Offering His Own Sacrifice

II Samuel 24:15-25

“So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.  And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.” (II Samuel 24:15-16)

David had become focused on the size of his army, rather than on the power of God.  
Romans 14:23 states,”… for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”  God took the move from placing his faith in God to placing his faith in the army very seriously.  Seventy thousand people died as a result of this sin.

Because David had chose to leave the consequences to God, rather than to people, the number of deaths was limited to seventy thousand.  When the death angel came to Jerusalem, God said it was enough and stopped him.

There is a great deal of emphasis today on the size of a church, or the amount of finances that can be raised.  I can only wonder how many churches and people’s lives have been destroyed because the leaders began to focus on these things rather than on faith in God.  Obviously, God takes it far more seriously than we do.

“And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house.” (II Samuel 24:17)

Only when he saw the results of his sin did David consider how serious it was.  He realized his sin was causing the deaths of innocent people.  He prayed that God would focus the consequences on himself rather than on the innocent.

“And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.” (II Samuel 24:18)

When David prayed, confessing his sin, god sent the prophet Gad to tell him what he needed to do.  He was to set up an altar to worship God at the place where the angel of God stopped killing people, at the threshing floor of Araunah.

“And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. 
And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. 

And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? 

And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 

And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and other instruments of the oxen for wood.  All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee.” (II Samuel 24:19-23) 

David went immediately to Araunah, to seek his permission to buy the threshing floor to give it to the lord and to use for a place of worship.  David did not ask, but Araunah volunteered to give the property for that purpose.  In addition, he offered to give his own oxen for the sacrifice and his ox yokes and farm implements to provide the wood for the fire.  It was a magnificent and sincere gesture on his part.  Most leaders today would have viewed it as a wonderful provision by God.

“And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.  So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” (II Samuel 24:24) 

David refused to take Araunah’s offer, because to take it would make it not David’s sacrifice, but Araunah’s.  David would have actually given nothing.   One of the speakers at the BBFI meeting in May described his own surprise to learn that for years, he had been responsible for his church donating thousands of dollars, but that until he retired, it had never occurred to him that he had personally never donated anything to those projects, although he was often touted as having given such a large amount..

David refused to take credit for what somebody else gave.  He insisted on paying a fair price for what he offered so it would be his gift, not Araunah’s.

“And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was entreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.” (II Samuel 24:25)

David then offered a sacrifice for his sin as well as thanks that God saw fit to stop the punishment at that point rather than allowing Israel to be destroyed.  Because he obeyed God in this situation, the suffering stopped immediately.