READING: 2 Samuel 23-24, John 2
God often gives us brothers and sisters in Christ to help us follow Him – and we ignore them at our peril. It’s simply not wise to turn a deaf ear to people of God who lovingly and wisely speak into our lives.
David the King is an example of someone who missed this point. When David determined to take a census of his military forces, Joab strongly and forcefully warned him against such an action: “May the Lord your God multiply the troops 100 times more than they are—while my lord the king looks on! But why does my lord the king want to do this?”(2 Sam 24:3). The 1 Chronicles version of this statement is even more clear: “Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?”(1 Chron 21:3). Joab bravely “got in the face” of the king to try to halt his steps in the wrong direction. David, however, paid no attention to him—and that choice cost him.
In fact, it cost all of Israel: “So the Lord sent a plague on Israel from that morning until the appointed time, and from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men died” (2 Sam 24:15). God sovereignly used David’s choice to bring judgment on the nation, but David was nevertheless wrong in his choice. Thousands of people died when the king chose not to listen to his advisor.
The consequences of our similar actions may not be as disastrous as David’s were, but they’re nonetheless real. We learn the hard way that we don’t usually default into wisdom when we think alone.
PRAYER: “God, thank You for the people You’ve placed in my life. Teach me to listen to them.”
TOMORROW’S READING: 1 Kings 1, John 3
