Ask most
people, “What was King David’s worst sin?” and they will say “His affair with
Bathsheba” (2 Samuel 11).
That is a
good answer, but did you know that in terms of impact on the kingdom, the
people and himself, David does something much worse later in his life? The event is recorded in 1 Chronicles 21. Are you ready for this? Brace yourself!
“David said…
‘Go count the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba.
Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are’” (Verse
1).
Whoa, that
is crazy, right?
Well, you
may not think so but look at how others react to this command.
Joab, the
commander of David’s army, asked, “Why does my Lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”(Verse
3).
Verse seven
tells us that, “This command was also evil in the sigh of God; so he punished
Israel”.
Obviously,
we are missing something here.
The problem
has to do with where David is putting his trust.
Up until
this point, David’s whole life was based on God’s blessings. For example, when it came time to replace
Saul as king, no one even thought about David.
He was left out in the field with the sheep. God chose him anyway (1 Samuel 16). When he faced Goliath, David did so with the
assurance that God would give him the victory (1 Samuel 17). When Saul tries, numerous times, to kill him,
David does not retaliate. Instead, he
trusts that God will look after the situation (1 Samuel 18-31). David trusted God because he had nothing
else. God was his only hope.
Now, later
in his life, David is rich. He has a
large army and a strong kingdom. He is a
man of power and he thinks that he can take care of himself. Counting the people is wrong because he
thinks that his security is found in his own resources.
Unfortunately,
we still fall into the same trap. It is
easy to think that if I pile up enough money, I will be ok. Some think that if they climb to the top of
the corporate ladder, life will be perfect.
Others dedicate themselves to the acquisition of knowledge in the hopes
that university degrees will provide a good life. Preachers, by the way, still count people. Rarely have I seen a minister “called” to a
smaller church (Seems odd doesn’t it?).
If our hope
is in anything but God, we will be disappointed. The only real strength we have comes from
above. When we find that hope, we will
have all we need.
“Seek first
his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as
well” (Matthew 6:33).
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