Cheap Sacrifices

“But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it.  I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” II Samuel 24:24

This passage of Scripture has always spoken deeply to my heart. In this text, David had sinned against the Lord in taking a census of the fighting men.   Because of his disobedience, the Lord allowed him to choose one of 3 consequences for his sin:

1-   3 years of famine

2-   3 months of fleeing from their enemies

3-   3 days of plagues

David chose the third option and 70,000 died from the plagues.  The reason that the census was such a great sin and resulted in such severe punishment is a discussion for another day.  But suffice it to say, that God saw it as a grievous offense.  During the time of plague, God spoke to Gad and he went and commanded David to offer a burned sacrifice on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, who freely offered to give it to the king.  For free, David could have the threshing floor, the oxen, the wood and the location spoken about through Gad.

This is the point in the story that always speaks to me.  After David acknowledges his sin, he is given an opportunity to make a sacrifice to restore his relationship with God and to stop the judgment he has brought on the land. Here he has a chance to obey God- but without it really costing him anything.

Thankfully, we live in a day of God’s grace.  The sacrifice that Jesus made once, for all of our sins prevents us from needing to make animal sacrifices.  We need only call on the name of the Lord, ask Jesus into our hearts and confess and repent of our sins to receive salvation.  To enjoy forgiveness as needed, we need only confess and ask for forgiveness.  I am so grateful that Jesus loved us enough to pay the ultimate sacrifice to unite us with Him.

But as Christians, there is still a cost to following Jesus.  We still should make sacrifices of praise to him.  We should still sacrifice our time, our talents, gifts, and priorities to Him.  As children of God, we willingly give everything back to the one who gave so much for us.

This verse always reminds me about the beauty of sacrifice- the importance of freely giving to God.  The importance of making it personal.  It is not a sacrifice if I give money to you that someone told me to hand you.  The sacrifice comes in when it is my money and I will not get to use it for what I have in mind when I give it to you.

I want to offer authentic sacrifices to the Lord.  I want my gifts to Him to be meaningful, expensive, and precious.  I want Him to know I love Him enough for it to cost me something.  I want to be the one to “foot the bill” for the things that I offer to the One I love most.

Dear Lord, thank you for paying the ultimate sacrifice for me.  Thank you for purchasing my freedom.  Help me today to please you as I live my life as a living sacrifice back to you.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri