Sunday, April 24, 2016

So, What’s The Big Deal???



Have you ever read in 1 Chronicles 21 about how David numbered the people???



Well, I looked up numbering and the definition said that numbering was counting.



Hmmm……



So, I wondered why counting or numbering the children of Israel was such an awful thing to do? 



Why was it such a big deal???



To be truthful, I have read these verses before!!! And I NEVER exactly understood what the problem was until GOD opened up my eyes to see what was going on.   



GOD explained this to me and so I wanted to share it.



Let’s look at the first 5 verses of 1 Chronicles 21.



1 Chronicles 21:1-5 (KJV)

21 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it.

And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?

Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem.

And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword.


If you read and study these scriptures, one of the first things you’ll notice is that both David and Joab knew that numbering or counting the people was a sin.



1 Chronicles 21:3 (KJV)  …why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?



1 Chronicles 21:3 (NKJV) …Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?”


So, why did David do it???


The first verse in the King James Version says, “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”  The New King James uses the word, “moved.”



I’m going to tell it to you the way that GOD showed it to me. 



The enemy was whispering in David’s ear trying to cause problems as he always does.  And instead of telling the devil to shut his mouth, David listened to him. 



David allowed Satan to influence him.


And that’s NEVER a good thing!!!

In verse 3, GOD spoke thru Joab to try to stop David from being so foolish and doing something that he knew was wrong.



And Joab answered, The Lord make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?


If you go to verse 4, you can see that David wouldn’t listen to Joab’s words of wisdom!!!  Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab…



Joab was a true friend because he saw that David was sinning and he spoke up to try to stop him.



You know, if you do something and you don’t know that it is wrong, that’s ignorance because you didn’t know.



When you know that it is wrong to do something and you do it anyway, THAT’S JUST PLAIN STUPID!!! 



In this case, IT WAS PRIDE!!!



And here’s why!!!


1 Chronicles 21:5 (NKJV) Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.


If you read this verse carefully, you’ll see what I saw. 



David wasn’t actually having the people counted.  He had ordered Joab to count the men of war-the fighting men-the army!!! 



Verse 5 says, All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.


The phrase, “men who drew the sword,” refers to the fighting men of Israel!!!  In 2 places in verse 5, we can see this phrase used.  David was counting the men of war!!! 


All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword.



Why was this so bad???


Because GOD knew that Israel would look at their number and say, Look how great an army we are!!!  Look at how many great and mighty men we have.  We can go out and fight and win all the battles by ourselves!!!  They could say, Look at us, we are so many!!!


 
If you look at Israel’s history, you will quickly see that GOD FOUGHT ISRAEL’S BATTLES!!!!  It wasn’t because they had a great army!!!  IT WAS BECAUSE THEY HAD A GREAT GOD!!! 



When GOD fights your battles for you, you are supposed to look to HIM!!!  You aren’t supposed to be counting how many mighty men of war you have in your army!!! 



Let’s look at a few other scriptures!!!



When we read about Gideon, we find that GOD told him that HE had too many men in his army. 



Judges 7:1-2 (ESV)

7 Then Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him rose early and encamped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

The Lord said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’

God had promised to fight their battles and as long as GOD was with Israel, they won every battle!!!  GOD knew that if HE allowed them to go out with so many men of war, they would say, WE DID THIS!!!  WE WON THAT BATTLE BY OURSELVES!!!



Any time that we think we can do it by ourselves, we find ourselves flat on our faces in defeat!!!



Israel had just defeated the mighty city of Jericho because GOD was with them and they had followed HIS instructions!!! 



So, they decided to go against Ai on their own.  They did NOT seek the LORD nor ask for HIS HELP and they lost the battle.  I have to point out that Israel had disobeyed GOD.  There was sin in the camp because of disobedience.  That’s why GOD was NOT with them. 
 


Joshua 7:2-5 (NKJV)

Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the country.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.

And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.”

So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.

And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six men, for they chased them from before the gate as far as Shebarim, and struck them down on the descent; therefore the hearts of the people melted and became like water.



Do you see how proud these people were after defeating the city of Jericho???  They decided that they ONLY needed a few men to defeat this small city.


Joshua 7:3-4 (NKJV)
And they returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not weary all the people there, for the people of Ai are few.”
So about three thousand men went up there from the people, but they fled before the men of Ai.


It does NOT say that they asked GOD, if they should go up and fight.  It is all about them!!!  IT WASN’T ABOUT GOD!!!!  This is exactly what GOD was talking about!!!



PRIDE!!!



I can do this!!!  I don’t need GOD!!!  I can do it all by myself!!! 



Sound familiar???



That’s PRIDE!!!  


And that is why David wasn’t supposed to be counting the men of war!!!  GOD didn’t want them boasting in their own strength!!!


GOD SAID, “IT’S A PRIDE THING!!!”



Oh, look at us, we are so strong because we have so many men of war!!!  That is called, “vaunting.”  Or preening. 


Have you ever seen a little banty rooster prancing around with its chest all stuck out and showing all it’s feathers?  That’s vaunting or preening!!!  That’s Vanity!!! And THAT’S PRIDE!!!



Thinking YOU ARE BIG AND BAD ENOUGH TO DO IT ALL BY YOURSELF, THAT’S PRIDE!!!



Proverbs 16:18 (KJV) Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.


Proverbs 16:18 (CEB) Pride comes before disaster, and arrogance before a fall.


Proverbs 16:18 (NCV) Pride leads to destruction; a proud attitude brings ruin.

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