Devotion 359
“Same Tempter, Same Unbelief”
Reference: 1 Chronicles Chapter 21
The difference between our Heavenly David and the earthly David is faith in the Word.
Jesus Christ our Heavenly David did not sin because He believed the whole Word of God. He was the Word of God.
Adam sinned because he believed not the Whole Word of God. He believed not that going contrary to the Word of God is death.
David in unbelief looks at his physical strength and not solely his strength in the Lord.
Let’s read:
1 Chronicles 21:1 “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”
The same serpent that came to Eve comes to tempt each and every one of us. He comes to deceive us to look away from the Word of God to other things. Satan does this by twisting and perverting the Word of God.
Luke 4:9-13 “And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: [10] For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: [11] And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. [13] And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
If Satan can get us not to believe the Whole Word of God, he will sift wus as wheat.
Luke 22:31-32 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: [32] But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
The Faith of Eve failed. The Faith of Adam failed. The Faith of David failed.
There is only one faith that will never fail, and that is the Faith of our Heavenly David.
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
We have His unfailing Faith in the Word when we identify with Him in His life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and now dwelling in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
We continue our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:2-3 “And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer–sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. [3] And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?”
Unbelief.
David is tempted by Satan to look at his physical strength. By looking at his physical army, David takes his eyes off God’s army. If we have a strong enough physical army then we may not need the help of the Lord. We can take credit for our victories. That’s always the temptation of Satan. The flesh wants credit for our successes.
He tempts with resources, money, power to deter our faith solely upon the Word of God.
We continue our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:4-8 “Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. [5] And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. [6] But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab. [7] And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. [8] And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
David in sin runs to the Lord for forgiveness. Adam in sin ran away from the Lord in covering.
God will always receive a repentant heart.
We continue our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:9-18 “And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, [10] Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. [11] So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee [12] Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. [13] And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. [14] So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. [15] And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. [16] And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. [17] And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. [18] Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.”
The only way for the sinner to get to God is by the Altar. The Altar is what Jesus Christ did on the Cross for us. He became sin for us so that we by faith become the righteousness of God.
We conclude our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:19-30 “And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD. [20] And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. [21] And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. [22] Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. [23] And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. [24] And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. [25] So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. [26] And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. [27] And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. [28] At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. [29] For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. [30] But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.”
Sin pits us against God but the Altar restores our relationship with God.
Unbelief pits us against God but faith in the Word restores our relationship with God.
Unbelief is an unpardonable sin. The unbeliever is condemned already.
John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Let the Word of God restore us to the Lord. BELIEVE and confess Christ the Word as we’ve revealed Him from the First Adam. The same tempter of our faith, is overcome only by the Blood and Word of our testimony (faith), in Christ!
Reference: 1 Chronicles Chapter 21
The difference between our Heavenly David and the earthly David is faith in the Word.
Jesus Christ our Heavenly David did not sin because He believed the whole Word of God. He was the Word of God.
Adam sinned because he believed not the Whole Word of God. He believed not that going contrary to the Word of God is death.
David in unbelief looks at his physical strength and not solely his strength in the Lord.
Let’s read:
1 Chronicles 21:1 “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”
The same serpent that came to Eve comes to tempt each and every one of us. He comes to deceive us to look away from the Word of God to other things. Satan does this by twisting and perverting the Word of God.
Luke 4:9-13 “And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: [10] For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: [11] And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. [12] And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. [13] And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.”
If Satan can get us not to believe the Whole Word of God, he will sift wus as wheat.
Luke 22:31-32 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: [32] But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”
The Faith of Eve failed. The Faith of Adam failed. The Faith of David failed.
There is only one faith that will never fail, and that is the Faith of our Heavenly David.
Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
We have His unfailing Faith in the Word when we identify with Him in His life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and now dwelling in us in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
We continue our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:2-3 “And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go, number Israel from Beer–sheba even to Dan; and bring the number of them to me, that I may know it. [3] And Joab answered, The LORD make his people an hundred times so many more as they be: but, my lord the king, are they not all my lord's servants? why then doth my lord require this thing? why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?”
Unbelief.
David is tempted by Satan to look at his physical strength. By looking at his physical army, David takes his eyes off God’s army. If we have a strong enough physical army then we may not need the help of the Lord. We can take credit for our victories. That’s always the temptation of Satan. The flesh wants credit for our successes.
He tempts with resources, money, power to deter our faith solely upon the Word of God.
We continue our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:4-8 “Nevertheless the king's word prevailed against Joab. Wherefore Joab departed, and went throughout all Israel, and came to Jerusalem. [5] And Joab gave the sum of the number of the people unto David. And all they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword. [6] But Levi and Benjamin counted he not among them: for the king's word was abominable to Joab. [7] And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel. [8] And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing: but now, I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly.”
David in sin runs to the Lord for forgiveness. Adam in sin ran away from the Lord in covering.
God will always receive a repentant heart.
We continue our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:9-18 “And the LORD spake unto Gad, David's seer, saying, [10] Go and tell David, saying, Thus saith the LORD, I offer thee three things: choose thee one of them, that I may do it unto thee. [11] So Gad came to David, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Choose thee [12] Either three years' famine; or three months to be destroyed before thy foes, while that the sword of thine enemies overtaketh thee; or else three days the sword of the LORD, even the pestilence, in the land, and the angel of the LORD destroying throughout all the coasts of Israel. Now therefore advise thyself what word I shall bring again to him that sent me. [13] And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let me fall now into the hand of the LORD; for very great are his mercies: but let me not fall into the hand of man. [14] So the LORD sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men. [15] And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. [16] And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces. [17] And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they should be plagued. [18] Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.”
The only way for the sinner to get to God is by the Altar. The Altar is what Jesus Christ did on the Cross for us. He became sin for us so that we by faith become the righteousness of God.
We conclude our reading:
1 Chronicles 21:19-30 “And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the LORD. [20] And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. [21] And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. [22] Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. [23] And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. [24] And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. [25] So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. [26] And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. [27] And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. [28] At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. [29] For the tabernacle of the LORD, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. [30] But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the LORD.”
Sin pits us against God but the Altar restores our relationship with God.
Unbelief pits us against God but faith in the Word restores our relationship with God.
Unbelief is an unpardonable sin. The unbeliever is condemned already.
John 3:18 “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Let the Word of God restore us to the Lord. BELIEVE and confess Christ the Word as we’ve revealed Him from the First Adam. The same tempter of our faith, is overcome only by the Blood and Word of our testimony (faith), in Christ!
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