Three-agent Universe (6) David's Census

The clearest example of the limitation of a two-agent view of events is David's census of his fighting men. The book of Samuel and writer of Chronicles describe this event in different ways that are actually different but the same. The writer of the book of Samuel assumed that God was the one who caused David to sin.

When the wrath of God continued to grow hot against Israel, he incited David against them, saying, "Go and count Israel and Judah (2 Sam 24:1).

It is very unusual in the Old Testament, but the writer of the book of Chronicles takes a three-agent view. He realises that it was actually the spiritual powers of evil who stirred David up.

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel (1 Chron 21:1).

Both descriptions are correct. Samuel makes it seem as if God led David into sin. This was correct, because God is the ultimate cause of everything. However, Chronicles is more complete, because it explains that it was Satan who was the direct cause of David's mistake. When we read the Old Testament, we should be looking for other situations, where the same reality might apply. Some of the events described as being caused by God are actually the work of the spiritual powers of evil.

These passages tell us something else that is important for understanding the Old Testament. Samuel says that "the wrath of God" continued to grow hot against Israel, but we know that this was not God, but the spiritual powers of evil. Chronicles explains that Satan incited David. Satan means accuser. He is one of the important spiritual powers of evil. These powers are controlled by a powerful hierarchy of evil spirits that do not like each other. Throughout history, they have jockeyed for control of life on earth. One of the more powerful spirits in this evil hierarchy is named "Wrath". He is the one who attacked David.

Old Testament writers often speak of the wrath of God, as if God is angry at people on earth. They thought this way because they were constrained by a two-agent view of the world and assumed that any spiritual intervention came from him. However, readers with a New Testament based, three-agent perspective realises that Wrath is a powerful evil spirit. He was created by God, so the scriptures are correct when they call him the wrath of God, but that is not a complete description, because he is a spiritual power who is now working against God. This understanding of Wrath is confirmed in Psalm 78:49, which says that Wrath is the leader of a band of destroying angels.