LEARNING DAILY

1 Chronicles 21:1, Now Satan stood up against Israel and moved David to number Israel.

David was tempted and fell to the temptation to number the people of Israel. The same account is found in 2 Samuel 24:1 where the Lord’s anger is against Israel and He moved David to call for a census to number the people of Judah and Israel. So which account is right? Is this a contradiction in the Word of God? Well, no! Several things should be noted here. James writes in his letter that God never does evil nor tempts people to do evil! But He does use Satan or his demons to achieve His divine purpose. Secondly, David should have resisted Satan’s temptation.

Moses had taken a census of the people (Exodus 30:12) in order for each person to “give a ransom for himself to the Lord”; each person over the age of 20 would have to give a payment, which was the same regardless of their age or their wealth, to the building of the tabernacle. But David’s census was done in order to see how many warriors he had. Perhaps he wanted to know for future conquests. Perhaps it was for taxation purposes. However, the true reason was Satan appealed to David’s pride, his accomplishments, for him to say how many people he had under his leadership.

I wonder why God was so angry at David. Why was this such a problem? Pride is a major issue in people’s relationship to God – even Believers. The people of Israel were not David’s, they were God’s. David should have only counted the people when God directed him to do so. By taking the census he was really exalting himself and his accomplishments. David knew it was wrong and eventually admitted he had acted foolishly and repented of his wrongdoing. Yes, there were consequences for his actions; his disobedience brought suffering to the people of Israel.

Walking the narrow way is difficult. One reason is that Satan continues to tempt each Believer with all those old ways lived before asking Jesus Christ into our hearts and asking Him to change us. He continues to attack us with the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Each day Believers must choose to say no to the temptations that come our way and say yes to walking in the way the Lord Jesus demands we live. Sometimes those temptations are to help us grow closer to the Lord by increasing our faith and allowing us to increase our knowledge about the goodness of God and what awaits us as we enter His kingdom (for eternity).

In Luke 22:31, Jesus tells Peter that Satan has asked to sift him as wheat. It was a warning that Satan wanted to shake his faith so hard that he would fall. Satan wanted to do this to prove that he was lacking what he needed to serve God. I believe this is a warning not only for Peter but for every follower of Jesus Christ! Satan’s name means “accuser” and he does this continually. He told God that Job only was righteous only because God had built a hedge around him and blessed him. Satan said Job would curse Him if he had all his “stuff” taken from him. Satan’s tactics have not changed; he is still accusing each believer before God, pointing out every bad thing said and done. He is still trying to get Believers to do what they know would not please God. He is still “sifting” Believers as he did Peter. And Jesus is still allowing it in order to make each Believer stronger as he is tempted. Jesus told Peter that He had prayed for him, that his faith would not fail. Jesus still continues to pray, to intercede for each Believer so that when the temptation ends our walk with Him is stronger. That prayer includes reminding the Father that each Believer gave their life to Him.

If you are being “sifted” today, know the source of that sifting. If you are struggling with pride as David did, confess it and walk with the Lord on the narrow way in humility. If you are being tested today, walk in it knowing that you are not walking alone – Jesus is with you wanting you to trust in Him to walk with you through your circumstance. Jesus told His disciples, “In the world you will have tribulations, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Take hold of that statement and believe it.