“And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel . . . And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.”
— 1 Chronicles 21: 1, 7
Satan always has been against Israel because they are God’s covenant people and because from them came the Scriptures (Romans 3: 2) and the Messiah.
(Luke 3: 23-38) Satan would like to annihilate Israel, and there are many people with such a hatred for Israel they would be willing instruments for such a purpose. Antisemitism will be around until the end of Christ’s millennial reign.
Satan is said to be the one that provoked David to number Israel. In 2 Samuel 24: 1, it is written that the Lord “moved David” to number Israel.
God did not tempt David to commit this sin of numbering Israel. James says:
“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God ... but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
— James 1: 13-15
God’s only involvement was He allowed Satan to tempt David. God isn’t the author of evil, but He permits and limits and controls it to serve His appointed ends.
“Provoke” means to be pricked, to stimulate, seduce, entice, move, persuade, stir up, instigate, and incite. A temptation is a provocation to do evil.
God wasn’t involved in the provocation that moved David to number Israel, but He allowed it knowing it would serve His divine purpose.
This provocation from Satan was a temptation for David to do something that was against God’s will.
In this provocation Satan did not usurp David’s will, but prodded and influenced his will until David yielded his will to the temptation and sinned. That is how Satan works with every one of us.
Neither God nor Satan usurp our will. If they did, then we no longer have a free will and are not the ones making our choices and should not suffer the consequences nor be held accountable for them when we’re judged.
But God and Satan influence our choices. That’s why as a Christian we should stay away from bad influences and seek good influences. The Psalmist said:
“I am a companion (friend) of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts.”
— Psalms 119: 63
At this time of his reign, David was a very powerful king and also was very proud. And he wanted to know the number of his people and the number of fighting men he had. David told a reluctant that David was committing a trespass to conduct this census.
This census was a sin first of all because there was no ransom money taken with the census. According to Exodus 30: 12-13, when a census was taken in Israel every individual had to pay half a shekel.
The second reason it was sin was David did it out of the pride of his own heart for his own glory. He forgot that God helps those that are right with Him whether their strength is great or small. Like Satan, it was pride that got David in trouble.
When judgment from God falls on Israel, David confesses he’s personally responsible for his sinful choice and should be held accountable himself and not all Israel of which 70,000. We see that our sins do affect others.
David doesn’t say, “The devil made me do it” because the devil cannot make us do anything against our will. But if our will is not submissive to God and always eager to fulfill His will, Satan will use all manner of things to influence us to disobey God.
James H. Cagle is a Ray City resident who pastored several churches for a total of 11 years. Email him at pastorjameshcagle@ yahoo.com
