Where do you keep your confidence?
“Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.” (1 Chron 21:1-2).
Our victory in life always requires complete faith in God. Throughout scripture we are cautioned not to trust in the strength of horses, other humans, or our own abilities. David’s decision to take the census was a failure to fully trust the Lord.
David’s purpose in counting his population was to assess his military strength, much like the second census taken under Moses (Numbers 1:2,3). David found 800,000 men in Israel and 500,000 men in Judah qualified for military service (2 Samuel 24:9), more than double the previous number.
David’s commander clearly recognized that his king was about to make a huge mistake. “But Joab answered, ‘May the Lord increase his army a hundredfold. Are they not all my lord’s people, my lord the king? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he blame Israel?'” (1 Chron 21:3).
This census displeased the Lord. David was falling into the temptation to rely on the numbers of his army instead of the Lord. God punished David and reduced his army by bringing a plague that killed 70,000 (1 Chron 24:14,15). How do we do this in our lives today? We are confident in the security of our bank accounts, our skills and our workplace. When we start putting our faith in these things instead of the Provider of these things we get into trouble with God.
What a great lesson this is for each of us. Today, trust God completely for all your needs.
