Day #115 | "Satan Is On a Leash"

LOOK | WHAT DOES IT SAY?

Read 2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21-22:1, Psalm 103

THINK | WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Who put it in David's heart to sin? Today's reading is a bit of a famous parallel, as 2 Samuel says "the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, 'Go, number Israel and Judah'" (2 Samuel 24:1); meanwhile 1 Chronicles 21 says "Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel" (1 Chronicles 21:1).  Here are a couple of ways to resolve the issue: (1) 1 Chronicles 21:1 might not refer to Satan at all. In Hebrew, "a Satan" is an enemy, an opposition, an adversary--either personal or nonpersonal. Even the Angel of the LORD is described as a satan (adversary or opposition) to Balaam in Numbers 22:22-23. High gas prices, in a sense, could be "a Satan" keeping you from being able to afford a road trip this weekend. But that doesn't mean that a malevolent figure is at work there; or at least, it doesn't mean there is a spiritual one. In every other instance besides 1 Chronicles 21 where the ESV translators use the word "Satan" in English in the Old Testament (in the books of Job and Zechariah), the underlying Hebrew actually says "ha Satan," or "the Satan," showing that there's a specific personality at work. Not here though. In Hebrew it's just "satan" without the "the" (or "ha"). It doesn't appear to be a specific person. So for that reason, the Rabbinic commentator Radak suggested that 1 Chronicles 24:1 might just mean that "an evil impulse incited David to count Israel." (2) Or, God worked through Satan. Either way that we interpret the Hebrew, it is still clear that God chose to have David experience the temptation to count the people of Israel. That temptation could have come from Satan himself, whether this passage mentions him or not. So what do we do then?  In that case, we might see here that God had removed his protection from David and allowed Satan to tempt him. This happens in the New Testament to Peter, after Jesus tells him: "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat... when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers" (Luke 22:31-32). In this case, we would see that while Satan is active in the world, there is a limit to his actions. He only does what God allows him to do. We saw this in the Book of Job as well. While God might allow him to "sift us like wheat," he is not free to do whatever he wants. He is restrained by God. This means that all things are under God's control, and all things -even spiritual attack- are meant to work together for his good purpose.

Why is it a sin to count? The other question that comes out of today's reading is, why it would be a sin to count the people? The people are counted, often, in other parts of the Bible. There's even a whole book of the Bible named after counting: the Book of Numbers, which starts with a gripping census of the people (as in, making you want to grip a pillow and lay your head down on it to take a nap). The best explanation that I've come across is that (1) David counted the people "to be motivated by a vain desire to know the exact strategic potency of the nation, which in turn leads the people to believe that their salvation is in the strength of numbers and not in God's desire for their well-being. Consequently, such a counting of the population is likely to bode ill for the people involved, which is why Joab tried to convince David not to do it (v. 3). To dispel the notion that salvation is in numbers, the Torah (Exodus 30:12-16) commands that a census always be done in such a way that there is another reason for it, e.g., the raising of funds" (quote from the notes in the Stone Edition Tanakh, 2 Samuel 24). Does this mean that it is a sin to count things today in church settings? No. The book of Acts records a number of counts of the people who responded to the Gospel and needed to be plugged in to a house church--the only form of gathered worship available back then. But it might be a sin to count in a way that is "motivated by a vain desire... to believe that [our] salvation is in the strength of numbers and not in God's desire for [our] well-being." For that reason it might be a good thing to ask ourselves, if we are counting, why we are counting. Is there a purpose for it? If not, maybe we should stop. The pride that makes us want to compare is also the pride that caused Satan to fall.

DO | HOW DO WE RESPOND?

How can we respond in our worship, attitude, and actions? IN OUR ATTITUDES, we can be less fearful of spiritual attack because we trust that God is in control; and we can have less desire to compare ourselves and what we have with others, because we know that our strength and hope are in God alone. We need nothing else for our significance.

PRAY | HOW DOES THIS BRING US TO GOD?

Whether in response to anything pointed out here, or to something else in your Bible reading time, take a few moments before you close up your Bible to pray in response to God. If you need a format for prayer, both the ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication), CALL (Confess, Ask, Love, Listen), and PRAY (Praise, Repent, Ask, Yield) methods are helpful ways to stay consistent.

-Sean