David takes a census of the fighting men

[LordsArmy]

1 Chronicles 21:1-17
Why was it a sin for David to take a census of Israel?

[tigger]

Because he was trusting more in the number of fighting men he had than God defeating his enemies? With God on his side it didn't matter the number of men he had.

[antitox]

God, who reads man's heart could clearly see what motivated David to need to know what amount of military might he had. This was in the day where God used small numbers of fighting men to defeat large armies. David was well-aware of this, yet he sought a sense of security based on his army's size and capability. With David, God required steadfast trust in all the exploits of Israel.

I think God knew where that was going, and chose to stop it headlong.