Be A Wise Steward of What God Has Given You

2 Samuel 24:1-9    (CLICK HERE FOR BIBLE VERSES)

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 24:1-9.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

2 Samuel 24:1-25 (NIV)
¹  Again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, “Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.”
²  So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, “Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.”
³  But Joab replied to the king, “May the LORD your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?”
⁴  The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enroll the fighting men of Israel.

On verses 1-4:  At a time of relative peace in Israel, King David decides to order a census.  He requires his government officials to travel all throughout Israel and count how many men are ready, willing and able to fight for Israel.  Joab, David’s army general, is hesitant, suggesting to David that ordering a census at such a time is not a wise thing to do. However, David’s word overrules Joab’s concern.

What was so wrong about David ordering a census and counting the fighting men of Israel?  How was that a sin?  Does God have a problem with counting?  Of course not.  If counting was somehow wrong or evil, you wouldn’t see so many stats in the Bible.  It’s not that counting is wrong, but it’s about why we count.

Here are a couple of likely reasons why David ordering a census was a foolish thing to do.

First, it was a waste of resources.  Administering a census was costly, both to the government as well as to the people.  Exodus 30 laid down the procedure for administering a census and there you’ll see that every man who enlisted in the army as part of the census had to pay half a shekel (or in today’s economy, possibly a couple thousand dollars) as “atonement money”.  That’s a lot of money to be requiring the people to pay, especially when there was no war to fight and no urgent need for a census.  So one reason David calling a census was a sin was that he was wasting the resources God had entrusted to him and to the nation of Israel.  What’s the lesson here?  Be a wise steward of what God has entrusted to you.  Don’t waste it.  Sin is whenever I make poor use of what God has given to me.

Second, the reason David wanted to count the fighting men was not because he was trying to serve the people.  Rather he was trying to feed his own ego.  Since God looks not just at appearances but at the heart, it grieved the Holy Spirit that David was no longer anchoring his hope in God but was anchoring his hope in the size of his army and in his circumstances.  What can we learn from this?  Anchor your hope in God and God’s promises, instead of in people, numbers or circumstances.

2 Samuel 24:5-9 (NIV)
⁵  After crossing the Jordan, they camped near Aroer, south of the town in the gorge, and then went through Gad and on to Jazer.
⁶  They went to Gilead and the region of Tahtim Hodshi, and on to Dan Jaan and around toward Sidon.
⁷  Then they went toward the fortress of Tyre and all the towns of the Hivites and Canaanites. Finally, they went on to Beersheba in the Negev of Judah.
⁸  After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.
⁹  Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: In Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.

On verses 5-9:  Verses 5-8 suggest to us the cost of the census and how much work David’s government had to do to travel all throughout Israel to administer this unnecessary census.  Then verse 9 gives us the result of the census: Verse 9 gives us the result of the census: Joab counts a total of 1.3 million men who are ready, willing and able to fight for Israel.  But was it worth the cost?  We’ll find out in the verses that  follow that, no, it wasn’t worth it.  What can we learn from this?  Count the cost before you pursue an idea. 

Holy Spirit, may I not be reckless or stubborn in my decision making.  May my decisions be informed by wisdom from the Holy Spirit and good motives from a pure heart.  Help me to seek good advice early and to listen for Your voice often.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!