For today’s post we will tackle the question the Skeptic Annotated Bible asked: Who tempted David to number Israel?
Here are the two answers which the skeptic believes shows a Bible contradiction:
God
“Now the anger of the Lord burned against Israel again, and He incited David against them to say, “Go, count Israel and Judah.”” (2 Samuel 24:1)
Satan
“Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to count Israel.” (1 Chronicles 21:1)
(All Scriptural quotation comes from the New American Standard Bible)
Here’s a closer look at whether or not there is a contradiction:
- When dealing with skeptics’ claim of Bible contradictions it seems one can never be reminded enough of what exactly is a contradiction. A contradiction occurs when two or more claims conflict with one another so that they cannot simultaneously be true in the same sense and at the same time. To put it another way, a Bible contradiction exists when there are claims within the Bible that are mutually exclusive in the same sense and at the same time.
- One should be skeptical of whether this is a Bible contradiction given the Skeptic Annotated Bible’s track record of inaccurately handling the Bible. See the many examples of their error which we have responded to in this post: Collection of Posts Responding to Bible Contradictions. Of course that does not take away the need to respond to this claim of a contradiction, which is what the remainder of this post will do. But this observation should caution us to slow down and look more closely at the passages cited by the Skeptic Annotated Bible to see if they interpreted the passages properly to support their conclusion that it is a Bible contradiction.
- The skeptic tries to pit 2 Samuel 24:1 as affirming the claim “God tempted David to number Israel” against 1 Chronicles 21:1 as affirming “Satan tempted David to number Israel.”
- I would not use the language of “tempt” but I do think that 2 Samuel 24:1 does show God is involved causatively with David numbering Israel. The verb translated as “incited” is וַיָּ֨סֶת and it is in the Hifil stem which gives it the causative idea with the third person masculine singular subject being Yahweh.
- 1 Chronicles 21:1 does affirm “Satan tempted David to number Israel.” The verse also use the same verb וַיָּ֙סֶת֙ as in 2 Samuel 24:1 to show the causative idea.
- But the answers “God” and “Satan” as causes are not mutually exclusive concerning the question of who caused David to number the people, so this here is not necessarily a Bible contradiction. In talking about who made David count the census we are talking the cause(s) for the effect of David counting the census. But remember that there can be different kinds of causes. For example philosophers have noted the distinction of efficient cause, material cause, formal cause, final cause, etc. The point here is that we must remember there are possible ways that there is not a contradiction here if we keep in mind that there are different kinds of causation.
- Picking up with point 6 we must note that this is not just a hypothetical discussion of causation; Scripture is clear that the causation by creatures and God are not necessarily the same. The Bible teaches that God can cause things to happen in ways that is different than other beings in that God can bring about an effect through secondary means such as human agents, other creatures and His creation.
- Proverb 21:1 states “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” Note that a king’s heart is not above God and that God is sovereign in directing it. Thus God in some sense can cause a certain effect by directing the heart of kings or that of other human beings to accomplish His will while at the same time there is a proximate cause of a king or another human being who are “willing” and doing the action.
- Proverbs 16:1 states “The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” Here the Lord can cause a specific answer from a man but even as the Lord causes this to happen there is the secondary cause of the man himself since the answer comes from the man’s tongue. The man in one sense is causing his tongue to speak while in another sense God’s causation can also be simultaneously be operating according to this verse.
- For example see Who brought evil on Job?
- And another example see Who cast Jonah into the sea?
- See also Who makes people deaf and blind?
- From the examples from the Bible in point 7 we see that there can be concurrent causation by both God and creatures though of course the causation are distinct in that one is that of the Creator and the other of creatures. Thus we shouldn’t see a contradiction here with both God and Satan involved causatively with David numbering Israel.
- To be more specific God’s causation is different than the causation of Satan in that the purposes are different. God’s purpose is to show that even with David’s sins and punishment, He will still show grace and be faithful to the Davidic Covenant. But Satan’s ultimate end with tempting David is only for evil ends.
- For more on God’s decree, concurrence with other causes and God not evil I recommend this book which I reviewed: Reprobation and God’s Sovereignty.
- There is no contradiction here. Seems the skeptic needs to learn of How to Handle Bible Contradictions.
- We shouldn’t miss that worldviews are at play even with the skeptic’s objection to Christianity. The worldview of the author of the Skeptic Annotated Bible actually doesn’t even allow for such a thing as the law of non-contradiction to be meaningful and intelligible. In other words for him to try to disprove the Bible by pointing out that there’s a Bible contradiction doesn’t even make sense within his own worldview. Check out our post “Skeptic Annotated Bible Author’s Self-Defeating Worldview.”
[…] Who tempted David to number Israel? […]
I found your site on my Facebook feed from Coldcase Christianity page that posted “50 Alleged Bible Contradictions Refuted.” I suspected there’s more than 50 on your site and I’m delighted to see you gave a written response to another one today.
I’m incredibly blessed that Jim Warner Wallace and others shared that post, it went viral and I found the post too on FB. For the record I have about 250 plus so far refuted and you can find them compiled here: https://veritasdomain.wordpress.com/2016/12/02/collection-of-posts-responding-to-bible-contradictions/
Thanks for dropping by and reading!
Saved that link on my Chrome Bookmark
You haven’t stopped I’m glad to see that
Still going by God’s grace!
Jim,
It seems there’s another way to view 2Sam 24:1. Admittedly, I have no real facility with the Hebrew, but in looking at how the Hebrew is parsed in my software and comparing that to the LXX and some English translations, it appears the third person masculine singular subject of “incited” (וַיָּ֨סֶת0 [LXX epeseisen]) in 2Sam 24:1 (your point 4) could be the wrath of YHWH, which then means it was David’s perceived understanding that God was angry with Israel that induced David to do the census. See NASB translation, e.g.
If correct, this would provide a larger distinction between 1Chron 21:1 and 2Sam 24:1 yet assist in harmonizing the two verses.
I should have written in bold anger instead of wrath.
Wow I’m fascinated with this insight brother. I’m walkIng right now as I read this and found that your point of the subject of anger instead of Yahweh to be fuel for Thought (and fuel to walk faster!!!)
Thanks for the ongoing commitment to produce these. They are very helpful. This is it:
“The worldview of the author of the Skeptic Annotated Bible actually doesn’t even allow for such a thing as the law of non-contradiction to be meaningful and intelligible. In other words for him to try to disprove the Bible by pointing out that there’s a Bible contradiction doesn’t even make sense within his own worldview.”
Shalom!
Thanks for noticing the Presup bite at the end of the post! Hope your Saturday is going well!!
Well reasoned brother! And so helpful in determining how to understand the paradoxes in God’s word.
Thank you sister Dora for reading this! I tried to make it understandable! How did your Thanksgiving Thursday and post Thanksgiving Friday go??
Thankfully well. God is good. Hope you and your extended family were able to get together. 🙂
Good point about different kinds of causes in item 6. As mentioned in item 9, the purposes are different between God and Satan.
Thanks for reading this! And also for noticing the points made in item 6 and item 9. I appreciate your continued support with my ongoing project responding to the Skeptic Annotated Bible!
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Thanks for this excellent rebuttal to another one of Steve/Stephen Wells’ either/or faux contradictions.
Thanks! We Went from talking about Steve Furtick to Steve Wells! Praying for the service you are attending today; let me know what the message or passage was about!!!
Ach. I came down with a sore throat on Thanksgiving, which turned into a full-blown cold so we didn’t go to church today. Hope you’re having a good Lord’s Day!
Context, context.
Amen it is always important to consider the context! Amen to that again! I appreciate your support of this ongoing series. Much love to you Maw Maw!!!
To you also.
The doctrine of compatibalism is biblical and solves both what the Arminians bring up with God’s sovereignty and apparently also the critics’ attack on God’s Word
Yes it solves theological issues brought up by many theological spectrums. It also is biblical. Have a blessed Lord’s day!
What a blessed Lord’s Day with the start of Advent
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I just finished this. Your post has priceless information, thank you.
Thanks for reading this! I do appreciate it very much. Curious how you found this post?
I found your page when I use to have a Mewe account
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