David Sacrifices For The Sin Of The People

When David recognized the impact of his sin and asked God not to hurt the people any more, God directed him to build and altar and worship God and present offerings for his sin, and David obeyed.  The pleace where he built it belonged to one of the original inhabitants of the land who the Israeliteds had conquered.  Not holding any rancor against David for what had happened to his people, Araunah offered to donate the land and his own work animals and farming implements for the sacrifices, in II Samuel 24:18-23.  “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.  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.”

David wanted to offer a sacrifice for his sin.   If he just offered what Araunah gave him, it would be Araunah making the sacrifice, not David.  He insisted on paying for those things so it would be his own sacrifice as II Samuel 24:24-25 tells us.  “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.  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.”

 The primary cause of the epidemic had been the people’s sin and David’s lapse of faith was only the trigger, but God accepted David’s sacrifice for all the sin, ending the epidemic, just as he accepts Christ’s sacrifice for the sins of everyone who believes even though he was not the cause of the sin.   As I John 2:2 tells us, “…he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.  He paid the price in full so no one else had to make the sacrifices.  Thanks to Christ’s sacrifice, we can receive eternal salvation freely.