I grew up in a time and place where most people went to a neighborhood church.  Living on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, there were many neighborhood churches from which to choose to attend.  Mega churches had not yet come into existence.  In fact, mega churches of our day were generally formed by a very charismatic preacher whose practices seemed more like cults to be feared and avoided!  Generally, from studies by statisticians who count these things, most churches ranged in attendance from 50-150. Yes, there were churches of 200 or more but they were in higher tier count and there were less of them.

I was raised with the basic practices of church growth of being a people who naturally invited their own relatives first who invited their relatives.  Then we would invite our friends, coworkers, people we met at the local grocery store, etc.  Growth spurts came from “revivals” where attendance nightly for a week was emphasized greatly with the urgent push to invite everyone you have ever known in your life to come!  A visiting evangelist would then pour out his heart for the lost to be saved by Jesus!  Altar calls were the norm with singing as many verses of “Just As I Am” needed to bring all lost souls to Jesus and for the rededication of those within the church Body.

Pastors generally were/are totally dedicated to Jesus’ command, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:20-21) They teach their congregations to do likewise. 

As I look back, I confess we sinned, however, when we boasted to other churches with the count of those who came to our church and revival.  And we often failed in the follow up after the lost were saved by Christ by expecting them to automatically be like the “lifers” in church who had overcome their own sins over time.  This led to discouragement of new believers, showing them little mercy in their growth.  We did not follow ALL the command of Jesus to “teach them to obey Jesus” so they may become more like Jesus, our Lord—not us!

God is not pleased with our motivation to count with pride rather than staying the course to humbly walking with Him in obedience to His will.  Just ask David who is “down for the count” by God for his foolish behavior.  David, like a lot of today’s pastors, are tempted by pride from our Enemy to count all the “warriors” we have at our disposal in the battle for the lost.  David’s count was motivated by his desire to impress all the nations around him of his power. Yikes!

Chronicles 21

David Counts the Fighting Men

Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. ² 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.”

³ But Joab replied, “May the Lord multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”

⁴ The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. ⁵ Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.

⁶ But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him. ⁷ This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

⁸ Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly by doing this. Now, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.”

⁹ The Lord said to Gad, David’s seer, ¹⁰ “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.’”

¹¹ So Gad went to David and said to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Take your choice: ¹² three years of famine, three months of being swept away before your enemies, with their swords overtaking you, or three days of the sword of the Lord—days of plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord ravaging every part of Israel.’ Now then, decide how I should answer the one who sent me.”

¹³ David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

¹⁴ So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead. ¹⁵ And God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But as the angel was doing so, the Lord saw it and relented concerning the disaster and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand.” The angel of the Lord was then standing at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

¹⁶ David looked up and saw the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell facedown.

¹⁷ David said to God, “Was it not I who ordered the fighting men to be counted? I, the shepherd, have sinned and done wrong. These are but sheep. What have they done? Lord my God, let your hand fall on me and my family, but do not let this plague remain on your people.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸ Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁹ So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord.

²⁰ While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. ²¹ Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

²² David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”

²³ Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”

²⁴ But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

²⁵ So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. ²⁶ David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

²⁷ Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath. ²⁸ At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, he offered sacrifices there. ²⁹ The tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses had made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon. ³⁰ But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord.

WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?

Do you know the first question pastors ask each other when they meet at pastor conventions?  “So, how many attend your church?”  I know because I also attended these gatherings seeking help for our ministry to the lost.  This question, no matter how many were currently attending, became offensive to me. I was drawn nearer to those who asked, “How are you doing?” with the eyes of our Lord’s compassionate love and care for me, with a pause for me to truly answer them.  It was these pastors who encouraged, filled me, and lifted my spirit in my walk with God.  They taught me to more like Christ in every way. They also taught me to pause, inquire, and listen to others in need of care.

God gave David victory over the surrounding kings. David congratulated himself by taking a count of the fighting warriors among the population to portray his power.  This is when it is a sin to count!  Counting to impress others around you is the work of Satan.

David is reprimanded by God’s prophets and he repents.  In repenting, David acknowledged that he would rather fall into the hands of the Lord than the hands of men. He said of the Lord, “His mercy is very great” (verse 13). This is truth!  Great is the Lord’s faithfulness to us—even when we are “down for the count” with pride ruling over us in our unfaithfulness to God!

Mercy is at the core of God’s character as demonstrated through the sacrifice of Jesus to save us from our sins.  As believers, we are required by God to reflect His character this by showing mercy to others!  Mercy is the deepest gesture of love and kindness. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” –Paul to the church at Ephesus, (Ephesians 4:32). 

Mercy is considered a gift from God that cannot be earned and is displayed through acts of grace, comfort, with the opportunity for repentance and spiritual renewal. How great is the mercy of our God!

“He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

There is no room for pride when we walk humbly with God.  We can count on God!

Lord,

Forgive us our sins as we forgive each other who sin against us. Lead us not into temptations but DELIVER us from evil and all his schemes to distract, deceive, deconstruct, dismantle, and ultimately destroy our lives lived for you. As our Overcomer, may we overcome by your power working within us.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

In Jesus Name, Amen