The Folly of the Number Game

UV 1337/10,000 The Folly of the Number Game
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
I Chronicles 21 v 2

David was tempted by satan to take a census of his fighting force and the people of Israel. He wanted to take stock to bolster his pride and confidence. Taking a census is considered a normal thing for governments since Roman times but David taking a head count signified that he was revelling in the strength of numbers instead of finding his strength in the joy of the Lord or in what pleases God. Today, it is a national as well as global and individual obsession with numbers that afflicts human beings. But God is not interested in mere numbers. Our confidence too should not be in the extent of money we possess or the resources we have or the number of people we lead or influence.

David’s seemingly simple act of taking a head count displeased God so much that He sent Gad his prophet to ask David to choose from a set of three afflictions: three years of famine, three months of military defeat at the hands of his foes or the sword of the angel of the Lord. David chose wisely to fall into the hand of the Lord for he knew that God is far more merciful than men or nature. God sent a plague upon Israel that took the lives of seventy thousand men. David and his elders pleaded with the Lord for mercy and the Lord relented and restrained the angel of death.

The moral of this event in David’s and Israel’s history is that we should be dependent only on the Lord for success, blessing, prosperity, health and well being. It is not a question of being “also dependent” on God. When we depend on any other thing like earthly riches or the strength of the people we know and lead, our own abilities and talents, it displeases the Lord and could be the cause of much affliction. Our devotion to God should be whole-hearted, undivided and focussed. When David’s error was pointed out to him, he repented and made amends. In the course of our life and leadership, we too might be prone to such temptations and errors of judgement. We should be sensitive enough to quickly restore the equilibrium of our faith and our relationship with God when it is pointed out to us by the Holy Spirit or by the people who advise us. David failed to heed the warning of Joab. We are to be dependent on godly counsel, dependent on grace not might, dependent on the Word and not numbers, dependent on the promises of God not the assurances of men, dependent on the blessings of God not on material or human resources. We are to rejoice in the presence of God and not in power or prestige of men. Our decisions and actions will clearly show the focus of our dependence, the source of our confidence, the reason for our delight.

Prateep V Philip