A Senseless Census
II Samuel 24
May 20, 2001

            Quote U.S. News and World Report March 19, 2001 on recent scholars opinions of David. 

            David had his problems, indeed, but the frankness of Scripture does not cover his faults.  In the words of one of our members who passed along this article, "I'd rather have dinner with David or David's son than the 'scholar' in this article" (Laura Wunderink).

            What was the problem that required such penalty?

-         Josephus - David had neglected to pay the per capita atonement money required whenever a census was taken.

-         David's motivation for the census was self-sufficing

-         Census was preparation for additional military conquests (and may have been outside God's will)

-         David may have wanted to know the likely military capability for the future

Bottom line:  none of these are totally adequate; the text doesn't tell us what was wrong.  Remember that this book was not for a careful history chronicling the life of David, but rather theology set in narrative that we might learn more of God's nature and ways. 

 

I. The Mystery of Wrath v. 1-9

            How did God's anger incite David?  Why did God's anger incite David?  Can David be held guilty for something God incited?  I Chronicles 21:1, a parallel text, says "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel."  We might say, maybe God permitted Satan.  But the fact is, "we cannot use Satan to avoid God" (Davis 260). 

            "It is also true, according to the Hebrew thinking, that whatever God permits he commits.  By allowing this census-taking, God is viewed as having brought about the act.  The Hebrews were not very concerned with determining secondary causes and properly attributing them to the exact cause.  Under the divine providence everything ultimately was attributed to him; why not say he did it in the first place?" (Walter Kaiser in Davis 261).

            The issue seems to be that God was angry with Israel due to some particular sin or sins and He plans to use David "as the vehicle of his wrath upon Israel" (Davis 260).  But even with this explanation, the text is silent.  We are left with a mystery in the text.  We must make a somewhat distressing confession:  God does not answer to us; He is not obligated to explain Himself.

-         God is righteous, always

-         God's ways and thoughts are not ours

-         God cannot be fully comprehended by finite minds

-         God leaves many things to the realm of the mysterious that we might worship Him in awe and wonder.

 

II. The Warmth of Mercy v. 10-19

            David shuns Joab's warning, yet once the census is completed he is under conviction.

-         Acknowledges his sin specifically

-         Asks forgiveness

-         Admits foolishness (repentance suggested)

God delivers the divine judgment, a choice (note mercy in the choice) v. 14.  Davis calls it "wrath wrapped in mercy" (264).  "In his crises his theology seems to come out almost by reflex action" (Davis 264).  David knows his God. 

Illustration: 

            "Not long ago newspapers told of an episode at the Brookfield (Illinois) Zoo.  A three-year-old toddler fell eighteen feet into an area inhabited by seven gorillas.  The lad would still be alert when taken to a hospital where he would be listed in critical condition.  But how did he ever get out of gorilla-land?  Binti, a seven-year-old female gorilla, picked up the child, cradled him in her arms, and put him down near a door where zookeepers could get him.  I suppose the story seems amazing to us because we do not customarily associate gorillas with kindness.  We may be grateful to Binti but would prefer not to trust her with another child. 

            I wonder if in our gut-level thinking we don't have a gorilla view of God's mercies?  We tend to look upon mercy as a divine exception rather than as the divine character.  Not so David.  Even in his wrath David knew he was not facing a gorilla-God" (Davis 264).

 

III. The Necessity of Atonement v. 20-25

-         Mercy restrains wrath v. 16

-         The sacrifice is commanded to satisfy wrath v. 18

Wrath was restrained but it had to be satisfied - propitiated:

o       A crisis and urgency

o       A costliness

o       A satisfaction v. 2-5

See the cross where mercy restrained wrath and then was satisfied.

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