Power, it has been noted, brings with it temptations. Power may go to a leader’s head, leading to unwise decisions and terrible consequences for those they lead. That is the theme of today’s text. Satan “incited” (tempted) David to take a census of Israel’s fighting men (1 Chronicles 21:1). This brings first divine judgment, then mercy, with an unexpected outcome.

Though David was “incited”, the narrative assumes that he could and should have resisted the temptation. Even Joab, his army commander and not always the most scrupulous of men (see 2 Samuel 3:26–27; 20:7–10), expresses doubt (1 Chronicles 21:3): Does it matter how many soldiers David commands? Surely this will bring guilt on Israel! “The king’s command was repulsive to him” (v. 6).

But David goes ahead. Upon realising his folly, he admits his guilt and asks to be forgiven (v. 8). But things are not so simple: the fact that he was tempted does not excuse him from his sin. David’s unwise census has consequences for all Israel (vv. 9–14).

David is given a choice: three years of famine, three months of enemy invasion, or three days of plague inflicted by the “angel of the Lord” (v. 12). David chooses to suffer at God’s hand rather than at human hands, and 70,000 Israelite men die as a result (v. 14)—a harsh judgment on David’s pride in the size of his army.

But there is mercy as well (vv. 15–28). As the angel approaches Jerusalem to destroy it, God tells the angel: “Enough!” The angel pauses, sword in hand.

David seeks God and once more admits his guilt. He is told to build an altar at Araunah’s threshing floor, where the angel has halted. David buys the site and offers sacrifices there. Note David’s insistence that he will not make an offering that costs him nothing (v. 24). God accepts the sacrifices, and the angel sheathes his sword. David’s submission to God has brought the punishment to an end.

The altar and tent of meeting are at Gibeon, but David’s fear of the destroying angel prevents him from going there to enquire of God (vv. 29–30). When he sees that the sacrifices made on Araunah’s threshing floor have been effective, he chooses this place as the site for the temple. That is how the Jerusalem temple came to be built where it was (22:1), and that is the final outcome of Satan’s tempting of David.

This narrative seems to reflect the nature of human kingship, and the consequences of God’s giving Israel a king.⁶ To give such power to someone, even to someone as committed to God as David, runs the risk of “inciting” that person to unwise, prideful, and potentially catastrophic decisions. But if one message of 1 Chronicles 21 is that Israel’s kings may go astray and bring disaster on the people, the text ends by pointing to the temple, a symbol of God’s willingness to forgive His people’s sins when they seek Him.

See also 2 Samuel 24.

⁶ That is perhaps why 2 Samuel 24:1 attributes David’s temptation to God, not Satan.