"Our Daily Bread" -4

David, a man after God's own heart. Just in case you thought that tithes and offerings had to only do with our daily provisions and our finances, let me show you something that might tell you different. First off; David had committed a grievous sin against God; not that he had not sinned before, because he had; but this sin was one that had to do with his strength, not with his weakness, as in weakness of his flesh. This is not something that we need to get into right now, but take my word for it, this sin was worse than the sin which he committed with Bathsheba. If you wanted something to compare it to, you could use the example of Nebuchadnezzar, who spoke out saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty?"; only to find the kingdom ripped from his hands, while he ate grass with the oxen (Daniel chapter 4). However, in David's case, he knew better, because as a small child he knew and understood who God was, and that it was He that established the earth and the heavens. There are two accounts of this census which David took, 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21; in 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan is mentioned as the instrument used against Israel, and this is the only place that he is called by that specific name in the historical books of the Old Testament. Okay, enough on the setup to what we are here for; David sinned, and after the death of more than seventy thousand men, which was punishment for that sin, David was instructed to build an alter; but first he would have to purchase the specific place from Araunah (Ornan) the Jebusite, which was his threshing-floor; which just so happened to be on Mount Moriah, where Abraham had attempted to offer Isaac to God, and where Solomon would soon build the temple. Here is the way it happened that David needed to purchase this place, and both accounts proclaim this same lesson for our understanding of what a sacrifice is meant to be. David saw the angel of Lord, that was the destroyer, at the threshing-floor of Araunah, and the angel had a sword drawn to smite out over Jerusalem; then David cries out to God, asking for mercy towards his people. After this, Gad, David's seer, was instructed by the Lord to tell David to build an alter upon the threshing-floor of Araunah; this instruction did not involve the purchase of this area, only the task of building the alter and offering sacrifice. As David approaches Araunah's place, Araunah goes out to meet David, falling on his face before him; the Chronicles account says that Araunah (Ornan) saw the angel also; but both accounts show how much this man reverenced David, and would have done whatever the king should ask. After David tells Araunah that he needs to purchase his threshing-floor to build an alter, and to offer sacrifice so that the plague against Israel would end, Araunah offers to give David all that he needed, besides just the land, but the oxen and instruments needed for the sacrifice. This is not acceptable to David; because he was the one who had caused this plague, he was the one to pay for the sacrifice needed to end it; David knew this was to be so, saying, "Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost". I know that there are some who think that an offering does not matter on the cost or the amount given, but it does; it matters because of the cost of sin, and what was needed to purchase our sin. To offer a sacrifice unto God, there really should be something that is sacrificed; meaning that it has to cost you something to offer it, or it really is not a sacrifice at all. How many of us would have thought nothing of accepting Araunah's offer? Some of us would have thought it was a bonus, or God's provision to His will being performed; yet, it is not what is required for a sacrifice to be given; because David was instructed to offer sacrifice unto God, he purchased and provided for all that was needed for the sacrifice. It's not really about the tithe being ten percent, it's about the condition of our heart as we are giving; whether we are giving from a heart that is expectant upon blessing and honouring God, or a heart that wants to be accepted as just giving... "For His anger endureth but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." (Psalms 30:5 & 6)