May 13 - The Devil Made Me Do It!

 Read today’s texts first: 2 Samuel 24; 1 Chronicles 21; Psalms 30; 1 Thessalonians 2

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 Neither God nor Satan can ever be blamed for our sin. The blame falls squarely on our shoulders!

The hilarious Geraldine Jones (aka Flip Wilson), along with her boyfriend “Killer,” made this a catch phrase in the early 70s, to explain why they were always in trouble! But the devil has been influencing rebellion against God since the very first man and woman arrived on planet earth. He doesn’t exactly make us sin, but he does all he can to encourage it.

Satan isn’t talked about a lot in the Old Testament but he is mentioned by name near the end of David’s life: Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel (21:1). Note that the parallel passage in 2 Samuel says that God incited David (24:1). That’s because Hebrew thinking doesn’t always differentiate between first and second cause. Reading both passages helps us understand that God allowed Satan to tempt David, but we know God never tempts us to sin (James 1:13). In fact, neither God nor Satan can ever be blamed for our sin. The blame falls squarely on our shoulders!

David knew he shouldn’t do it. When Joab, who was not the most spiritually sensitive man, tells him it’s a bad idea, that should have been a clue (24:3). After he had completed the census, David was suddenly “conscience-stricken” (24:10). When we feel remorse immediately after we sin, that’s a good indication that we knew it was wrong ahead of time.

Numbering his people was not inherently wrong, but it is obvious from this story that David’s motives were. Contrary to the humility David had consistently shown throughout his life, he was allowing an attitude of pride to infect his life and the national identity of Israel. If God had not intervened, that pride would have swept through Israel with greater devastation and loss of life than the plague David chose as their punishment. If left unchecked, Israel would have been overrun again by their enemies.

“Lord, I know I have an enemy who is determined to separate me from You forever. Thank You for reminding me how powerless Satan is when I turn to You before I sin instead of after” (30:1).