The cost of sacrifice

"But the King said to Araunah, 'No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing."

(2 Samuel 24:24)

There's an interesting story at the end of the Biblical book, 2nd Samuel. In some ways, it seems quite out of place. David has just escaped the potential overthrow of his throne by his upstart son, Absalom. A few chapters later we get this curious incident of David calling for a nation-wide census. In 2 Samuel, it says God "incited David" against Israel, while 1 Chronicles 21 says it was the Accuser ('ha satan'). Either way, God was not pleased and sought retribution from the people.

In the ancient near east, censuses were taken for only two reasons - taxations or warfare/military purposes. This leads in to the building of Solomon's Temple, so maybe tax revenue was David's primary motivation here? When David confessed about the census, he was given 3 options by God for punishment: 1) 3 years' famine in the land, 2) 3 months of David being on the run from his enemies, 3) 3 days of pestilence. David chose the 3rd option.

At the end of the 3 days, David wanted to make amends by offering to God a sacrifice. He chose the thrashing floor of Araunah the Jebusite as the location for the offering to take place (note: there was no temple at this time). When David inquired with Araunah about its price, the man wanted to give it to the king outright. A very generous offer, indeed... but David refused. He wanted to pay a fair price for the location, plus he needed to buy animals to be sacrificed. "I will not offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing," he said.

Such wisdom. We've forgotten the power of sacrifice, I think. We "give an offering" to God whenever we go to worship. Rarely is it truly "sacrificial" for most of us, I'd reckon. Even if we're giving a true tithe (10% of our income), it's not that great of a sacrifice. Back in the day, blood would be spilt. The life of an animal would end because of one's sin. So for David to skate by on another's sacrifice would not have been very wise.

Gone are the days of animal sacrifice. But may we still give to God a sacrifice that costs us something - time, energy, significant financial resources, etc. Not because God needs it. But because we need to be freed from the grip of stuff. Sacrifice should be costly. Even today.