Hi Ron. Those are two good portions of Scripture you've given for us to consider (btw, I think you meant to write 1 Chronicles 21:1).
To answer your questions properly, we must first know that God is neither the Author of sin, nor the tempter of mankind to sin. James 1:13-15: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
So, to your passages. Clearly in the second passage ( 1 Chronicles 21:1), Satan is said to have "provoked" David to sin by numbering Israel. Yet 2 Samuel 24:1 speaks of the LORD having provoked David. To make sense of this, we can also recall Exodus 7:13,14 (& others verses like it), where "God hardened Pharaoh's heart" refusing to let the Israelites leave Egypt. We can also look at Job 1:9-12, where God gave Satan permission over Job's family & possessions. In both Scriptures, God doesn't incite or cause one to do evil, but brings about a situation where He removes His absolute control. And we can say the same for ourselves: when confronted with a situation to sin, God can either prevent us from committing sin or allow us to determine what we will do with it - we have a mind (& the Holy Spirit, if we're believers), to choose our path.
When we bring those two passages together, we see that God "moved David". God did not force him to do wrong, but steered him in that direction of decision & allow his better judgement to not pursue such sin. Even Joab warned David about doing this & later David realized that he had done wrong, his heart was smitten & he repented (v10). With Job also, Job did nothing wrong, but God allowed Satan license to provoke Job to sin - but unlike David, Job did not. Satan is our enemy to entice us to sin - not God - God allows the tests - we have to choose rightly.
And in 2 Chronicles 21 1 Who is giving David to take count of the Israelites?
To answer your questions properly, we must first know that God is neither the Author of sin, nor the tempter of mankind to sin. James 1:13-15: "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."
So, to your passages. Clearly in the second passage ( 1 Chronicles 21:1), Satan is said to have "provoked" David to sin by numbering Israel. Yet 2 Samuel 24:1 speaks of the LORD having provoked David. To make sense of this, we can also recall Exodus 7:13,14 (& others verses like it), where "God hardened Pharaoh's heart" refusing to let the Israelites leave Egypt. We can also look at Job 1:9-12, where God gave Satan permission over Job's family & possessions. In both Scriptures, God doesn't incite or cause one to do evil, but brings about a situation where He removes His absolute control. And we can say the same for ourselves: when confronted with a situation to sin, God can either prevent us from committing sin or allow us to determine what we will do with it - we have a mind (& the Holy Spirit, if we're believers), to choose our path.
When we bring those two passages together, we see that God "moved David". God did not force him to do wrong, but steered him in that direction of decision & allow his better judgement to not pursue such sin. Even Joab warned David about doing this & later David realized that he had done wrong, his heart was smitten & he repented (v10). With Job also, Job did nothing wrong, but God allowed Satan license to provoke Job to sin - but unlike David, Job did not. Satan is our enemy to entice us to sin - not God - God allows the tests - we have to choose rightly.
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