241 Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel , and it incited David against them to say , " Go , number Israel and Judah ." 2 The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, "Go about now through all the tribes of Israel , from Dan to Beersheba , and register the people , that I may know the number of the people ." 3 But Joab said to the king , " Now may the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see ; but why does my lord the king delight in this thing ?" 4 Nevertheless, the king's word prevailed against Joab and against the commanders of the army . So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to register the people of Israel . 5 They crossed the Jordan and camped in Aroer , on the right side of the city that is in the middle of the valley of Gad and toward Jazer . 6 Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim-hodshi , and they came to Dan-jaan and around to Sidon , 7 and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and of the Canaanites , and they went out to the south of Judah , to Beersheba . 8 So when they had gone about through the whole land , they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days . 9 And Joab gave the number of the registration of the people to the king ; and there were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men who drew the sword , and the men of Judah were five hundred thousand men .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Samuel 24:1-9
Commentary on 2 Samuel 24:1-9
(Read 2 Samuel 24:1-9)
For the people's sin David was left to act wrong, and in his chastisement they received punishment. This example throws light upon God's government of the world, and furnishes a useful lesson. The pride of David's heart, was his sin in numbering of the people. He thought thereby to appear the more formidable, trusting in an arm of flesh more than he should have done, and though he had written so much of trusting in God only. God judges not of sin as we do. What appears to us harmless, or, at least, but a small offence, may be a great sin in the eye of God, who discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart. Even ungodly men can discern evil tempers and wrong conduct in believers, of which they themselves often remain unconscious. But God seldom allows those whom he loves the pleasures they sinfully covet.