”And they crossed over the Jordan and camped in Aroer, on the right side of the town which is in the midst of the ravine of Gad, and toward Jazer. Then they came to Gilead and to the land of Tahtim Hodshi; they came to Dan Jaan and around to Sidon; and they came to the stronghold of Tyre and to all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went out to South Judah as far as Beersheba. So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. Then Joab gave the sum of the number 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.“
II Samuel 24:5-9 NKJV
a. When they had gone through all the land: It took almost 10 months to complete the census. David should have called off this foolish census during the 10 months, but he didn’t.
b. Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to the king: The results showed that there were 1,300,000 fighting men among the twelve tribes, reflecting an estimated total population of about 6 million in Israel.
i. “In the parallel place, 1 Chronicles 21:5, the sums are widely different: in Israel one million one hundred thousand, in Judah four hundred and seventy thousand. Neither of these sums is too great, but they cannot be both correct; and which is the true number is difficult to say.” (Clarke)
ii. “To attempt to reconcile them in every part is lost labour; better at once acknowledge what cannot be successfully denied, that although the original writers of the Old Testament wrote under the influence of the Divine Spirit, yet we are not told that the same influence descended on all copiers of their words, so as absolutely to prevent them from making mistakes.” (Clarke)
(Guzik)
Lost Labor
Men make mistakes and apparently one was made in the census here.
But I’m not surprised since God didn’t ordain this census!
”I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.“ Ecclesiastes 1:14 NKJV
10 months grasping at the wind!
Just as this census, in the end all works of labor are lost!
Will any of our labor be remembered when we are gone?
Blessings
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