Why did David insist on paying "full price" for the threshing floor? \Scripture Snapshot\ “King David replied to Ornan, ‘No, I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for the LORD what is yours, or offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’ So David paid Ornan six hundred shekels of gold for the site.” (1 Chronicles 21:24-25) \Setting the Scene\ • David’s unauthorized census (1 Chronicles 21:1-7) revealed pride and misplaced trust in numbers rather than the Lord. • God sent a devastating plague; 70,000 died (1 Chronicles 21:14). • At the threshing floor of Ornan (also called Araunah, 2 Samuel 24:18), the angel halted—with sword still drawn—awaiting sacrifice. • Ornan offered the site, oxen, and wood free of charge (1 Chronicles 21:23). \David Refuses a Discount\ • “I will not offer to the LORD my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” (2 Samuel 24:24) • He insists on “full price,” not a token payment. \Why Full Price Mattered\ • Genuine Repentance – Sin had costly consequences; the sacrifice must reflect that weight (Hebrews 9:22). • Sacrificial Worship – True worship involves personal cost (Romans 12:1). • Sole Ownership for God’s House – Buying the land outright removed future claims and dedicated it entirely to the Lord (2 Chronicles 3:1). • Avoiding Mixed Motives – Accepting a gift might make the offering seem partly Ornan’s; David wanted the glory to go to God alone. • Leadership by Example – A king who gave sacrificially modeled faithful stewardship for the nation (1 Chronicles 29:2-9). • Foreshadowing the Ultimate Sacrifice – Full price anticipates Christ, who “redeemed us…not with perishable things…but with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:18-19). \Principles for Today\ • Worship that costs nothing is worth nothing; God deserves our best, not our leftovers. • Personal responsibility before God cannot be delegated or discounted. • True repentance embraces full accountability and restitution where possible. • Generous, wholehearted giving paves the way for God’s dwelling among His people—then (the temple), now (the church, 1 Corinthians 3:16). |
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