“Satan
rose up against
incited David to take a census of
Chron 21:1-2).
God always requires total trust
in Him alone for our victories in life. Throughout scripture we are cautioned
not to place our trust in the strength of horses, other men or our own abilities.
David’s decision to take a census was a failure to keep his trust totally upon
the Lord.
David’s purpose in counting his
population was to assess his military strength, much like the second census
taken under Moses (Num. 1:2,3). David found 800,000 men eligible for military
service in
500,000 men in
(2 Sam. 24:9), more than double the previous head count.
David’s commander evidently
recognized the grave error that his king was about to make. “But Joab
replied, ‘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
(1 Chron 21:3).
This census displeased the
Lord. David was falling into the temptation of trusting in the size of his army
rather than in the Lord. God punished David and reduced his forces by bringing
a plague that killed 70,000 men (1 Chron 24:14,15). How do we do this in our
lives today? We trust our bank accounts, our skills, and the security of our
workplace. When we begin placing our faith in these things instead of the
provider of these things we get into trouble with God.
What a lesson this is for each of us. Today, place your
total trust in the Lord for all of your needs.
TGIF Today God Is
First Volume 2 by Os Hillman
