The Last Temptation of David

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…”

2 Kings 24:10

The nature of sin is not in the action alone, but in the reason for the action. Many things we may do with innocence, even with devotion to God, that would be considered sinful actions if our hearts were wrong. For example, a humble man may look at himself in a mirror to see if he is neatly dressed and there is no sin in the act, but a proud man may be vain about his appearance and gloat over his physical appearance, thinking himself better than others.

At other times in Israel’s history God had condoned the counting of the fighting men, but at this moment it was considered sin, and even old and mean Joab knew it was wrong. Though the scripture does not mention why it was wrong, we can easily see that it represented pride for David — to build a bigger army for himself, for his own glory — and it also was contrary to faith in God, for it put the emphasis on what people could do and not what protection God would provide. I believe also David’s temptation reflected the pain of the bloody rebellion of his own son Absalom against him, and he wanted to see who was on his side, not who was on God’s side. But it all was a lack of faith, and even if he had some desire that this would be done to help his son Solomon to rule, it was still stepping beyond the boundaries God had proscribed for him — we parents must trust that God will be there for them and let our grown children fight their own battles, and the example of faith and courage is more helpful than even a huge estate. Faith is a much greater legacy to leave than financial wealth and power.

It seems strange to us that such a man as David should be tempted in his last years like this. He had endured much in his life time. He had stood up against the giant Goliath as a child, burning with passion for God, daring all in faith. He had survived years in the wilderness, hiding from Saul. He had humbly repented after his sin with Bathsheba, had endured the painful rebellion of Absalom and the betrayal of close associates of many years. He had united and ruled Israel and accomplished great things for the nation. Why at the end of his life would this temptation lure him into sin, why would such a man as him do such a thing?

The lessons I believe we derive answer these questions:

• None of us is above temptation, and at every stage of our lives we must walk by faith. The older we get the more we need to learn to stand in faith upon the word of God.
• None of us can seek to build our own kingdom apart from God’s kingdom. Even the pain of past betrayals is not justifiable. No one should say, “Are you on my side?” until we have first surrendered our hearts to be on God’s side.
• None of us can live a single day of life without faith in God, and though normally, as we grow older, we become wiser and more secure in our investments, in our reputation, in our knowledge, and in our abilities, none of these should replace faith in God. The work of God is always done not by our might or by our power but by the Spirit of God.

This is always the temptation — to feel that we no longer need God. He was helpful when we were young and weak, unknown and afraid, but now we are doing quite well, thank you very much, and there is no need to rely on God as before — these are the thoughts we need to guard against. Even in his mature years, at the height of his power, David was still every bit as before in need of the faith he had demonstrated as a young shepherd boy when he fought the lion, the bear, and the giant in the name of God. All our wisdom and experience and ability must be surrendered to God in faith for Him to use as He sees fit. To trust God is the wisest thing we can ever do.