So what was so wrong about the census David ordered?
To properly answer this question, we need to look at things from both a human/political and spiritual angle.
Politically speaking, the census would have made the people very uncomfortable.
Why?
Well, think about it, man.
Via the whole Bathsheba fiasco, which included killing Bathsheba’s husband, David demonstrated that he felt above the Law.
He had abused his royal authority by committing both sexual immorality and judicial murder.
So this census couldn’t have been more ill-timed.
Yesterday, we talked about David’s ego-driven need to admire the sheer size of his kingdom.
Picture some rich dude lounging around in his penthouse, counting his hundred-dollar bills while sipping a Cappuccino.
But setting that aside, there were two common reasons a king might order a census that the people would NOT have been thrilled about at all.
The first reason, and you probably guessed it, was taxes.
As the ‘ole saying goes, there are only two things in life you can count on: Death and taxes.
The second reason was forced military service.
Now, up to this point, Israel didn’t have a nationwide tax system under David.
That would change fast when his son Solomon took over.
So, at this time, I think it’s safe to conclude that the average citizen’s biggest fear wasn’t taxes.
It was being drafted into the army.
Don’t forget that David didn’t have a sizable military force at this time.
I think he had like only one bodyguard, and the rest of his army was comprised of his leaders and officers.
If a war broke up, David would have no choice but to put frantically together an army made up of farmers, herders, and merchants.
This would obviously not make for a very intimidating proposition should an enemy force decide to invade Israel.
Plus, consider the huge burden a war would’ve had on the families of Israel.
With the men fighting on the battlefield, the women would’ve had to keep everything on an even keel back home.
So once Joab and his officers began counting the people, most folks assumed war was coming.
And just like today, the people took hard sides on the issue.
War has a way of dividing any nation.
But the egotistic David could’ve cared less.
Joab, on the other hand, was big-time concerned.
Why?
Because this census was gonna stir up some major chaos.
And he and his men were gonna be smack-dab in the blast zone of all the civil unrest about to erupt.
Ya feel me?
So what’s the takeaway we can extract from this?
Here’s the bottom line:
The census wasn’t wrong because counting people is evil.
It was wrong because of who ordered it, when he ordered it, and why.
David had already shown he was willing to bend the Law to serve himself.
Now he was flexing power again, at the WORST possible moment, without regard for how it would shake the people.
To the average Israelite, this census wasn’t neutral.
It felt like the opening move toward taxes, war, and more abuse of authority.
And that’s the key point.
Before the census ever became a spiritual problem…
It was already a trust problem.
The king had lost the moral high ground.
The people knew it.
And Joab knew exactly how ugly this was about to get.
Next time, we’ll look at why God took this so seriously…
Because that’s where the story really turns.
See ya next time, homies.
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