2 Samuel 24:1-9: a reflection

1Again the LORD’s anger burned against Israel, and he moved David against them, saying, “Go, count Israel and Judah.” 2The king said to Joab the captain of the army, who was with him, “Now go back and forth through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan even to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the sum of the people.” 3Joab said to the king, “Now may the LORD your God add to the people, however many they may be, one hundred times; and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” 4Notwithstanding, the king’s word prevailed against Joab and against the captains of the army. Joab and the captains of the army went out from the presence of the king to count the people of Israel. 5They passed over the Jordan and encamped in Aroer, on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad, and to Jazer; 6then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; and they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon, 7and came to the stronghold of Tyre, and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites; and they went out to the south of Judah, at Beersheba. 8So when they had gone back and forth through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. 9Joab gave up the sum of the counting of the people to the king; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men.

David, established and secure, gives an order that troubles even his hardened general Joab: to number the people, to count all the fighting men of Israel and Judah. Joab objects, sensing that something is wrong, asking why the king delights in this thing; but David's word prevails, and the census is taken. The desire to number the people sprang, it seems, from a wish to measure his own strength, to take pride in the size of his forces, to trust in his numbers rather than in God. And it brought trouble, for it was a turning from trust in God to trust in his own resources.

Notice what lay behind David's census: a turning toward trust in his own strength and numbers. David wanted to know the sum of his fighting men, to measure the strength at his command; and in this there was a subtle shifting of trust, from God, who had given him every victory, to his own resources, his numbers, his might. Joab sensed something amiss in it. The census was not a neutral counting; it sprang from a desire to trust in and take pride in his own strength, rather than in God. It was a turning from dependence on God toward confidence in his own numbers.

That temptation is worth taking to heart, for we too can be tempted to trust in our own resources and strength rather than in God. We can want to measure and count our own resources, our strengths, our securities, and to rest our confidence in them, our numbers, our savings, our abilities, rather than in God; and in this there is a subtle turning from trust in God to trust in ourselves, as in David's census. Do not rest your confidence in your own resources and strength, your numbers and securities, rather than in God; that is the turning David's census sprang from, and it brought trouble. Beware the desire to trust in your own strength rather than God, counting your resources as your security; let your trust rest in God, who gives every good, rather than in your own numbers and might, as David's census sprang from a trust in his own strength that turned him from dependence on the God who had given him every victory.

Lord, David, established and secure, gives an order that troubles even his hardened general Joab: to number the people, to count all the fighting men of Israel and Judah. Joab objects, sensing that something is wrong; but David's word prevails, and the census is taken. The desire to number the people sprang, it seems, from a wish to measure his own strength, to take pride in the size of his forces, to trust in his numbers rather than in you. And it brought trouble, for it was a turning from trust in you to trust in his own resources. Show me what lay behind David's census: a turning toward trust in his own strength and numbers. David wanted to know the sum of his fighting men, to measure the strength at his command; and in this there was a subtle shifting of trust, from you, who had given him every victory, to his own resources. The census was not a neutral counting; it sprang from a desire to trust in and take pride in his own strength, rather than in you. Take that temptation to my heart, for I too can be tempted to trust in my own resources and strength rather than in you. I can want to measure and count my own resources, my strengths, my securities, and to rest my confidence in them, my numbers, my savings, my abilities, rather than in you; and in this there is a subtle turning from trust in you to trust in myself. Keep me from resting my confidence in my own resources and strength rather than in you; that is the turning David's census sprang from. Help me let my trust rest in you, Lord, who gives every good, rather than in my own numbers and might.