2 Samuel 24:1-4 - Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”  So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”

But Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”  The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders…

This census was one of David’s two greatest sins. The story is also recorded in 1 Chronicles 21, which says God incited David by allowing the Enemy to tempt him to do this. This sin of counting the “sheep” of Israel (see 2 Samuel 24:17) brought a terrible judgment from the Lord. 70,000 people died from a plague throughout the country, within three days’ time! We often compare the Work of the Holy Spirit to the “work of David,” so it is important to see the application of this problem in David’s life to our churches today.

continue