I have done foolishly

And David's heart condemned him after he had numbered the people. So David said to the LORD,"I have sinned greatly in what I have done; but now, I pray, O LORD, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly." - 2 Samuel 24:10

I’ll admit I don’t fully understand the setting of David’s sin here. It appears that God provoked David to do a census so that He could judge the nation. The Chronicles account makes it a little clearer that God allowed Satan to incite David to sin. This would fit in to the story of Job where God allows the adversary to work in order to carry out His perfect plan.

Either way, David sinned when he decided to take a census of the people, a clear violation of the instructions God had given him.

This time he did not need to be confronted with his sin. His own heart condemned him. He confessed it to God when he clearly admitted, ‘I have sinned and done foolishly.’

Regardless of the details that I may or may not understand, David showed character by not trying to make any excuses himself. He didn’t say, and he could have, ‘the devil made me do it.’ He simple admitted that he had been foolish and he had sinned. His own heart was aware enough that it condemned him.

Though there is ‘condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus’ our hearts do need to be sensitive to our sin. When we see we should not need to be corrected. Our own hearts should be enough.

Our hearts need to be sensitive to sin. Though in Christ our hearts cannot condemn us, they should make us aware of sin so that we can deal with it and move on.