It's funny how even the mighty can be tempted. It was one thing for David to be tempted by Bathsheba. He paid the consequence of that with his guilt and the death of his son. But it was another when David was tempted by Satan. This time the temptation was subtle, like Eve's temptation in the garden or Jesus' temptation in the desert. Satan whispers the idea in David's ear. 'David, you have become so great, God has blessed you so, your kingdom is so vast and powerful. How many Israelites do you think there are? Do you think you have a million that call you king now. Take a census to show how far you have come from the days when Saul was chasing after you and you hid out with your motley crew of 400 men.'
There is an issue of pride and ownership in all of these temptations. Jesus was the only one who saw through Satan's guile. David did not, although Joab saw the danger and warned David that it was not a good idea. "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?" - 1 Chronicles 21:3 NIV
The king overruled Joab, so Joab went throughout Israel taking a census and the results were amazing. There were one million, one hundred thousand fighting men in Israel. It says that Joab didn't include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering because the king's command was repulsive to him.
It was repulsive to God also and Israel was punished as a result. When David saw the error of his ways, he begged God for forgiveness. God came back with three choices: three years of famine, three months of being swept away by their enemies or three days of plague administered by the angel of the Lord. By now, David has been humbled and he chooses the plague, because he knows that God will show mercy. Seventy men are killed by the plague and God's heart is grieved. The angel is standing at the threshing floor of Araunah when David looks up and sees the angel standing with a drawn sword over Jerusalem. 'Let the plague fall on me and my family, God. It was my sin, not the sin of these innocent people.' The Lord spoke to the angel and the plague stopped. David built an altar, offered sacrifices to God and announced that the house of the Lord would be built where the angel had appeared.
Finally, David's heart is back in the right place. A million men are nothing compared to one angel of the Lord. Nothing that David has is his own doing, it is all God.
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