GOD’S WORD FOR YOU
1 CHRONICLES 21:2-7
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2 So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan. Then return to me so I will know their number.” 3 But Joab said, “May the LORD add to his people a hundred times as many as they are! My lord the king, aren’t they all my lord’s servants? Why then should my lord require this? Why should it be a cause of guilt for Israel?” 4 But the king’s word prevailed over Joab. So Joab left and went throughout all Israel and then returned to Jerusalem. 5 And Joab gave the total of the numbering of the people to David. In all Israel there were 1,100,000 men who drew the sword, and in Judah 470,000 who drew the sword. 6 But Levi and Benjamin were not included in the numbering, because the king’s command was abhorrent to Joab. 7 This thing was wicked in the eyes of God, and he struck Israel.
Joab protested. His words did not come from indolence (“I don’t feel like doing it so I’ll try to talk him out of it”) but from a genuine sense that it was wrong to make this count. David was the king, however, and he prevailed. Joab left, reluctantly, and started to count the warriors. Later we will be told the truth: “Joab began to count the men but did not finish” (1 Chronicles 27:24). He did, however, come back with a number for David. It is a suspiciously round number: A million plus a hundred thousand in the north, and four hundred seventy thousand in the south.
The process of counting all of the fighting men took time. The text of 2 Samuel 24 even presents the route that Joab took for the count. First he crossed the Jordan to count the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and then the half-tribe of Manasseh in the north. Then Joab traveled west across Israel’s northern frontier to the land of Dan. There is a remarkable statement that Joab traveled “toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites” (2 Samuel 24:7). This reference to pagan cities may betray Joab’s distaste for the whole project. Apart from the Transjordan places, Dan in the far north and Beersheba in the far south, he does not mention a single Israelite city or town by name apart from Jerusalem. It is as if the map he was using was drawn before Joshua’s conquest, or that he did not want to defile any Israelite city by mentioning its participation in the census beyond David’s command.
Joab’s reluctance, his confusion about what to do, his eagerness to get away from his sinning master, but then his inability to follow up on that master’s sinful orders, shows how one man’s sins can so easily break down the world of the people around that man.
Our Lutheran Confessions guide us back to the Scriptures in such cases. What if my superior commands me to do something that is distasteful to me, or that is inconvenient for me? I must obey him. What if he commands me to do something that is sinful? Then I must obey God.
“Christians are obliged to be subject to civil authority and obey its commands and laws in all that can be done without sin. But when commands of the civil authorities cannot be obeyed without sin, we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).” (Augsburg Confession XVI:6-7).
What if a non-secular, that is to say, a religious authority gives a command to be obeyed that is sinful? This was especially a problem in the Medieval Catholic church where bishops and popes took up secular authority in many ways, but there are exceptions in every church even today where someone abuses authority in some sinful way. Our Confession does not hesitate to once again drive us back into the Holy Scriptures:
“They also quote the statement (Hebrews 13:17), ‘Obey your leaders.’ This statement requires obedience to the Gospel; it does not create an authority for bishops apart from the Gospel. Bishops must not create traditions contrary to the Gospel, nor interpret their traditions in a manner contrary to the Gospel. When they do so, we are forbidden to obey them by the statement (Galatians 1:18), ‘If anyone preaches another Gospel, let him be accursed.’ … Scripture commands that we must obey God rather than men. To the extent that they teach wicked things, they should not be heard.” (Apology to the Augsburg Confession XXVIII:20,21).
Of course, refusing to obey an official in the workplace might get you fired, or disciplined with a fine, a demotion, or some other retribution. These are crosses that we bear for Christ. Refusing to obey a government official because we think we will be committing a sin can be difficult to prove or to substantiate, especially in a dangerous situation where a split-second decision might not be a right one. And finally, what about the person working behind the cash register who is robbed at gunpoint? They do nothing wrong if they preserve their life by handing over money to a thief. The robbery was not their doing. Like the man in the parable of the Good Samaritan, they are simply a victim and not to blame.
The daily tasks we perform are often muddied by the sinfulness of the world. But we pray that God would protect us from harm and from sin, and keep us focused on his will. Luther explained the Third Petition for our encouragement: “God’s will is done when he strengthens and keeps us firm in his Word and in the faith as long as we live. This is his good and gracious will.”
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
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Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, New Ulm, Minnesota
God’s Word for You – 1 Chronicles 21:2-7 When the boss tells you to sin