What Are You Counting On? The Danger of Finding Hope in Numbers

Meta Description: When David counted his army, he revealed where his hope really lived. What are you counting on? A look at 2 Samuel 24 and the better King we all need. URL Slug: what-are-you-counting-on-2-samuel-24 Featured Image: A close-up of two open hands — one tightly clenched, one open and upward-facing — set against a warm, natural background. Represents the sermon's central tension of holding on versus surrendering to God.

What are you counting? Steps on your watch. Dollars in your account. Followers on your feed. We all count something — and if you look closely at what you're counting, you'll usually find what you're counting on.

This past Sunday, I walked us through one of the strangest and most sobering passages in all of 2 Samuel — chapter 24 — where David takes a census. What sounds like a routine government exercise becomes one of the darkest moments of his entire reign. And I think it has a lot to say to us today.

Sin Prevails When We Ignore God's Word

The passage opens with God's anger already kindled against Israel. Satan seizes the moment and tempts David to count his fighting men. And David — despite a warning from his own commander, Joab, of all people — goes through with it anyway.

Here's what makes that detail so striking: Joab was not a good man. He was complicit in murder, political manipulation, and betrayal. And yet even he could see that David was reaching for security through ungodly means. God can use unexpected voices to warn us about our own ungodliness. When someone who isn't even walking with Jesus can see that your choices don't line up with what you say you believe, that should stop us cold.

David knew God's law. In Exodus 30, God had made clear that counting his people was never meant to be a casual act of control. There were specific purposes and instructions around it. David ignored all of that — because he wanted a number that would make him feel safe.

And that's the thing about disobedience. It rarely looks like outright rebellion. It usually looks like us deciding we know better. As I said Sunday, sin underneath our sins is often the same sin as Adam and Eve in the garden — not that fruit was morally evil, but that God said don't, and they decided to define good and evil for themselves.

If we choose to follow God, his word must be the authority in our lives. That's not old-fashioned. That's the foundation.

We Often Count What We're Counting On

After nearly ten months of traveling the entire kingdom, Joab returns with the number: 1.3 million fighting men. David finally has what he wanted.

And then immediately, his heart sinks.

"David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, 'I have sinned greatly in what I have done... I have done very foolishly.'" (2 Samuel 24:10)

Isn't that just like sin? It promises far more than it can ever deliver. David had 1.3 million reasons why he should feel peace and security — and none of them could give it to him, because they were never designed to.

I asked us Sunday to sit with this question: What has God given you that you've started to trust more than the Giver? God gave David the kingdom. God gave David the army. And David looked at those gifts and asked them to do what only God could do. That's idolatry — not the dramatic kind with golden statues, but the quiet kind where a gift slowly becomes a god.

As Tim Keller wrote, "An idol is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give you."

The job. The bank balance. The relationship. The approval of people watching. None of it is enough. It was never meant to be.

Real Repentance Means Relinquishing Control

When God sends the prophet Gad with three options for judgment — famine, enemies, pestilence — David's response is one of the most important moments in the whole passage.

"Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man." (2 Samuel 24:14)

David moves from my army will hold me to Lord, I'm putting myself back in your hands. That is the movement of true repentance.

And when the plague comes and 70,000 men die, David doesn't deflect. He doesn't say, "Well, Satan tempted me" or "God, you allowed this." He says, "Behold, I have sinned and I have done wickedly." (2 Samuel 24:17)

Some of the most mature words a follower of Jesus can say — to God or to another person — are simply: I was wrong. I have sinned. Will you forgive me?

Real repentance is relinquishing control of the narrative, regardless of what comes next.

We Need a Better King — And We Have One

Here's the mercy that runs through all of this: God stops the judgment. Not because David earns it. Not because the sin wasn't serious. But because, as Paul writes in Titus 3:4-5:

"When the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."

David needed a savior he couldn't be for himself. And so do we.

Jesus is the better king this passage is pointing toward. David said yes to Satan's temptation. Jesus said no — "Not my will, but yours, Father." David's disobedience brought three days of pestilence. Jesus's obedience brought three days in a tomb — and then everlasting life. David needed a sacrifice. Jesus became the sacrifice.

I'm no different from David. Again and again I've drifted. I've counted on things that couldn't hold me. And again and again, seventy times seven and beyond, I've been forgiven — not because of what I've done, but because of who God is.

What Are You Holding — and How?

As I've continued thinking about this throughout the week, I keep coming back to the image of two hands. One clenched tight. One open.

What are you trying to hold on to? Your kids. Your career. Your comfort. Your control over how the story goes. I get it. I'm right there with you.

But here's the invitation: Do an audit this week. What has God given you — your time, your finances, your relationships, your gifts? Are you holding it like a treasure to protect, or are you holding it open, available for him to use?

The things that seem to promise satisfaction — the house, the status, the security — none of it is enough. Solomon, one of the wealthiest men who ever lived, devoted an entire book of the Bible to saying exactly that. But God, the rock of ages, never changes.

If you're not yet following Jesus, I want you to know: this isn't about cleaning yourself up. It's about receiving the news that you can't save yourself — and that God, in his mercy, has provided the better King who can. That's the hope we're all invited into.

And if you've been following Jesus for years but somewhere along the way started counting on things rather than him — fall on his mercy, friend. The invitation is still open. It always is.

Watch the full sermon on our YouTube channel, and if you have questions about faith or want to talk through what you heard, we'd love to connect with you. Our community groups are a great next step — a smaller, more personal space to keep wrestling with these questions together. Sign-up information is available on our church app.

Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): What are you counting on? Steps. Dollars. Followers. Approval. David counted 1.3 million soldiers and still felt empty — because we often count what we're counting on. This week's message from 2 Samuel 24 is a powerful reminder that the gifts God gives us were never meant to replace the Giver. Link in bio to read the full recap.

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