Incited To Sin

This word for Satan in the Old Testament is used both as a verb and a noun. It can refer to the unseen adversary of God, but it can also be used as a noun to describe a human enemy such as in when David cried out because he was the target of attack by his “adversaries.”

Get this…in when Balaam went to curse the sons of Israel, God warned him not to do so, but the prophet persisted and God disciplined him and the Bible reads: “And God’s anger was kindled because he went: and the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an adversary (same word) against him”.

Now when we come to there is no definite article in the Hebrew which leads us to knowing that “an adversary” is the term in mind here. The difference is that for instance in Job the word Satan always has a definite article preceding it, which means that it reads “the adversary” rather than, “an adversary”. (, 2:1-7)

So our literal reading of the first part of this verse is:

“Then an adversary stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel”

Now this opens up the question: “who is the adversary?”

We have three options:

Satan - it could be Satan tempting David in some way, which would lead to the question, “how is numbering Israel a temptation?”

Human - It could be a human adversary. Meaning a human military force could have arisen, leading David to number Israel. We know in our text that he will number the men “who drew the sword”. However given Joab’s response and the fact that there is no military force mentioned, this could be a stretch. As a matter of fact we know from chapter 20 that Joab (while David remained at Jerusalem) had just had great victory over their enemies.

God - of course this leads us to many questions, but I don’t pull this thought out of the blue. There is a parallel passage in that reads:

2 Samuel 24:1 ESV

Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

So to sumarize, your Bibles say in that Satan stood against Isarael and incited David and in it says that the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel and incited David.

Now we need to dig. When we look at these two passages to get clues, the first thing that I notice is that 1 Chronicles begins with “then” and the “then” is following Israels victory in numerous battles and David receving the crown from the defeated.

But when we look at 2 Samuel the verse begins with “again”. This tells us that for a similar cause or reason the anger of the LORD had already been kindled against Isreal before.

So we go on a search…and we come to just a few chapters earlier in :

2 Samuel 21:1 ESV

Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

2 Samuel 21:1

Evidently, at some point during the reign of Saul, Saul had attempted to exterminate the Gibeonites with whom the Israelites had a covenant (). This may be where refers to the Beerothites (one of the cities of the Gibeonites) are referred to as “sojurners to this day”.

The punishment of this shows up during the reign of David, and David after learning that the punishment (famine) was caused by this, he goes to the Gibeonites and seeks restitution. The Gibeonites as for seven of the descendants of Saul to be killed and David grants their request.

Now, the purpose that is given to us for why Saul sought to enilate the Gibeonites is in . It tells us that he sought to strike them down in his ZEAL for the people of Israel and Judah.

2 Samuel 21:2 ESV

So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.

When we think of the word zeal in english we think of having fervour or a desire to advance a cause. And as such when you read that “Saul sought to enilate a people to advance the cause of his own people…the chosen of God” you can wonder, “why does God get so angry?

However in Hebrew (and greek) the word for zeal can have a bad sense, in which the word that we read as zeal is often rendered envy or envious or jealous. The sin of Saul was that he became envious that all belong to him, that all people serve him as king. There is no hint here that Saul is on page with God and the mission of God but rather that Saul wanted all to be his people.

Now when says, “again the anger of the LORD was kindled”, I believe we have to return to why it was kindled in the first place. It was a heart of envy and jealousy. A heart of seeking ones own self intrest and own security over that of God and others.

How does God test this? He incites David in hostility or competition against the people, to number Israel and Judah…to rally his troops so to speak.

What is tempted to David is the same that was tempted to Saul…PRIDE.

David is tempted in looking at his excelence, his glory, his victory, just as Saul was tempted with desire to advance his.

Pride never brings contentment, only more want and envy. Pride never births godliness but rather guides one in a path of destruction.

Now continuing in , it appears that “the LORD” incited David. The word for incite or provoked is used in both 1 Chronicles and 2 Samuel. It means to entice, to urge, mislead, or persuade.

So, pride, want, envy has found David with the LORD’s anger kindled against him and “an advasary” standing against him, creating an urge within him to take some form of action - the action being based upon his pride/envy.

Now I said that the LORD’s anger was kindled against David and “an advasary” stood against him…Why?

Let me read from the NASB

It is not saying that God caused David to sin. David has already set himself in opposition to God through pride.

“Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them . . .”

The urging is now to take a census, to number Israel. This is not a sin, if it is done correctly and for the right purpose.

The NASB uses the word “it” instead of “he”…why?

There is a way proper to take a census.

Exodus 30:12 ESV

“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.

Because the Hebrew gives no subject for the word incited in .

The literal translation would be:

“Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and there was who moved David against them”

or “Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, for one moved David against them.”

This means that the fact is in we are not told who moved David.

Bible translaters have therefore taken or assumed it to be either God or God’s anger and then tried to balance it with .

Young’s Literal Version actually in italics places the word adversary in, rendering it to read...

“And the anger of the LORD addeth to burn against Israel, and an adversary moveth David about them...”

So now what are the other options?

David’s own evil depravity could have moved within him. The spirit of pride being nurtured in him could have risen up against himself as is so often the case.

The “one” who moved David could be Satan which would then justify the translation choice of .

An “adversary” (the meaning of the word Satan) mentioned in 1 Chronicles could be someone other than the devil; it could have been an unnamed counsellor to David who prompted him into a foolish (or sinful) action.

I don’t believe that this is God moving David to take a census. I don’t think that that makes sense with the text since the only reason that the census was a sin was because God did not require it and it was therefor gone about the wrong way. If God is the one moving David to take a census then how is God not the one calling for the census?

Thus God is right to get angry when David calls for the census, because it is God who declared to Moses in Exodus:

Exodus 30:12 ESV

“When you take the census of the people of Israel, then each shall give a ransom for his life to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.

David only had the right to count what belonged to him. Israel belonged to God, and it is therefore God who must call the census and as such the required ransom/atonement be given. David here is treating Israel as his own. Just as Saul got zeal/jealous or envious of Israel and Judah and took things into his own hands, so is David.

So I believe the text shows us that God is angry at David, but this does not mean that God is enticing David to further anger God.

Rather David, operatiing outside of God and in his own stregnth has kindled the anger of God rather than protection of God and made himself vulnerable to foolishness and opened the door to an adversary in the midst of great precieved victory.

David had forseeingly conquered the whole world in the sense that all of his recent battles had shown great victory, but because he was moved for the gaining of the world rather than the service of God, his soul was at risk.

Mark 8:36 ESV

For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

You can set your sights on conquering all that you set out to conquer.

Then you can claim it all as “your great victory” “your great accomplishment”

You can then bring it together, gather it to yourself and count it for pride and protection thinking that all of your battles are won...

and all that you would have done is to kindle the anger of the LORD and make yourself vulnerable to the unseen an adversary.

I don’t here have any cause to see this as a human rising up before him. In every case surrounding no such adversary had caused a struggle. Rather the text seems to highlight David in a position of great victory, his ego large. He seems to be in a position where no one in sight can lay a threat and thus the unseen rises up against him. The inwards of a mans own depraved heart as separated from God, the sway of Satan himself to always want what rightly belongs to God. They seem to both go together and be what is presented before us in this text.

The one who sways a man to desire for himself what rightly belongs to God is an adversary of the man of God and an aversary to God himself, for the father of all such sway is Satan himself.

And to this church I caution against our own envy, jealousy, and pride that gets labled as zealousness.

We long for what we don’t have and count as our own what God has blessed us with.

We set our lives about building our own kingdoms and boast of our own accomplishments.

We become arrogant and claim what does not rightfully belong to us.

This heart, this spirit is that of an adversary, it is that of Satan himself and it kindles the wrath of God.

It kindled it against Saul, and it kindled it against David…and we ought not think that it doesn’t do the same today.

But what if it has? What if you have set your mind and your heart not upon knowing God, not upon making disciples of Christ, but rather you have set your life about building your own kingdom. What if you who know God and have known the blessings of God have put them aside in order to not praise God for what He has given you but to pursue what He has not given you? What if such a pursuit has consumed your eyes. All you see is what you want and you have determined your own right to get it?

The “adversary” (the meaning of the word Satan) mentioned in 1 Chronicles could be someone other than the devil; it could have been an unnamed counsellor to David who prompted him into a foolish (or sinful) action.

If or I should say when this becomes us, then we can know that our steps won’t be long before stumbling, but there is hope.

1 Chronicles 21:7–13 ESV

But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. And David said to God, “I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly.” And the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer you; choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’ ” So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: either three years of famine, or three months of devastation by your foes while the sword of your enemies overtakes you, or else three days of the sword of the Lord, pestilence on the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”