David numbered the children of Israel in 1st Chronicles 21:1. Because David sinned in doing so, God sent judgement upon the nation of Israel. Why did God bring judgement because of this act?
Here are the comments that my Life Application Study bible shares concerning this verse.
The bible text says Satan provoked David to make a census. Can Satan force people to do wrong? No. Satan only tempted DAvid with the idea, but David decided to act on the temptation. Ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan hs been tempting people to sin. David's census was not against God's Law, but his motive for the census was wrong--pride in his mighty army while forgetting that his real strength came from God. Even Joab, not known for his high moral ideals, recognized the census as sin. From DAvid's example we learn that an action that may not be wrong in itself can be sinful if it is motivated by greed, arrogance, or selfishness. Of our motives, not the action itself, contain the sin. We must constantly weigh our motives before we act.
Hum, Satan can't cause us to sin, he can only tempt us.
Today while reading, I read where God spoke to David about the expiration of his days. 1st Chronicles 17:11, "When thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers." As I read this passage, it seems to me to read as if they days of...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
In 1 Chronicles 13:3, we read that David is bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. In this verse, we find the words, "for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul." WOW! The most sacred piece of furniture from the Tabernacle in the...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
While reading through the history of the kings, the presence of ivory in their decorations captured my attention. A throne was fabricated for Solomon out of ivory. It was overlaid with gold. Then, in the days of Ahab, he constructed a palace of...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Today, I read in 1 Kings 13 about the prophet from Judah who came to prophesy against the altar which Jeroboam set up in Israel. The prophet was told "by the word of the Lord" not to eat or drink in the land of Israel. As the prophet was...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Many know that David sinned, and they wonder how he could be a man after God's own heart. As we look at the life of Solomon, his son, we quickly see a vast difference. Even though David didn't walk perfectly with the Lord, he never turned to...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Today, David's prayer in Psalm 144 caught my attention. Many times in this Psalm our minds are drawn to David's thought, "What is man, that thou takest knowledge of him!" Or, maybe we focus on the fact that David understands that God is his...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
A few days ago, I wrote a blog concerning Barzillai, that he was an interesting character. As I continued reading, I read a Scripture about Barzillai which confused me. The reason I was confused is that I didn't read the Scripture closely enough.
Paul tells the Corinthian church in 2 Co 5:9, that he labors to be accepted of God. Now, we know that Paul was an apostle. Therefore, we know that Paul can not be speaking about salvation in this verse. Paul is NOT saying that he labors to be...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
Everytime I read the account of David's return to Jerusalem after the defeat of Absalom, I read in 2nd Samuel 19 of a man named Barzillai. David makes an offer to Barzillai to come to Jerusalem with him, "and I will feed thee with me in...[ abbreviated | read entire ]
