Refer to II Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah.
Refer to I Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.
The question is, is it God or Satan who provoked David ?
Refer to II Samuel 24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee?
Refer to I Chronicles 21:11 So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Choose thee, Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee;
The question is did the Lord decree 7 years or 3 years famine?
Are you guys saying that God made mistakes in the above instances?
2007-03-27 03:31:55 · 16 answers · asked by The Skeptic 4 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It looks like the Satan vs God thing has been answered. So the timing thing -
It looks like you're reading the KJV. There are, in my view, a couple of possible answers which may be correct -
1- the translation to the KJV has a mistake - Giymel is mistaken for Zayin, with Giymel a '3' and Zayin a '7'
2- the 3 and 7 were intended for some other reason
3- the Bible isn't the inspired word of God
Some translation have accepted the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament, which doesn't have this 'contradiction'.
I'm not sure that this truly challenges the 'inspiration' of the Bible though.
Is this an argument that the Bible translators stink, or that the Bible isn't the inspired word of God? If it is the latter, I'd think that you would have more ammo.
2007-03-27 03:59:05 · answer #1 · answered by super Bobo 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Answer to question 2 is neither. God sent a pestilence and 70K men died. See 2 Sam 24:15 and 1 Chronicles 21:14. Also God changed his mind on the punishment after David repented See 2 Sam 24:25 and 1 Chronicles 21: 27 (the angel returns his sword to his sheath thus sparing the people)
Answer to question 1 is both are accurate. God did inspire David to number the people. However, when David did it, he did it not to please God but because of his pride and self exaltation. He was proud to be ruler over all the people. In other words, his heart was not in the right place. Once his heart was tainted (by Satan) then what would have pleased God now angered Him. God does not like pride and vanity is Satan's favorite sin.
Hope this helps.
2007-03-27 03:48:04 · answer #2 · answered by hyrlady 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, in the first instance ...
It was God Who provoked David. Satan was HaShem's tool. (The traditional view of Satan as "the angel who rebelled" is not completely true and is not found in Scripture. Satan was created for the purpose of tempting and testing humanity.) 2 Samuel is a more literal rendering of the events. The Chronicles are the Temple records and would certainly want to portray King David and Yahweh both in a more positive light. (Hence, the absense of the Bathsheeba story.) That is why Chronicles highlights Satan's participation. Both accounts are true, just from different perspectives.
In the second issue, I'm not sure what the answer is. It could likely be a scribal error, considering most English translations use the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew source material.
2007-03-27 03:43:16 · answer #3 · answered by Daniel 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The question is : Does it affect the text of what is being taught?The answer is No.
As in Job ch. 1 Satan has to ask permission so actually God allowed Satan to tempt David.
The other teaches that David puts himself into the hands of the Lord for mercy whether it be 3 or 7.The original text was right ,somewhere down the line a copyest made an error but that does not change the teaching one bit.
2007-03-27 03:38:40 · answer #4 · answered by AngelsFan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The book of Chronicles is a midrash of 1 & 2 Kings. The bad kings were made to look good.
There are many accounts in the Bible, which employ a literary device used by Jewish Old and New Testament writers called Midrash. Midrash is the substantive of the Hebrew word darash which means to search, to investigate, to study and, also, to expound on the fruits of the research. The aim of Midrash is to draw from Scripture a lesson for the present.
Midrash could also be defined as a "reflection on Scripture in the light of the actual situation of God's people and of the developments of God's action on its history." It proposes to explain the meaning of Scripture in the light of the later historical experience of God's people. This kind of interpretation often opened the door to embellishments of the sacred accounts, anachronisms, and a freedom in handling and maneuvering the data of tradition that were at times a little too candid and certainly very imaginative.
Peace!
2007-03-27 03:40:39 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WHO INCITED DAVID TO TAKE THE CENSUS? GOD OR SATAN?
II Samuel 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number Israel and Judah. (KJV)
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I Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. (KJV)
This is not a contradiction because both are true. Like in many cases throughout the Bible, such as the temptation of Jesus in the desert and Peter's denial of the Lord, these actions were done under the influence of satan, but with God's stamp of approval as well, since God knew that the result would ultimately favor Him. In this case, David's pride was driving him further from God, and God knew that David needed to be punished so that he could learn to rely on God, and not on himself. God allowed David's disobedience to go ahead, knowing the negative affect it would have upon his self-pride. Not a contradiction.
2007-03-27 03:37:53 · answer #6 · answered by williamzo 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The Jewish custom of no longer announcing Jehovah's call began +/- 2 hundred years in the previous Christ, yet did no longer grow to be known prepare until +/- 2 hundred years after Christ. So it particularly isn't any longer an previous custom. Jesus mentioned at Matthew 15 that the jewish traditions of his day had made the be attentive to God invalid. Why might a christian choose to persist with Jewish custom and make God's be conscious invalid at present? As to the remark that a Rose is a rose via the different call. in case you call a rose a dandylion, don't be shocked in case you ask for a dandylion, that's what you get via people who be attentive to the variation.
2016-10-20 01:20:47 · answer #7 · answered by archuletta 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
1. Satan is a created being and, especially in Old testament literature, is often portrayed as God's trial lawyer, a (if you'll pardon the Pun) "Devil's Advocate" to humanity. He serves the role of encouraging humanity to disavow or struggle with God. See the book of Job for a great example of this.
2. Ummm... NIV has it as three on all counts, what translation are you using?
I am not seeing mistakes there, got anything more concrete?
2007-03-27 03:39:36 · answer #8 · answered by dragoonmac 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Out of contex for sure.....and besides you (and me) dont have the brain required to understand God or his decisions....if God told you everything He did and why He did it....it would be like trying to explain thermo nuclear fission to a new born baby......you know why we dont do that? Simple...they wouldnt understand.....just as you (and me) wouldnt understand God..
http://disguiseddisciple.com
2007-03-27 03:46:12 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
No i don't think GOD made mistakes and as a Christian, that at some point we have to realize there are mis-translations in the BIble and faults in it. A bible means nothing without the Spirit.
2007-03-27 03:37:40 · answer #10 · answered by a40g 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋