Please read this passage before reading this homily.
Was David a king who had saved the people from grief by turning the hand of the Lord away from the people? Or was he a king who had caused the grief by ordering the census? This is in the third part of this book.
The earlier sections of the book have no problems David for his deeds. This third part seems ambivalent towards David. We would not have asked the two questions above in the earlier chapters of the book because we know that the hand of the Lord was with David.
David was a great general, knowing how to wage war and rule peoples. He was not very adept at running his private and family life. This book of Samuel does not overlook the complexity of David’s personality: both wisdom and foolishness are presented. The people of the Israelites also had complex personalities. They could be very obedient one day and quire rebellious at other times. Their lives combined fidelity with infidelity, calmness with anger and lack of faith. Both David and his people are very much like us, for we also are complex people who mix sincerity with intrigue, and straightforwardness with duplicity.
The books of the Bible record the complex behavior of God’s people, the u6ps and downs of their relationship with God. Yet God remained faithful to the people of Israel and to us despite our lack of consistent obedience and humbleness before or God. Despite inconsistency, despite sin, despite pride, God has stayed with us and will stay with is until the end: God will save us.
The second book of Samuel is our book. Through David and the Israelites, we can see ourselves with our family, friends and citizens. The people of the Bible struggled with their relationship with God. The Bible tells the ups and owns of these relationships. God never disowned his people for their struggle. God will not abandon us, either, for our struggles. The story of David with his census was not about rejection by God, but about how God continues to pursue us out of love for us.