Lessons From David’s Mistakes | Part 1

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever wondered why there is so much history in the Bible? I believe one important reason is for us to learn how God related to people. Bible personalities sometimes did the right thing, while other times they made mistakes. Their history is recorded so that we can learn from their positives and negatives. There is a saying that goes, ‘history repeats itself.’ If we examine our own lives, we often find ourselves in similar situations as the men and women in the Bible and end up making the same mistakes they did. A fool repeats their own mistakes, but a wise person learns from the mistakes of others.

Today we are going to draw some important values from David’s mistakes.

Over the past few weeks, we saw how God appointed David as the king of Israel. Finally, after the death of King Saul, David went on to become the king of Israel. Even to this day, King David is revered as the greatest ever king of Israel.

What we need to understand, is that in the midst of great victories and triumphs, both before and after being made king, David also was a man who had a lot of failures. He messed up his life many times, did a lot of mistakes, yet God called him as a man after His own heart. So what makes David so special for God? One of the reasons is David’s response to God when he sinned.

DAVID’S MISTAKES

“Learn from the mistakes of others, you can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”- Eleanor Roosevelt, US diplomat & reformer (1884-1962)

The Bible documents a few sins of David or David’s mistakes and we do not know if any sins have gone unrecorded. For our devotion I want to list a few.

David’s Mistake 1:  David eating the holy bread (showbread) from the tabernacle

1 Samuel 21

David’s Mistake 2: David plotted murder when his ego was hurt

1 Samuel 25

David’s Mistake 3: David’s affair with Bathsheba

2 Samuel 11

David’s Mistake 4: David’s census

We may not have time to study all 4 of David’s mistakes but we will try to study two of them: David’s affair with Bathsheba and David’s census. Today we will study David’s Census.

DAVID’S CENSUS

2 Samuel 24, 1 Chronicles 21, & Psalm 30.

David, who had become the king of Israel, decided to take a census to determine the total number of fighting men in the nation. At this time, God had granted David great victories and prosperity. However, this census ordered by David was displeasing to the Lord, and even David’s trusted general, Joab, warned him against it. Despite the advice of his military commander, David disregarded the warning and spent nearly 10 months throughout the land counting and enrolling all the men of fighting age and ability.

2 Samuel 24:9 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.

That took the army of David to 13,00,000 solders. Oh! What a great army. This act brought pride into the heart of David. He just increased his army’s strength, and he knew exactly how many men he had. However, God hated David’s strength in his army and brought about disastrous consequences.

I want you to see God’s response to David’s sin.

2 Samuel 24:11-14 11 Before David got up the next morning, the word of the Lord had come to Gad the prophet, David’s seer: 12 “Go and tell David, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am giving you three options. Choose one of them for me to carry out against you.’” 13 So Gad went to David and said to him, “Shall there come upon you three years of famine in your land? Or three months of fleeing from your enemies while they pursue you? Or three days of plague in your land? Now then, think it over and decide how I should answer the one who sent me.” 14 David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but do not let me fall into the hands of men.”

For David, the choices were 3 years of famine, 3 months being overrun by an enemy, or 3 days of plague. David chose 3 days of plague, not just because it was the shortest time offered, but because He would rather throw himself on God’s mercy than be subjected to the attacks of the enemy.

After David had counted his fighting men, the Lord sent a plague that resulted in the death of 70,000 people. David, along with the elders, humbled himself by putting on sackcloth and prostrating before the Lord and asked that the plague would rather be on him and his family rather than the innocent people. God heard David’s prayer and prophet Gad asked David to build an altar to the Lord.

2 Samuel 24:25 David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered prayer in behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped.

What could be so wrong about taking a census? The King just wanted an accurate count of his military forces. So what was the sin of David which brought about such a severe punishment and sorrow?

To understand David’s sin of census and God’s response better, we need to study Psalm 30 alongside this text as David wrote this psalm after he erected this altar to the Lord.

As I mentioned earlier, David had become the king of Israel and was experiencing a time of great prosperity. Everything seemed to be going well, and it’s possible that David began to take some credit for this period of peace and prosperity. In those days, as well as today, the security of a kingdom comes from the strength of its army. Seeking assurance of his military might, David decided to assess his army. Unfortunately, this decision led to a false sense of security during a time of divine prosperity.

Psalm 30:6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” 

David felt secure in his prosperity. He thought he could never come down. His security was based on human elements like money, riches, soldiers, and power rather than on God’s provision. He forgot it was God who gave him the security.

Was David really like this? If you look at the previous two chapters, David surely depended on God.

2 Samuel 22:1-4 1 David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said: “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; 3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior—from violent men you save me. 4 I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.

This same David who trusted in God is trusting in his own strength now. David seemed to have quickly forgotten the base of his security.

Prosperity, job security, wealth, and even marriage can sometimes change people for the worse. I have witnessed numerous individuals fall into this trap when God blesses them, and it goes to their heads, causing them to change. They begin to believe that their success is solely due to their own abilities, hard work, or wealth. In reality, God has bestowed upon us many blessings, such as good jobs, loving families, supportive spouses, wonderful children, property, cars, and exceptional talents. The blessings He bestows upon us are immeasurable. However, along with prosperity comes the temptation to rely solely on ourselves. In David’s case, he placed his trust in the strength of his fighting men, which displeased God. God is displeased the moment we start trusting ourselves.

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

We must never forget that the source of our blessings is God.

Remember, with prosperity comes temptation and with temptation comes warning. God gives clear warning before every sin we commit. God warned Adam and Eve before the fall. God always warned Israel when their hearts went against Him. In our text too, God gave clear warning to David.

2 Samuel 24:3-4 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.

God warned David and he acted against it. God warns was every time we are in sin.

God’s warning can come in many ways-

a. Warning comes from the pulpit as the man of God is speaking to us

Many times we receive the Word in one ear and get it out of the other.

Joke: Three friends, a lawyer, a doctor, and a preacher, decided to go deer hunting together. As they were walking, a big buck appeared. The three of them simultaneously took a shot, and the buck immediately dropped to the ground. Excitedly, they rushed up to examine its size. Upon reaching the deer, they discovered that it was dead and had only one bullet hole. This led to a debate among them about who had actually shot the buck. A few minutes later, a forest officer happened to pass by and noticed their disagreement. The doctor explained the situation to the officer, who offered to investigate and determine the shooter. Within seconds, the officer confidently stated, ‘The pastor shot the buck!’ Everyone was surprised and wondered how he could discern it so quickly. The officer replied, ‘It’s simple. The bullet went in one ear and out the other.

b. God warns us when we read the Word of God

c. God warns us through our conscience

d. God warns us through the counsel of others

It can come from people around us (friends, mentors, parents, or prophets).

In this case God’s warning came from the general Joab. Many of us believe that God speaks to us personally and many times we are unwilling to accept the wise counsel of others. Of course we want to hear from God, but we must never forget that sometimes God also speaks through other people.

David rebelled against God’s warning and continued in his sin; he went on to take the census. Once the census was over he came back to his senses and was troubled in his heart because he displeased God.

2 Samuel 24:10 David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, O Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

Psalm 30:7 O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed.

David was upset that he had displeased God. We get upset if our pay is cut, we get upset when people reject us, we get upset when we lose our job. But do we become sleepless and upset knowing that God is not pleased with what we have said or done?

David was visibly troubled and upset and prayed for mercy.

Psalm 30:8 To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy.

When people sin, they have 3 options; keep quite about the sin, rebel and continue in sin, or pray for forgiveness. David immediately prayed for forgiveness. Listen, God is ready to help anyone who asks for mercy.

ILLUSTRATION

Jesus once shared a story about two men who went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee, in his prayer, displayed his self-righteousness by highlighting his own goodness and distancing himself from others. On the other hand, the tax collector humbly beat his breast and pleaded, ‘Lord, have mercy on me, for I am a sinner.’ Surprisingly, it was the tax collector who found favor with God.

Whenever we acknowledge our faults and sincerely ask God for mercy, He is always ready to forgive us. You may be thinking, ‘Lord, I am tired of making mistakes.’ Today could be the day of your breakthrough. Maybe you are struggling with a habitual sin, repeatedly falling into it. Rest assured, God is willing to forgive you today. You might wonder, how many times should we ask for mercy and forgiveness? How many times will God forgive us? When Peter asked Jesus about this, Jesus replied, ‘Seventy times seven.’ This signifies that God’s forgiveness knows no limits. However, this does not give us the license to continue in our sins, but rather shows that Jesus is ever-ready to help those who humbly seek His mercy. Today can be the day of your breakthrough.

The specialty with our God is that He restores the life of people who ask for mercy. God heard the cry of David and see what he says when he was assured of God’s mercy.

Psalm 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

God restored David. God heard and answered David’s prayer, “joy came in the morning.”

Psalm 30:11-12 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.

What a joyful experience it is when we realize that God has forgiven and redeemed us. This is why we gather together and express our joy through singing, shouting, and clapping our hands. We celebrate because we have received His joy, His forgiveness, and His redemption. Let all those who have been redeemed praise the Lord!

CONCLUSION

Listen, God called David as a man after His own heart but on the flipside he was an ordinary man with a lot of mistakes and shortcomings. God is not looking for perfect people, God is looking for imperfect people who can repent and come back to Him.

What makes David so special is that every time he sinned, he repented bitterly and came back to God. Even in his greatest sin, he found refuge in the Lord.

Let’s introspect our lives this morning. What is our response to God’s word this morning? Are we willing to come back to God and say, “I am sorry God, forgive me”? God is waiting to restore you.

Remember when David sinned, God hid His face? That is the principle of God. Even as God saw Jesus take up the sins of the world on the cross, God turned His face away from His own Son for a moment. It was then that Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” God hates sin, but the Bible says the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.

That is why David said in Psalm 30:5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

I believe when we repent ,God shows His face upon us and a new morning and great rejoicing comes our way. God loves you. Amen!