Last week we had a look at the
mighty men that helped David to reach his goal of becoming king.
They weren't valiant, mighty men to start off with, but they became
mighty through the power of God helping them to make David king.
Today God also supplies mighty men and women in our lives to help
us to reach our goals. They might not seem 'mighty' in the eyes of
the world at first, but with His strength and power they become
mighty to help us on our journey. Do not shun the help that God
brings over your path, but be grateful for the people that He sends
to help you. You cannot succeed alone.
David was safely on his throne and
they had peace on all sides. God helped them to achieve that. Then
the Bible tells us that Satan tempted David to sin. David decided
to take a census of all the fighting men that he had in all of
Israel. He wanted to know the might of his army, without looking to
God as the mighty Power behind his army. The sin was therefore that
David wanted to glory in his own power and not God's. Joab tried to
talk David out of it:
"Now may the Lord your God add
to the people a hundred times more than there are, and may the eyes
of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king desire
this thing?" 2 Samuel 24:3
But David wouldn't listen and sent
Joab out to count. This took nine months and twenty days. They
counted eight hundred thousand valiant men in Israel and five
hundred thousand valiant men in Judah. And the Bible tells us that
David regretted that he had ordered this census:
"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 Samuel 24:10
This is just like David. He quickly
repents from sin and turns to God. I love that. He never turns away
from God, but always towards Him. No wonder he was a man after
God's heart!
Now God had to punish this act of
David as Jesus hadn't died yet for their sins. But God in His grace
gave David a choice. Either 3 years of famine, 3 months of running
from their enemies or 3 days of plague sent by God. David chose the
three days of plague. As he said it was better to fall into the
hands of God than into the hands of his enemies. Seventy thousand
people died in the process. It was a very sad day! David fell
before the Lord and asked God to leave the innocent alone and to
rather punish him. God then gave instructions through Gad, the
prophet that David should offer to the Lord on the threshing floor
of Araunah the Jebusite. David immediately listened and did just
that. And there the plague stopped.
"And David built there an altar
to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the
Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn
from Israel." 2 Samuel 24:25
And on this spot Solomon built the
Temple of the Lord. It was there that God withdrew His threat from
the nation. And it was there that David humbled himself and offered
prayers for the people. This place became a symbol of offerings and
prayers offered in humble obedience.
David always listened when the
prophets spoke to him. He was always ready to repent and to do
whatever God said through the prophets to rectify things. David had
to hear God's Voice through the prophets, because he didn't have
His Spirit within him as we do today.
Today we can hear God's voice
through His Spirit. But do we listen as David did? Do we act as
quickly as he did when God speaks to us? We all have the ability to
hear God's voice, but mostly we don't make the time to listen. We
rush around, we are kept busy on a daily basis, and we are swamped
with so many things cluttering our lives and the sounds around us
keep on increasing and the demand on our time keep on screaming at
us. And in the process we don't hear God's voice whispering to us.
He wants us to calm down, to make time for Him, to hear Him loud
and clear. We can if we make the effort. God wants to speak to us,
He wants us all to hear His voice, but are we willing to make the
time? Are we willing to give up certain things in our lives in
order to listen. And when we do hear, do we act and obey as David
did? Do we put all things aside and do what the Lord has placed on
our hearts? I think we seldom do. We should rather follow David's
example and leave everything to follow God and to do what He has
told us to do. I can promise you that it will be worth your
while.
Father thank you that we can know
that You are always talking to us, always whispering Your truths.
We simply need to pause and listen. Thank you Father for all Your
goodness. We want to slow down and hear Your voice loud and clear.
Please help us to do so. Amen