God vs. King David and his Census

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lpetrich
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Joined: Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:20 am

God vs. King David and his Census

Post by lpetrich »

2 Samuel 24 contains something very bizarre.

Got was angry at Israel again, and he made King David order a census of military-age men, to see how big an army he could have. His general Joab found it an odd request, but he went and did it. Then David felt guilty and asked his seer Gad about it. Gad told him that God has given him a choice of
  • 7 years of famine
  • 3 months of being chased by some enemy
  • 3 days of plague
David chose the plague.

1 Chronicles 21 repeats this account, but with Satan instead of God getting David to order that census and the famine being trimmed down to 3 years.


That seems remarkably dickish and unjustified. Setting aside the question of whether David was really at fault in either version, there is no hint as to God's objection to David's census. A census of military-age men could be good for planning a military adventure, and God may not have wanted David to go on one, at least at that time, but the account does not state that.


Here's a speculation. David takes such a census, and then a plague happens. Someone decides that it is not a coincidence, and that God must have been displeased with David's census-taking.
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