The LORD God tempted David & Israel into sin?!?!
2 Samuel 24:1 - "The anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and He incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
1 Chronicles 21:1 - "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel."
The two passages are about how an event can be looked at from two perspectives - just as in the book of Job.
From one perspective, Satan causes all kinds of trouble for Job - and puts him under great pressure to abandon the LORD God.
However, from a heavenly perspective we see that Satan is not in charge at all - but rather he has had to get permission to cause trouble and even the trouble he causes is very limited by the Living God.
The LORD trusts Job to handle the trouble and temptation that Satan would bring... and by the time we get to the end of the book of Job, we see that Satan is irrelevant because the LORD Jesus is the LORD of all creation.
In the same way, in 1 Chronicles 21 and 2 Samuel 24, the sin of Israel meant that the LORD God was angry with them.
"We are not told why the anger of the Lord was kindled, but doubtless because He saw both in king and people that rising spirit of earthly pride and reliance on earthly strength which led to the sin." (Ellicot)
He was going to bring trouble and testing to them - to see how they would respond.
So, He permitted Satan to cause trouble and temptations for David and the nation.
Could David have handled it all in a better way?
Should David have resisted this temptation from Satan?
Yes, because David knew that taking a census had to be handled in a very special way - Exodus 30:11-16 - and atonement money had to be paid.
To number the people was a way of trying to take confidence in human strength and numbers - so if ever a census was performed it required atonement!
Joab knew that it was not right to number the people like that: "Joab replied to the king, “May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?” (verse 3).
2 Samuel 24:10 - "David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the LORD, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, LORD, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”
The LORD disciplines those who He loves - He allows hardship, testing, trouble and temptation to come to us.
1 Peter 4:12 - "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you."
This reveals more clearly where we are really at - the state of our hearts.
Remember how at the beginning of the Exodus the LORD led them out into the wilderness to experience intense hunger and thirst.
Why?
Deuteronomy tells us it was to find out what was in their hearts - to see if they knew that human beings do NOT live by bread alone but only by the Word of God.
Deuteronomy 8:2-3 - "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord."
So, here, the sin of Israel had angered the LORD - and He was bringing a time of crisis, testing and trouble on them.
How did He do this?
He allowed Satan some limited power to test, tempt and trouble them - and this was done by leading David into taking pride in the number of people in Israel.
Did the LORD cause this to happen? Yes... in a way, by allowing Satan to do the kind of things that Satan always wants to do.
Did Satan cause this to happen? Yes, in a limited way - in that he was allowed to trouble Israel & David according to the limits allowed by the LORD God.
We could also reference 1 Kings 22:19ff, where a similar kind of thing happens. The LORD allows an evil spirit to serve His deeper purposes.
The LORD will never cause evil and cannot tempt anybody.
Yet, He may allow an evil spirit to bring temptation and testing to human beings.
IF we were faithful and trusted only the Word of the LORD, then a lying spirit would not be able to influence us at all.
IF our hearts were faithful to the LORD alone, then Satan's incitements and temptations would not work on us.
1 Peter 5:8-11 - "Be alert and of sober mind.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen."
BUT, in the case of 1 Kings 22:19ff, Ahab prefers to listen to false prophets who lie to him.
When the LORD wants Ahab to go to destruction, He only needs to allow an evil spirit to lie to Ahab... because Ahab prefers lies to the Word of the LORD.
So - does Satan bring trouble and temptations to us? Yes.
Is the LORD Jesus in control over all of this? Yes.
When trouble and temptations come, we must more than ever resist the devil and flee to the LORD Jesus.
When times of testing come, we can "pass the test" only if we remain faithful to the Living God.
The greatest danger we ever face is NOT physical pain and suffering - even death.
The greatest danger we ever face is sin.
1 Peter 4:1-5 - "Since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin.
As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.
But they will have to give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead."