Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, “Go, number Israel and Judah.” The king said to Joab the commander of the army who was with him, “Go about now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and register the people, that I may know the number of the people.”
– Second Samuel 24:1-2
David realized he had sinned in numbering the people. He told the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O Lord, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly” (2 Sam. 24:10). He had forgotten that from the beginning, the Lord told him that He Himself was the real King.
Adapted from David: After God’s Heart, page 105.
Tomorrow: “Becoming Proud in Success” (4)