Of Cents and Censers: Making Sense of David's Census

Why does David take a census?

Why is taking a census such a bad thing?

Exodus 30 required a tax for taking a census – an atonement price for numbering the people of Israel, to ransom the people when they were numbered.

And God had warned in Deuteronomy that when you come into the land, you should not believe that your might and strength are what delivers you – but the LORD is the one who delivers you from your enemies (Dt 7-10).

So it appears that either David is trying to take a census without the tax; or he is taking a census with the tax – which creates a burden on Israel that they are not able to bear.

And it displeased God...