jt: Yes, but this does not make
them or it any less evil when God's promise is to keep His people in
peaceful dwelling places and away from strife and turmoil. This is a good example of the confusion the
newer versions of the Bible. If God is not in control then IYO is Satan
more powerful than He is in some of these areas?
Caroline: When David
counted his fighting men (which was a bad thing) , 2 Samuel 24 said God made
him do it but 1 Chron. 21 said Satan made him do it. How you reconcile these
two accounts IS the answer to your question above. Love, Caroline
jt: I would choose neither. Anyone
who knows God and how He interacts with men - or any person with
spiritual discernment would know the answer to the above - but how does
this answer my question?
Caroline: Reconciling the two verses will show
what a person believe about God, human freedom, theodicy and inerrancy and
maybe other things as well. I'll start you off by giving you what other people
have concluded.
First, here are the two verses that cause the
contention:
2 Sam 24:1 "Again the anger of the LORD burned
against Israel, and he incited David aginst them, saying, "Go and take a
census of Israel and Judah."
I Chron 21:1 "Satan rose up against Israel and
incited David to take a census of Israel."
Some theories:
1) God and Satan are the same. Similar thinking
include theory that Satan only does what God wants. That is, Satan is God's
left hand and Jesus is his right.
2) The Chronicler edited (redacted) the account
to fit his theology.
3) We will not know until we see God face to
face.
Note that in one verse, God did it because he
wanted to punish Israel and caused David to sin (We don't know what made
Him angry in the first place but it doesn't matter as that's not the reason
Israel got punished). Also, is it really sin to obey the voice of God? I mean,
Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac. It would have been sin to disobey, not
obey.
In the other verse, Satan wanted to get Israel
into trouble.
Consider too Job's story. Job only knew what went
on on earth. He didn't know what went on in heaven.
So reconciling these two verses will answer your
question.
