1st Chronicles 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel. 2 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. 3 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?
This passage of scripture discloses to our view, how the adversary tempts us to invoke God's displeasure, by making suggestions to our minds that are entirely opposite to God's ideal will. In this instance, David had indulged pride, to the extent that he desired to show the strength of the kingdom under his rule, in contrast with that of king Saul, and others who had gone on before. This action of David's would then give the impression that Israel's strength or prowess was in her numbers, and this would then have the effect of stoking undue national pride and self-confidence, which in turn would open the door for presumptuous moves and strategies, which excluded God, and would inevitably doom the nation to failure.
This action by the king invoked the displeasure of God, and an angel was commissioned to issue a stern correction to the sin that was indulged by both king and people. What is worthy of note in this particular instance, is that many of the common people who had nothing to do with the original mandate as issued by the king, suffered the dire consequences of the plague which followed, for they too had partaken of the same spirit as did David, but unlike him, they had not repented, and thus, seventy thousand of them lost their lives, whilst David and his household suffered no loss. Let's read:
1st Chronicles 21:7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. 8 And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly. 14 So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
This incident is pregnant with instruction for us who are living on the brink of eternity, when the same sins of pride are being indulged to a fearful extent. Even though many may not be aware of it, what we do here in our own country can adversely affect other nations who had nothing to do with the evils that are countenanced, but who, like the seventy thousand who fell, merely partake of the same spirit. It is stated that whenever America sneezes, the world catches a cold, and from what we have observed lately, many nations are not only in danger of the common cold, but are exposed to pneumonia, asthma, and and other respiratory diseases, speaking in the spiritual sense.
It behooves us then to be aware that whatsoever we do will ultimately have a ripple effect across the globe, and thus, for the sake of others, and our own good, it would be well if we chose straight paths for our feet. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to choose right over wrong, and truth over error, for we are all interconnected, and what we do ultimately affects others, for good or for evil. Let's read:
Deuteronomy 4:1 Now therefore hearken"... "unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live. 2 Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. 6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. 7 For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!