1 Chronicles 21:2 ~ Devotion

So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.”  (1 Chronicles 21:2)

 

I’ve heard that when Jay Leno first began his stand-up comedy routines, at night he slept in his car.  Today, he has a car collection that is nearly unrivaled.  He is one of many rags to riches stories we might think of.  In fact, while it may not be to the same level, many of us may have a similar story.  We can remember times when money and possessions were scarce, and today, blessings abound.

 

King David was no different.  He grew up as a shepherd, became a soldier, then a general, then the king of Israel.  From a meager, poor shepherd boy to a wealthy King.  Another rags to riches story.  But as so often happens, the riches, the blessings God had given led David away from a trust in his Lord and into sin.  The verse above describes how David ordered his top general Joab to count all the people of Israel.

 

The trouble with bean counting does not lie in the counting of beans but in the swelling of the head that either leads to or results from it. We just read yesterday about all the victories that the Lord had brought to David.  Yet, when David was still a “nothing,” he knew enough not to find his security in armaments or fighting men but “in the name of the Lord” (1 Samuel 17:45).  Now that God had made him something and filled his hands with success, David thought he had something to lose. That is why he stopped finding security in the Lord and began instead to seek it in how many Israelites there were.

 

Are we any different that David?  As God has filled our hands with success, with blessings beyond number, do we now think that we have something to lose?  Like David, when we start to look at our blessings, and think that they are ours (instead of God’s), that they are something we might lose, or are something we are afraid to lose, then, like David, we sin.  We stop finding our security and joy in our Savior God, and instead try to find it in the blessings he has given here on earth. 

 

Just a few verses later we read how David confessed his sin to God and was forgiven.  Another rags to riches story – as God brought David from the rags of sin to the riches of forgiveness.  It is a story that describes you and me too.  We are taken from rags of sin that fill our lives to the riches of forgiveness in Jesus our Savior.  As you and I see this same sin creep into our lives, may we follow David’s example and confess our sins to our God.  Then assured of our forgiveness by our Savior’s death and resurrection, may we keep a proper perspective on the blessings God gives.

 

 

PRAYER:  Lord God, you are the Giver of every good and perfect gift. Truly our cup of blessing is filled to overflowing. We thank you for grace which gives us what we do not deserve . . . and for your mercy which does not give us what we do deserve. For this bright day, for the love of family and friends, for the food I eat and the water I drink – all gifts from your gracious hand – I give you my heartfelt praise. Above all I thank you for my Savior without whom my life would be empty and meaningless. Surrounded by countless blessings I still ask for one more – a thankful heart. Amen.

 

 

Today’s Light Bible Reading:  1 Chronicles 21

 

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