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2 Samuel 21:1
Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered,It is for Saul, and forhis bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

1 Chronicles 21:1
And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

James 1:13,14
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: …

moved

2 Samuel 12:11
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and givethem unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.

2 Samuel 16:10
And the king said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? so let him curse, because the LORD hath said unto him, Curse David. Who shall then say, Wherefore hast thou done so?

Genesis 45:5
Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.

Go, number

1 Chronicles 27:23,24
But David took not the number of them from twenty years old and under: because the LORD had said he would increase Israel like to the stars of the heavens…

and He stirred up David against them
This phrase suggests divine sovereignty and the mysterious interplay between God's will and human actions. The stirring up of David can be seen as God allowing or using David's decision to fulfill a larger purpose. In1 Chronicles 21:1, a parallel account attributes the incitement to Satan, highlighting the complexity of understanding divine and demonic influences. This dual attribution underscores the biblical theme that God can use even the actions of adversaries to accomplish His purposes (Genesis 50:20).

saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
The command to take a census is significant in the biblical context. Censuses were typically conducted for military or taxation purposes (Numbers 1:2-3). However, this particular census is viewed negatively, as it reflects a reliance on human strength and numbers rather than trust in God's provision and protection. The act of counting the people can be seen as an expression of pride or self-reliance, which is contrary to the faith and dependence on God that is expected of Israel's leaders. This event foreshadows the consequences of David's actions, leading to a plague as a form of divine judgment (2 Samuel 24:15). The census also serves as a type of Christ, as it points to the need for a true shepherd who trusts fully in God and leads His people in righteousness.

• The word signals that Israel has provoked the LORD before (Judges 2:11-15;2 Samuel 21:1).

• God’s dealings with His covenant people are ongoing; mercy and discipline cycle according to their faithfulness (Psalm 103:8-10).

• The anger is righteous, personal, and purposeful, never capricious (Deuteronomy 32:4;Psalm 7:11).

• Israel’s unnamed sin was corporate, inviting national discipline, just as earlier rebellions did (Numbers 11:1;2 Kings 24:3-4).

• Divine wrath underscores covenant responsibility—privilege brings accountability (Amos 3:2).

• God remains sovereign over kings (Proverbs 21:1;Daniel 4:35).

•1 Chronicles 21:1 notes Satan’s involvement; the two texts complement each other—God permits what the adversary instigates, using even evil intent for His holy purposes (Genesis 50:20;Job 1:12).

• David’s heart is tested; leadership decisions can either shelter or expose a nation (2 Samuel 12:13-14).

• The command comes through providence, not audible speech, yet it bears divine authority (1 Kings 12:15).

• The inner impulse felt legitimate to David, reminding us to weigh every leading against revealed truth (Psalm 119:105;Proverbs 3:5-6).

• A census in itself was permissible but required atonement money to avert plague (Exodus 30:11-16). David proceeds without that safeguard (24:15).

• Motivation matters: pride in military strength replaces trust in the LORD (Psalm 20:7;Jeremiah 9:23-24).

• God’s directive exposes this misplaced confidence, positioning the nation for repentance (2 Samuel 24:10).

God’s burning anger over Israel’s hidden sin moves Him to permit David’s prideful census, demonstrating that He sovereignly employs even flawed leaders to discipline His people. The verse teaches that divine wrath is just, human motives are weighed, and national security rests not in numbers but in humble dependence on the LORD (Psalm 33:16-22).

He moved.--The pronoun here stands for "the Lord," yet in1Chronicles 21:1, the temptation is attributed to Satan, and Satan is clearly meant of the devil, and not simply of "an adversary." This is a striking instance of attributing directly to God whatever comes about under His permission. And yet it is more than that. God has established immutable spiritual as well as material laws, or rather those laws themselves are but the expression of His unchanging will. Whatever comes about under the operation of those laws is said to be His doing. Now David's numbering the people was the natural consequence of the condition of worldliness and pride into which he had allowed himself to fall. God then moved him, because He had from the first so ordered the laws of the spirit that such a sinful act should be the natural outcome of such a sinful state. Of other interpretations: that which makes the verb impersonal--"one moved"--is hardly tenable grammatically; and that which makes the nominative a sort of compound word--"the wrath of the Lord" (as in some of the ancient versions)--leads to substantially the same explanation as that given above.

The word "number" in this verse is a different one from that used in the rest of the chapter, and means simply tocount,while the other conveys the idea of a military muster.

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