Word Up Ministries

May 2, 2024

Scripture:

2 SAMUEL 24:1-9, 1 CHRONICLES 21:1-6, 2 SAMUEL 24:10-17, 1 CHRONICLES 21:7-17, 2 SAMUEL 24:18-25, 1 CHRONICLES 21:18-22:19

The Right Friend

But the king insisted that they take the census, so Joab and the commanders of the army went out to count the people of Israel.

2 Samuel 24:4

My Takeaways

Something Old

After all that has happened to David, God gave him the temptation of taking glory in the number of people in the nation. You count only what you own; David didn’t own the people.

Things will never go well for me when I insist on my way rather than God’s way.

It makes a difference who I call friend, who I allow to be close to me.

The right friend isn’t:

afraid to offend me.
unfamiliar with God’s Word and ways.
concerned about my glory or success.

How do I respond to my right friends?

Am I the right friend to my friends?

I need

the right friend(s) in my life.
to be a right friend to the friends in my life.

Something New

David’s decision caused Joab to be stressed.

But Joab did not include the tribes of Levi and Benjamin in the census because he was so distressed at what the king had made him do.
1 Chronicles 21:6