Posted on 03/25/2014 7:10:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Why does the mosaic law consider doing a census wrong? Did not the tribes during Moses time have a count of each of the tribes?
Excellent idea, thank you.
Repeating, it appears they get a lot of “public cash”, this meaning government monies if so, this is surely what the issue is about unfortunately. Also unfortunate that those public monies are quite a bit more than private contributions.
There was a way they had to count for fiscal purposes and they were not supposed to number the Levites as part of any census. The Samuel and Chronicles account says that David in part wanted to undertake a census due to pride. He had a nice little kingdom going there and got puffed up. God had promised that the descendants of Abraham would be as numerous as the stars and this type of census betrayed a kind lack of trust. Now understand, the Bible says that God was angry with the people of Israel...not specifically just with David...though it was David that was given the choice of punishments:…
“13So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.” 14Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for His mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
Also look at Exodus 30:12;11The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, 12”When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. 13”This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD.
The type of Census David was interested in was that of the fighting men of Israel, over the age of 20. His main General, Joab tried to dissuade him from that course.
The Census that God allowed was that anyone who was counted, paid a “ransom” for himself(1/2 shekel), acknowledging himself accountable to God and to the nation.
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