David's Killer Census - I Chron. 21

There are plenty of stories in Scripture that baffle the human brain. We read them and end up with more questions than answers. Unfortunately, the temptation is to either say the translators made mistakes or attempt to explain the stories away by giving them meanings God never intended. Such is the case with the story we will read today.

It's the story of David numbering his people despite warnings that doing so would be a trespass against God. In the end, those warnings proved correct. David's census was a killer census through which 70,000 men lost their lives. But there is more to the story than meets the eye. In those deeper details are the lesson God has for us this time through I Chron. 21.

As we study, I want you to remember the word 'ownership'. In the business world, we hear all the time about how companies want employees to take ownership of what they do. God wants us to take ownership as well. He wants us to take ownership of our actions. When those actions are bad, he wants us to own them rather than looking for someone or something else to blame.