Satan moves people to do a lot of things. He is so clever and deceptive. Most of the time we never see the traps he lays for us. One of the ways he does this is by planting ideas in our heads. That is what he did for David. The thought occurred to David to take a census to see how big his kingdom had grown. That seems pretty harmless on the surface. Let's look deeper.
When Satan moved David to number Israel, there were at least three problems. First, God did not move David to this. Satan did. By this time in David's life he should have known the difference between good ideas and God ideas. That is true for all of us as well.
The second problem was that David would be tempted to put his trust in his numbers rather than God. God helped David win military victories. Sometimes against impossible odds. God wanted David's focus to remain on Him, not on his military might.
Lastly, numbering Israel would be a source of pride for David. To look at all he had accomplished. Again, God wanted David's focus to remain on Him. God grew the kingdom. God won the battles. God increased the nation. God gave them peace and prosperity. God wanted David to remember that.
When Satan moved David to take his eyes off the LORD, we are told God was not pleased. In I Chronicles 21:7 it reads, "God was displeased."
Sin has consequences. This is not something we hear a lot about in these days. I heard a sermon a long time ago with some hard hitting facts about sin. Sin will take you further than you ever wanted to go and cost you more than you ever wanted to pay.
God gave David the choice between three judgments. Famine. Military conflict. Or a plague. David chose the plague. 70,000 Israelites died because of David's sin. At one point, David asked God why the sheep of Israel had to suffer for what He did. Sin cost David more than he ever wanted to pay.
So what is the point? We better be cautious when "moved" to do something. We must question who is moving us. We need to consider the consequences of ideas that come to us. Will it further the kingdom of God and His glory? Will it keep our focus on Him?
70,000 people died because David let Satan move Him to do something foolish. May God grant us discernment to see when Satan tries to move us to sin. May we weigh our ideas on the scales of what pleases God. May Jesus help us not be moved by Satan to displease God.
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