ADMITTING our mistakes before God brings DELIVERANCE
April 6 Bible
Reading: 2 Samuel Chapters 22-24
ADMITTING our mistakes before God brings DELIVERANCE
And David's heart condemned him after
he had numbered the people. So, David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly in what I have done;
but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have
done very foolishly." (2 Sam 24:10) Then David spoke to
the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, "Surely I have sinned, and I have done
wickedly; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, be
against me and against my father's house." (2 Sam 24:17)
The act of
numbering the people was not in itself sinful; for Moses had done it earlier
under God’s command and direction not once but twice that we read in Numbers
chapters 1 and 26. However, King David ordered a census without God’s express
permission. His motives for this might have been pride, self-confidence and
distrust of God. He may have wanted to confirm whether he had a sufficiently
strong army for further military conquest. The act of taking a census of the
Israelites was a breach of God’s law which required that Israel should continue
a separate people different from other people.
On the other
hand, we read that it was God Himself who instigated David to number the
Israelites because He was angry with the people of Israel. Again the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He moved
David against them to say, "Go, number Israel and Judah." (2 Sam
24:1) For the sin of the Israelites David was prompted to act wrongly for which
the Israelites were punished. This incident shows us how God governs the world,
and brings out a useful lesson as well. The pride of David's heart was his sin
in numbering the people. He was trusting in an arm of flesh more than he should
have done in trusting God alone. God looks at sin differently than us. What
appears to us harmless, or, a small offence may be a great sin in the eye of
God, who discerns the very thoughts and intents of the heart. David’s eyes were
not opened to the gravity of his sin till God had spoken unto him by His
commissioned prophet Gad.
