So the king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, ‘Now go throughout all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, that I may know the number of the people.’ – II Samuel 24:2
REFERENCE
II Samuel 24:2-14
“In the multitude of people is a king’s honor,” (Proverbs 14:28a). Perhaps, David was seeking glory for himself by numbering the valiant men who followed him; he was to derive a sense of accomplishment from the size of his army or kingdom.
It may also be that he did that (the census) to access his military might so as to determine his military strategies in his campaigns and wars.
Whatever David’s reasons were for numbering the people didn’t go down well with the Lord; firstly, all the glory belongs to God and no man. Secondly, He was the Mighty Warrior of Israel Who fought and won their battles for them in spite of the size of their army.
Like David, you will only be setting yourself up for a fall if you chose to trust your connections, wealth, qualifications, intellect, creative abilities, etc, in determining your successes in life, rather than trusting God entirely. Whereas, all these things are subject to fail or leave your life, God remains ever faithful.
God is not against you using all these things to your advantage, but He doesn’t want you to trust/depend on them; because when you do, you take Him out of the equation and ascribe a place of irrelevance to Him in your life.
ADDITIONAL STUDY
Psalm 20:7-8, Proverbs 3:5-6 & Isaiah 26:3-4.
PRAYER
Ask for grace to stay humble, so you don’t ascribe more importance to ‘things’ than you do to God.
