1 Chronicles 21:1-17 (Friday, June 20, 2025)

David's Census Brings Pestilence

21 Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” 3 But Joab said, “May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord's servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” 4 But the king's word prevailed against Joab. So Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came back to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword. 6 But he did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, for the king's command was abhorrent to Joab.

7 But God was displeased with this thing, and he struck Israel. 8 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.” 9 And the Lord spoke to Gad, David's seer, saying, 10 “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.’” 11 So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Choose what you will: 12 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.” 13 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.”

14 So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell. 15 And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the Lord was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. 16 And David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. 17 And David said to God, “Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father's house. But do not let the plague be on your people.”

Summary

1 Chronicles 21:1 17 recounts how David's pride puts the whole nation under a judgment. God responds in both justice and mercy. What's going on? Let's take a look.

You see, David commands a census of Israel’s fighting men. You may wonder, what's wrong with that? Isn't that David just working hard for a possible war? Yet, the Chronicler says Satan stirred up David. Joab warns him, but David insists.

Now, why is taking the census so wrong? Doesn't our country conduct a census to get a better idea of where its people are? Is that wrong? Of course not.

While taking the census is not a sin, what David did, which was to prepare for a war that God did not command him to do, is a grave sin. That is because God does not engage in wars for economic gain or to increase territory. What David did reflects a deep spiritual failure that often accompanies "success" in life. So, what David was preparing to do was not going to honor God at all. If David were to engage in wars for such earthly gains, other nations might get the wrong ideas about God, and that dishonors God.

So, the Lord stops David and judges him. God gives David a choice of three punishments. David chooses to fall into God's hands, resulting in a devastating plague. Yet at the height of judgment, God relents, and the angel of destruction stops at the threshing floor of Ornan. David intercedes, offering himself in place of the people.

Reflections

God reveals our pride to restore our trust

1 Chronicles 21:1–3 (ESV), "Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, ‘Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.’ But Joab said, ‘May the Lord add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! Are they not, my lord the king, all of them my lord’s servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?’"

David's census was likely driven by pride and, to some extent, by fear. He sought security in numbers, not in God's promises. Joab recognized the danger and protested. But David pressed forward. The Lord allowed this moment of testing, not to destroy David, but to expose and heal the root of his misplaced confidence. Even the greatest leaders fall when they drift from dependence on God.

God’s judgment is severe, but His mercy is greater

1 Chronicles 21:13–15 (ESV), "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.’ So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. And God sent the angel to Jerusalem to destroy it, but as he was about to destroy it, the Lord saw, and he relented from the calamity. And he said to the angel who was working destruction, ‘It is enough; now stay your hand.’"

David is given a choice of punishments, and he throws himself into God's hands, trusting His mercy. God’s justice is necessary, and his compassion is not. He doesn't owe us compassion, but his holiness demands judgment. Chronicler records that at the peak of judgment, God relents. The image of the angel halted mid-destruction underscores the tension between divine justice and grace. God's heart is not to destroy but to restore.

God points us to the altar of atonement

1 Chronicles 21:17–18 (ESV), "And David said to God, ‘Was it not I who gave command to number the people? It is I who have sinned and done great evil. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand, O Lord my God, be against me and against my father’s house. But do not let the plague be on your people.’ Now the angel of the Lord had commanded Gad to say to David that David should go up and raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite."

David offers himself as a substitute. This is a powerful image of intercession and self-sacrifice, pointing us to Christ, the true King who bore the punishment for His people. The location of the altar later becomes the site of Solomon’s temple, showing that God's mercy not only halts judgment but also makes way for worship and reconciliation.

Application

When tempted to trust in our own strength or visible numbers, let us return to dependence on God’s mercy. Trusting God and depending on him is the true and everlasting security that we need.

David’s census reminds us how easily pride can masquerade as zeal. But our security is never in size, resources, or ability; it is in the character and promises of God. Let us learn to repent quickly, intercede for others, and fix our hope on the mercy of God shown most fully in Jesus Christ.

Prayer

Merciful and holy God,

We confess how often we rely on our own strength rather than trusting You. Forgive us for prideful independence, and draw us back to humble reliance on Your grace. Thank you for revealing our hearts, not to shame us, but to restore us. Thank you for Jesus, who took our punishment and became our atonement. Teach us to live in reverent dependence, to pray with confidence in Your mercy, and to worship where judgment was once deserved.

In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.