Monday, January 19 2025 Satan stood up and incited David

PJ54

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Monday, January 19 2025​

David . . . , a man agreeable to my heart.—Acts 13:22.

David was a great king. He was also a musician, a poet, a warrior, and a prophet. He experienced many trials. For some years, he lived as a fugitive, fleeing from jealous King Saul. After becoming king, David again had to run for his life when his son Absalom tried to steal his throne. Despite David’s difficulties and personal failings, he proved loyal to God to the end of his life. Jehovah described him as “a man agreeable to [His] heart.” So David’s counsel is worth listening to! (1 Ki. 15:5) Consider, for example, the counsel that David gave to his son and successor, Solomon. The young man had been chosen by Jehovah to continue to promote pure worship and to build a temple to honor God. (1 Chron. 22:5) Solomon would face difficulties. What would David say to him? David told his son that if he obeyed Jehovah, he would succeed in life.—1 Ki. 2:2, 3. w24.11 10 ¶9-11
Examining the Scriptures Daily—2026

Satan stood up and incited David​

Wednesday, February 7 – Be imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.—Heb. 6:12.

Although we should avoid comparing ourselves with others, we can benefit by learning from the examples of faithful ones. To illustrate, let us consider Jesus. Even though he was perfect, we can learn from his beautiful qualities and ways. (1 Pet. 2:21) When we do our best to follow his example as closely as we can, we become better servants of Jehovah. In God’s Word, we find many examples of faithful men and women who despite being imperfect are worthy of imitation. Think of King David, whom Jehovah called “a man agreeable to my heart.” (Acts 13:22) Yet, David made some serious mistakes. In spite of that, he is a good example for us. Why? Because he did not try to justify himself. Instead, he accepted the strong counsel he received and was sincerely sorry for what he had done. As a result, Jehovah forgave him.—Ps. 51:3, 4, 10-12. w22.04 13 ¶11-12
Speaking of David’s serious mistakes, the first thing that might come to mind is his adulterous tryst with Bathsheba, which led to David’s murdering her husband to cover up her pregnancy. Yet, as serious as that was, the nation itself was not directly affected. The same cannot be said about another of David’s “serious mistakes”, a mistake that resulted in Jehovah unleashing a plague that killed 70,000 of David’s countrymen. I am, of course, referring to David’s ill-advised census.

Joab tried to dissuade the king from numbering Israel but David prevailed. Why did David do it? 1 Chronicles 21:1 gives us some insight. It says: “Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel.” It is not clear to me why taking a census of Israel at that time was wrong. At other times similar censuses were taken. In any case, Satan knew it was wrong and that is why he overreached David and influenced the king to act in a way to incite Jehovah’s judgment against Israel. And in time David himself realized his error and confessed: “But David’s heart was struck with remorse after he had numbered the people. David then said to Jehovah: “I have sinned greatly by doing this. And now, Jehovah, please forgive your servant’s error, for I have acted very foolishly.” – 2 Samuel 24:10

Jehovah’s response came the next day. The prophet, Gad, presented David with three options, all equally unappealing: Seven years of famine, three months of fleeing before Israel’s enemies, or three days of pestilence. David chose the three days, saying: “It is very distressing to me. Let us fall, please, into the hand of Jehovah, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” – 2 Samuel 24:14 The scourage was only halted when David built an altar and sacrificed upon it.

Similarly, Satan has over-reached the leadership of the Watchtower and incited them to promote a very dangerous vaccine. Not so long ago the Watchtower was an outspoken critic of all vaccinations, portraying the procedure as a scheme of the Devil, but with the Covid pandemic, so-called, the Governing Body became zealous promoters of the United Nations, Bill Gates-funded, World Health Organization’s universal vaccination program. Here is an excerpt from an article posted on e-watchman back in 2021:

It does not at all seem far-fetched that Satan has incited the Governing Body to order that Jehovah’s Witnesses must be vaccinated in order to set foot in a Kingdom Hall, that is, assuming the pilot project is successful and is fully implemented worldwide. It might seem like the prudent thing to do given that the COVID-19 pestilence has killed hundreds of thousands of people. (In reality, many of the deaths attributed to Covid have been caused by hospitals using deadly treatments and disallowing known remedies.)

But as in the case of David’s disastrous census, which was apparently a numbering of his armies rather than the general population, what right does the Governing Body have to attach any conditions to those who wish to practice what the Bible commands?

The satanic nature of the Watchtower’s mandate should be obvious, in that, it is in complete alliance with the UN’s universal vaccination program, which had been in the works long before the pandemic. Under the guise of obeying Caesar and saving lives, the Watchtower has committed the entire organization to a dangerous, untested, highly experimental procedure that is killing and maiming hundreds of thousands around the world.

Why is this vaccination mandatory? No one can give an answer as to why vaccinated persons need to be protected from those who are unvaccinated. Why must people who have recovered from COVID-19 be vaccinated to protect them from Covid? Why is natural immunity discounted, which has been scientifically proven to be at least a dozen times more powerful than the vaccine? Why are young people and even children and babies being injected with a serum that is far more deadly to them than the virus? No one ever answers these questions. It is just tyranny. Take the jab or else be punished. And the Governing Body is right there with the tyrants.

It is not out of the question that the 70,000 deaths that resulted from David’s folly might have an actual fulfillment among Jehovah’s Witnesses. Of course, it is not going to happen over the course of three days, but no one knows the long-term effects.
While the day’s text commends David for not trying to justify himself, can the Governing Body show the same contrition? After all, it is now known that the vaccine is neither safe nor effective. Even with all of the media coverup and tyrannical de-platforming of truth-telling experts, the truth has prevailed. The vaccines do not provide immunity. It is a fact that millions of people who took the vaccines also contracted COVID-19. It is also a fact that vaccinations do not prevent one from being an agent of contagion. Foremost, millions of people worldwide have had adverse reactions, and untold numbers of vaccinated persons have died. Will the Governing Body show the same humility as David and openly confess their sin before God and apologize to Jehovah’s Witnesses for ill-advisedly promoting the vaccines and claiming that Jehovah directly provided the Pentagon-designed poison?

It is noteworthy that the three options Jehovah presented to David involved war, famine, and pestilence — three of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse that are soon to be unleashed. Let he that hath an ear, hear.
 
It is not clear to me why taking a census of Israel at that time was wrong. At other times similar censuses were taken.

When I was researching this some time back, I was considering 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1. The issue appeared to be less about the census than about David's motive and method.

As you noted, a census in and of itself was not a sin, but there were very specific stipulations and those censuses were approved by Jehovah.

In David's case, here's where I landed on the subject:
  1. No command from Jehovah — This census was not divinely initiated. In contrast to Moses’ censuses (which came with instructions and tabernacle context), David's appears to be a kingly prerogative, asserting dominion.
  2. Military framing — The context suggests a count for military purposes—men “who drew the sword.” This implies a reliance on human strength and security, rather than on Jehovah’s deliverance.
  3. Pride and control — The narrative tone, Joab’s objection, and David’s later remorse all point to the census as a flesh-driven act of national pride—an assertion of power and control over the people.
Thus, the “sin” is not the act of counting itself, but the heart posture behind it—a king placing trust in the size of his army, rather than in Jehovah’s hand.

The Watchtower organization has, for a long, long time, pointed to its self-numbering censuses as "proof" of Jehovah's blessing, but at least David had a contrite heart and recognized his error, and the gravity of his action. I'm still waiting for the Watchtower organization to come forward and display David-like repentance for its own trust in numbers rather than in Jehovah's hand. Not to mention the prevailing and persistent assertion of power and control over the brothers and sisters. (cf Matthew 24:48; Luke 12:45)

—Timothy,
a believer.
 
When I was researching this some time back, I was considering 2 Samuel 24:1 and 1 Chronicles 21:1. The issue appeared to be less about the census than about David's motive and method.

As you noted, a census in and of itself was not a sin, but there were very specific stipulations and those censuses were approved by Jehovah.

In David's case, here's where I landed on the subject:
  1. No command from Jehovah — This census was not divinely initiated. In contrast to Moses’ censuses (which came with instructions and tabernacle context), David's appears to be a kingly prerogative, asserting dominion.
  2. Military framing — The context suggests a count for military purposes—men “who drew the sword.” This implies a reliance on human strength and security, rather than on Jehovah’s deliverance.
  3. Pride and control — The narrative tone, Joab’s objection, and David’s later remorse all point to the census as a flesh-driven act of national pride—an assertion of power and control over the people.
Thus, the “sin” is not the act of counting itself, but the heart posture behind it—a king placing trust in the size of his army, rather than in Jehovah’s hand.

The Watchtower organization has, for a long, long time, pointed to its self-numbering censuses as "proof" of Jehovah's blessing, but at least David had a contrite heart and recognized his error, and the gravity of his action. I'm still waiting for the Watchtower organization to come forward and display David-like repentance for its own trust in numbers rather than in Jehovah's hand. Not to mention the prevailing and persistent assertion of power and control over the brothers and sisters. (cf Matthew 24:48; Luke 12:45)

—Timothy,
a believer.
Interesting perspective! Never thought of it that way.
 
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