Words Of Correction - Joab And King David

The king said to Joab and the commanders of the army, “Take a census of all the tribes of Israel—from Dan in the north to Beersheba in the south—so I may know how many people there are.”

2 Samuel 24:2

In poll after poll asking what people find most annoying, constantly correcting others is almost always near the top of the list. People don’t generally like being corrected.

Sometimes, however, it’s appropriate and even necessary to speak words of correction, even when those words are not warmly received.

Joab, David’s top military leader, dutifully listened as the king ordered him to take a census of the people of Israel to determine the number of fighting-age men he had. The idea didn’t sit well with Joab.

“May the LORD your God let you live to see a hundred times as many people as there are now! But why, my lord the king, do you want to do this?” (2 Samuel 24:3). In another biblical account of the same incident, Joab adds, “Why must you cause Israel to sin?” (1 Chronicles 21:3).

Doesn’t it make sense for a king to want to know how many potential soldiers he has? What was so sinful about taking a census?

Joab apparently understood that David’s orders came out of his reliance on superior military strength rather than on the might of heaven. In other words, David trusted in his own power instead of God’s.

Joab did his duty. Though he warned David not to go through with the census, the king ordered it anyway. He paid a terrible price for failing to heed Joab’s simple words of correction.

There may come a time in your life when you’ll have to speak words of correction. When that happens, check your motivation and choose your words carefully.