God or Satan?

 May 1, 2024

“The anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.” —II Samuel 24:1-2 

“Satan rose up against Israel and caused David to take a census of the people of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the people of Israel—from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north—and bring me a report so I may know how many there are.” —1 Chronicles 21:1-2 

So, which was it—God or Satan?

This is a tough call, and these texts are often used by those who would object to the truth of Scripture. I think the problem isn’t as much with the Scriptures as with our understanding of the way people back then looked at life. 

I think both are true. All our ethical, moral, and spiritual choices have two sides to them. In any such decision that faces us, God is using the situation as an exam, to test us so we can see how we’re growing in faithfulness and wisdom. He wants us to succeed, and gives us choices as a way of measuring our progress. Satan takes the same situation and uses it to trip us up and cause our demise. God used this situation to reveal David’s character. Satan was hoping to discourage and destroy. Who wins always depends on us. 

The difficulty in this story is the words in 2 Samuel that tell us God was angry with Israel. Wes aren’t told why, but God doesn’t get angry for no reason. What we can discern from the story is that David at the least, and perhaps the entire nation had gotten proud and self-sufficient, looking to their own numbers as a measure of their strength instead of trusting in God. 

Even so, no one forced David to do what he did. Even when warned against it, he plunged ahead and failed the test. I wonder how often against all advice we’ve gone ahead with whatever plans we had, ignoring the warning signs God was so gracious to give. Be on the alert: God uses your present situation to reveal your character, while Satan is using it to discourage, divide, and destroy. Which happens depends on us.