“Then Satan stood up against Israel and incited David to number Israel….And this thing was displeasing in the sight of God, so He struck Israel. Then David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, in that I have done this thing. But now, please take away the iniquity of Your slave, for I have acted very foolishly.”” 1 Chronicles 21:1, 7-8 LSB https://bible.com/bible/3345/1ch.21.1-8.LSB
Satan, the great enemy of God, the accuser of men, whose only purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy, tempted David. This temptation was unseen but heard in the quiet voice of the heart and mind within David. David acted upon the temptation and was held accountable for his actions. Unfair, we might cry. Unjust for David was a victim, we say. Yet God holds men responsible for their actions regardless of the source of their temptation. God, too was tempted by Satan but didn’t yield lest He denies His deity and sacrifice His purpose of becoming our Savior. God told us to pray against temptation when He was with us by asking God the Father to keep us from temptation. Doing the will of God is the best defense against doing the devil’s will, which is pursuing worldly things and pleasures for personal gain. We have been made in the image of God. We are positioned a little lower than the angels though they are servants of men. Therefore, God holds us responsible to live and act as men made in His image, not victims to our passions or the devil’s whisper, but victors over our flesh and temptation. We are weak when we fail to fuel our spirit through the vast consumption of the word of God and prayer back to God this word. We are weak when we fail to exercise our faith by obeying everything Jesus has commanded, especially the work of seeing His kingdom come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, which is the evangelization and discipleship of the world. We will be held responsible and without excuse on that day we meet our Maker for living in obedience to His commands, for we are without excuse since He has given so generously His Spirit, His word, and His church for empowering us in His work so that we live holy lives, producing fruit in keeping with repentance.
