How can this passage claim that God moved David to number Israel when 1 Chronicles 21:1 claims that it was Satan? PROBLEM: This passage reports the sin of David in numbering the people of Israel and Judah. Verse one affirms that God moved David to number the people. However, according to 1 Chronicl... [ Continue Reading ]
Why do the numbers of men recorded in 2 Samuel 24:9 and in 1 Chronicles 21:5-6 disagree? PROBLEM: When David was moved to number the people of Israel and Judah, he sent Joab to carry out the task. According to the report in 2 Samuel 24:9, the number of the men of valor in Israel was 800,000, and th... [ Continue Reading ]
Why are the numbers of the years of the famine different from those in 1 Chronicles 21? PROBLEM: God spoke to Gad and instructed him to offer David three alternative punishments for his sin. According to 2 Samuel 24:13, the famine was to be seven years. However, according to 1 Chronicles 21:12, the... [ Continue Reading ]
Is it fearful to fall into the hands of God? PROBLEM: David here implies that it is not fearful to fall into the hands of the living God. In fact, he chooses it over all other options. At the same time, the writer of Hebrews declares that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living... [ Continue Reading ]
Why does this passage say that David paid Araunah 50 shekels of silver when elsewhere it says he paid 600 shekels of gold? PROBLEM: When David offered to buy the oxen and the threshing floor for a sacrifice and altar to the Lord, 2 Samuel states that he paid for them with 50 pieces of silver. Howev... [ Continue Reading ]