“…I will not sacrifice to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me
nothing.”
2
Samuel 24:24b NIV
King
David sinned before the Lord in having a census taken of the fighting men of Israel
and Judah. His sin was that God did not
want David to become prideful or arrogant about the number of people he ruled
over as king, nor to put his faith in the strength of his army. God had forbidden such a census. David overruled even the advice of his
closest and most trusted friend, Joab, and ordered the count. As soon as the number of fighting men was
reported to David, he was grief stricken, knowing he had sinned a great sin
before God. “I have sinned greatly in
what I have done. Now, O LORD, I beg
you, take away the guilt of your servant.
I have done a very foolish thing.”
(2 Sam. 25:10b)
Through
the prophet Gad, God gave David a choice of three terrible options. You see, although David’s sin would be
forgiven, there were still to be consequences for his sin. David’s choice was to put himself in the
hands of a God he knew to be merciful.
At this the plague began on Israel and Judah with thousands being
destroyed in the plague. As David
watched the destruction, he was deeply grieved, and begged God to punish his
own family instead of the rest of the house of Israel. God gave instructions for David to go and
offer a sacrifice to Him on the threshing floor of a man named Araunah, the
Jebusite.
David
went as directed, and explained the reason for his royal visit to Araunah and
asked to buy the threshing floor in order to offer the sacrifice there. Araunah, being the loyal subject that he was,
offered to give the floor, the wood and the animals needed for the sacrifice to
David. The king insisted in paying for
all this, and the poignant part of his response is printed above.
“Wow,
what a great story, Pastor, so what does that mean for me?” you might ask. I’m glad you asked. We are working through a brief series on the
subject of worship. Have you even
considered what your worship costs you?
How much real sacrifice is involved in your worship? What am I talking about? Well, believe it or not, my first thoughts
were NOT the offering plate, though there should be some measure of sacrifice
made there too. My first thoughts were
of our involvement with the worship service, really being there, not just our
body, but our mind and spirit as well.
When we are invited to stand and sing, are we doing more than just mouthing
the words? Are we taking in the words as
well?
Can
we forget about the clock, and just allow the service to be finished when it is
done, instead of feeling like anything past 11:30 is late? Are we there with a sense of what we can
bring and give to God, (not just from our wallets) but of our worship, our
encouragement to others, our fellowship with others, or are we there just to
take--to see if we will be blessed? Are
we satisfied with offering to God that which costs us little or nothing? It’s something to think about, and then act
on.
By His Grace Alone,
Pastor Bruce Jacobsen
