1 Chron. 26-17
There is another reference to David’s census in this passage, and perhaps it sheds a little more light on why he incurred God’s wrath for the count. It says here that David (via Joab) started to include those under the age of twenty in the count. The way the passage reads suggests that this could be the reason for God’s wrath. It also suggests that the reason (or at least part of it) this act incurred God’s wrath is that it demonstrated a lack of faith on David’s part.
“David did not count those below twenty years of age, for the LORD had promised to make Israel as many as the stars of heaven.” (1 Chron 27:23). It seems the only reason David didn’t count them was because God stopped him. It showed a lack of faith because there was really no reason to know the number of those under 20. They were below ‘service age’ so their count was not useful. The only reasons to count them were either pride (there is “greatness” in numbers, you know) or concern for the future. But David did not need to have concern for the future because God promised. And we all know where pride gets you.
When I look at the whole incident in that light, it adds another layer to this as a picture of God’s Plan for the redemption of mankind. When you come right down to it, David’s sin in this situation wasn’t unlike that of Adam and Eve’s in the Garden of Eden. He failed to trust God’s promise and caved in to his own pride. As a result, a lot of people died. But God had mercy, which was marked by an altar, eventually leading to the Temple – a symbol of Jesus Christ.
1 Cor. 15:1-28
It seems some of the Corinthians were questioning whether there was life after death. This must be what Paul meant when he said, “unless you believed in vain” (1 Cor 15:2b). For our belief most certainly would be in vain if there was no resurrection from the dead. Christ’s resurrection is the foundation of our faith; it is the means through which God saves us. Without that, we have nothing.
Paul was a practical and zealous man. He was not the kind to go chasing after every whim and fad that swept through the country. He proved that by persecuting the Church before his own conversion. Though he believed in God, he did not believe in Jesus…until he saw the truth for himself. Paul believed in the resurrection of Christ because he saw it with his own eyes; he knew it to be true. In fact, all of the initial witnesses to the Gospel knew it to be true because they saw it with their own eyes as well. And the truth of it was backed up by their scriptures, which said it would be before it was.
Being able to see what kind of man Paul was and how fervently he believed what he preached helps my own faith because I know that he wouldn’t believe it if he didn’t know it to be true with certainty. God does not ask us to blindly trust His word. He proves it to us over and over and over again.