming to his senses a
bit, feels guilty, offering his plea to the Lord for the removal of
guilt. He did not want to be rejected as king (which would be the second
time if this occurs after the Absalom situation), and he did not want to be
overtaken by the same fate as that which was experienced by Saul. In
connection with what brought about his downfall, Saul was said to have been
setting up a monument for himself (1 Samuel 15:12). In our exploration of
Saul’s life in the course of this study, we determined that this was the
beginning of idolatry for Saul. This idolatry is what would result in
Saul being exiled from the throne of Israel, as Saul began to operate outside
of God’s purposes for him, though he would remain king until his death.
His idolatry led to exile.
So what was David’s sin---his great sin, as he said?
Of what was he guilty? Into what had he entered which he now regarded as
foolishness? What did the numbering of the army rather than the people
represent? Plainly and simply, it was idolatry. His army, which
represented his power and his kingdom, had become his idol. It seems as
though Joab and the leaders of the army had a sense of this, but that David was
blinded to this fact. The fact of his own idolatry appears to have dawned
upon him when he received Joab’s count. As we understand this about
David, we are now better positioned to understand what it was that caused the
Lord’s anger to rage against Israel.
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