2026-09-21
2 Samuel 24:24 But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.”
There’s really much to take in in 2 Samuel 24. Once again King David messes up ; he orders a census without God’s directive other than that he personally wanted to know the number of the people, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people” (verse 2). David’s sin not only costs him, it costs Israel too; 70000 men die on account of the King’s sin. Yesterday we appreciated how a just and faithful king who rules in the fear of God occasions great blessings for his subjects; God dawns on them like sunshine on a cloudless morning. Here in 2 Samuel 24, on the other hand, we see the dire consequences of a king’s folly, presumption, and disobedience.
There’s still, however, something to be learnt and celebrated in David’s 1. remorse and repentance for his sin: ‘But David’s heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done very foolishly”(verse 10), 2. his wisdom in choosing his punishment: “let us fall into the hands of God for his mercy is great, but let me not fall into the hand of man” (verse 14), and 3. his insistence not to offer to God a burnt offering that had costed him nothing (verse 24). This last matter is the chief subject of our reflection this morning.
David had done wickedly. He had broken faith with God by disobeying him, by acting for his own willful pride and seeking assurance in the strength of his armies. His folly and presumption made 70000 innocent men fall. David was, however, truly penitent. When God spoke through Gad and gave the terms for appeasing His anger, David, when Araunah the Jebusite would have offered him oxen and the yoke for wood and all else freely, David was wise enough to know that it would be even more folly and presumption on his part to now offer to God something that had costed him nothing.
It is both sad and worrying that for most of us, when we take stock of our lives, it is clear enough both to ourselves and to others that we are they who continually offer to God a sacrifice that costs us nothing at all. Somehow, we Christians have learnt how to get away after doing so little; we have learnt how to play it safe, how to avoid taking up our cross, how not to have to deny ourselves or have to die daily. It is indeed an unarguable truth that there isn’t anything at all that we contribute or that we could have contributed to our justification in the work of salvation, but it is also just as true that afterwards, our response is expected and ought to be a radical denial of self-will and a forsaking of all previous sin and indulgence. This having to give up every precious thing we have built our identity and reality around is, however, pretty difficult business that doesn’t square or agree with our natural propensity to protect ourselves and our selfish desire of wanting to make the largest profit from the tiniest investment. The rich young ruler couldn’t bear to be told to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor. It is just as hard for us, and we figure out a way that doesn’t have to cost so much.
This self-protecting and cost-shunning attitude isn’t one that at all corroborates with the great grace, favour, love, and mercy that has been shown us. When we are asked to lay down our lives for our friends, it is because Jesus has himself laid down his life for us. There’s nothing that would ever cost us so much as it costed God to send his only begotten Son into a sinful world to be killed by sinners. God has paid the ultimate price, and we respond to that prodigal love by treasuring and loving God so much we gladly and rejoicingly give everything up to walk with him and to abide in his love.
The sacrifice we have to make might translate to us giving our time, energy, finances, and other resources to the people of God and to His Church, or a commitment to our own spiritual formation through diligent and disciplined attendance to and practice of the spiritual disciplines. It is already improper that reading God’s Word should even connote ‘sacrificing’ our time and attention from our busy or really just distracted schedules when it is we who gain from and are sustained by the Word of God. It might be painful in that instant, but afterwards, great joy follows surrender and selflessness. There really isn’t anything that is ours to keep , and we only give back to God that which is His. And then there’s the paradox in Christianity, that we only ever keep things by giving them up. No, let us not offer to God burnt offerings that cost us nothing.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, thank you for all that you have done already for us in Christ Jesus. Forgive us for not gladly giving up all in response to such incomparable love. You call us to a life of taking up our cross and following Jesus daily. May our response to your love be the kind that offers everything and keeps nothing back. In Jesus Name. Amen.