Yesterday, I said that to understand what was so wrong about a census, we gotta attack the issue from both a human (political) and spiritual (divine) angle.
Yesterday, we dived into the earthly or political side of things.
Today, let’s dive into the divine aspect.
And for that, we gotta go to God’s Word.
First, take a look at this passage:
“Adonai said to Moshe, ‘When you take a census of the people of Israel and register them, each, upon registration, is to pay a ransom for his life to Adonai, to avoid any breakout of plague among them during the time of the census. Everyone subject to the census is to pay as an offering to Adonai half a shekel [one-fifth of an ounce of silver]— by the standard of the sanctuary shekel (a shekel equals twenty gerahs). Everyone over twenty years of age who is subject to the census is to give this offering to Adonai — the rich is not to give more or the poor less than the half-shekel when giving Adonai’s offering to atone for your lives. You are to take the atonement money from the people of Isra’el and use it for the service in the tent of meeting, so that it will be a reminder of the people of Isra’el before Adonai to atone for your lives.'”-Exodus 30:11-16
So what do we learn from these verses?
We learn that the divinely prescribed punishment for going hog wild on census taking outside of the Lord’s approval results in a plague.
That’s exactly what we’re gonna see as a result of David’s census.
Next, check out these verses from the Book of Numbers:
“Adonai spoke to Moshe in the Sinai Desert, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month of the second year after they had left the land of Egypt. He said, ‘Take a census of the entire assembly of the people of Israel, by clans and families. Record the names of all the men twenty years old and over who are subject to military service in Israel. You and Aharon are to enumerate them company by company.'”-Numbers 1:1-3
So what do we learn from this passage?
We learn that another God-ordained reason for conducting a census is for Holy War.
This leads to the answer to the question we’ve been wracking our brains on regarding why David taking a census was so evil.
It’s this:
A census must be aligned with God’s Will…which is simply another way to say it must be aligned with His Torah.
Or you’re gonna be in trouble.
Ya feel me?
This also leads to our takeaway for today, which is simply to rephrase the above conclusion and say:
Your life must be aligned with God’s Will…which is simply another way to say your life must be aligned with His Torah.
Or you’re gonna be in trouble.
Ya feel me again here?
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not think that I have come
to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them
but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you,
until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter,
not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear
from the Law until
everything is accomplished.
Therefore anyone who sets aside
one of the least of these commands
and teaches others accordingly
will be called least in
the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and teaches
these commands will be called
great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I tell you that unless your
righteousness surpasses that
of the Pharisees and the teachers
of the law, you will certainly
not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 5:17-20
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