Why does 1 Chronicles 21:1 blame Satan for inspiring David to take a census, while 2 Samuel 24:1 says that God caused David to do this?
2 Samuel 24:1
ESV - 1 Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go, number Israel and Judah.
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Asked May 17 2014
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TJ Horsman
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Cindy Jennings
God was not happy that David wanted to take a census of his military, maybe because David wanted to glorify himself with the number of his troops or, more likely, because David appeared to be relying on military strength to protect Israel instead of on God. So Satan "inspired" David to take the census but God "allowed" it as a punishment on Israel for their unspecified sins God uses Satan for His own purposes--i.e., in the Garden of Eden, Judas Iscariot and hundreds of other examples of evil created by Satan in order to ultimately accomplish His Will.
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