DAD'S RAMBLINGS -- MY SACRIFICE

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – MY SACRIFICE

"And Gad came that day to David and said to him,  'Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.'  So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded…..So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.  And David built there an altar to the LORD, and offered offerings and peace offerings.  So the LORD heeded the prayers for the land and the plague was withdrawn from Israel."  (II Samuel 24:18-19, 24b-25)

Most stories end on a positive note, especially biographies.  It is a sad thing that David's story in II Samuel ends on such a sorry note.   It is the story of David's sin, God's judgment, David's repentance, worship, and answered prayer.  On second thought, perhaps that is not such a bad way to end a story.

David had sinned by taking a census.  There really was no need for numbering the people, but apparently David took his eyes off of God who had been so faithful through the years, and put his faith in how large his kingdom was.

God sent judgment on the nation because of David's sin, which helps us understand why good people suffer under the sins of their leaders.  Seventy thousand men died as a result of this judgment.  David confessed his sin, and as a part of the resolution, God told David to erect an altar.  David obeyed, but when he came to the place where the altar would be built, the owner offered to give David the land, the animals for sacrifice, and even wood for the fire. 

But David rejected this offer, by acknowledging that it would not be his sacrifice if it was given to him – if it didn't cost him anything.  Other people cannot offer my sacrificial offering.  It if costs me nothing, then it is not really a sacrifice.  The offering that God accepts has to be my sacrifice.  King David said, "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit" (Psalm 51:17).  Repentance involves sacrificing my pride, my will, and my pleasure.  This is the sacrifice God is looking for.    This is my sacrifice.

Love, Dad