Enroll the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are. (2 Samuel 22, 23 and 24)David is the greatest warrior-king ever recorded in the Old Testament. He's never lost a battle. Why? Was it because he was such a great tactician? Because of his military machine? Or overwhelming numbers? No; it was because God was with him. David is always careful to give God the glory for each victory, acknowledging the source of his success.
And yet here in the evening of his days, when he has defeated every enemy and subjugated every opposing kingdom, doubt creeps in. Do I have the strength to hold on to what is mine? And so he orders his faithful friend Joab to implement a census,... really a registration for a possible future draft.
Was there something wrong with taking a census? God had ordered Israel to take a census shortly after exiting Egypt and again before entering Canaan. Nothing wrong with a census. Was there something wrong with being prepared? Would Jesus not illustrate a thousand years later: Will [a king] not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand (Luke 14:31)? Nothing wrong with being prepared.
The sin was in not trusting God. God had never let him down, never left him on his own, but now David was acting like God wasn't even part of the equation.
For what do you need to trust God?
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