May 24
Reading
“Here be oxen” (22)
This is a wonderful chapter in the history of David and God’s dealings with him. David had been instructed by God, through Gad, his seer, to go and build an altar and make sacrifice on the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. David had sinned against the Lord, the nature of which is complicated and must be set aside for another time, and upon his repentance God gave him a choice of three punishments. Once the punishment had been fulfilled God told David to build an altar and offer the sacrifices.
When David and his men arrived at the home of Araunah he was faced with another challenge, “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,” vss 22,23. David was not about to fall for the tricks of his adversary (Satan) again. He said, “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,” vs 24.
There are several principles at work here:-
1) Sin requires repentance.
2) Sin has its consequences.
3) God has His requirements.
4) God forgives when His requirements are met.
These four observations could fill a large book but suffice it to say that when we, as God’s people, sin our immediate response must be that of repentance. This principle David understood well for he repented of his sin before God brought punishment. How often do we wait for the consequences of sin to come upon us before we confess our sin and repent of it? This was toward the end of David’s life and was a lesson well learned.
Even as Christians we cannot expect to sin and not have it bear any consequences. God has made provision for us to “confess our sin” and be forgiven of it (1 John 1:9) and we must learn this lesson well, for unconfessed sin will severely interrupt our walk with the Lord and, if not repented of, will cause a canker to grow in our spirit and we will eventually find ourselves eating pig slop along with the prodigal son.
David also understood that in order for God to answer his prayer, a price had to be paid. David prayed, “I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant,” vs 10. He was not about to sacrifice that which cost him nothing for that would not be meaningful or acceptable to God. We can look back to the cross and praise God for the price that was paid for the removal of our guilt. The price has been paid for us, the blood of Jesus was offered to God and He approved and accepted it. David looked forward to the cross and God approved and accepted his purchased sacrifice because his actions spoke of it.
When God’s requirements are met He removes our guilt. The requirement of God is that men and women believe in His Son as their Savior. This is the only requirement for us today (for Salvation). The price has been paid by Jesus, accepted by the Father and is applied by the Holy Spirit to all those who call upon the name of the Lord. This will restore our relationship with God and our walk with Him continues.