When I was reading the Bible recently, I noticed a verse that stood out to me and (to be honest) made God seem a little “unfair.”
That is quite a thought about the God of the universe, isn’t it? I mean, if God is God, then he can do whatever he wants and never needs my permission or approval, right? Nevertheless, the thought of “unfairness” still came to my mind.
Just to be clear, I already believe that God is not fair anyway. He is at least not fair, according to our perspective. A better description of God’s nature would be that he is just. This is actually something I have thought about quite a bit. Come to find out, it is a good thing that God (not us) makes these kinds of calls because if it were up to any of us, we would always tip the scales in our favor.
But still, when I read this verse, I could not help but raise an eyebrow. But then that eyebrow went right back down when I realized what was really going on.
Here’s what happened.
In the Old Testament historical book of 1 Chronicles, in chapter 21, we read that David took a census of his people. Well, actually, you could say that he fell prey to the temptation of the devil and then took the census. It is a very intriguing verse. Check this out:
“Then Satan stood against Israel and incited David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Go, number Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, and bring me a report, that I may know their number.” – His life goal is to serve God and His Church by reaching the lost with the gospel, making devoted disciples, equipping and empowering others to go further in their faith and calling, and leading a culture of multiplication for the glory of God. Find out more about him here.