2 Samuel 24:24 (ESV): 24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
Sacrifice according to Webster is “an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important or worthy.” For your worship to be considered a sacrifice it must cost you something. Meditate on this!
After David had sinned by numbering the people, God sent a pestilence upon Israel and 70,000 men died. David cried out to the Lord, pleading for this judgment to come upon him alone. Then Gad counseled David, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” Araunah wanted to gift David the threshing floor, but David refused. He understood that sacrifice was to cost him something.
How are you sacrificing to God? If your offering costs you nothing, it is not a worthy sacrifice. We must offer something of value to Him for it to be a genuine sacrifice. This will include things like our time and resources. He is far more worthy than anything we have to offer. Consider how you are sacrificing to the Lord today. May it produce a desire to truly honor the One who sacrificed His own life for us!
Father, we thank You for offering Your Son as our sinful sacrifice. May this serve as an example to us as to how we ought to sacrifice. You are worthy of it all in Jesus' name, amen.
Comments