THINK OF THE GREAT PRICE IT COST
II Samuel 24:24 But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.”
Israel had experienced a plague that had taken 70,000 lives from Dan to Beersheba. Gad was a prophet of the Lord. He came to David and told him that he was to go to the Araunah the Jebusite, and build an altar to make a sacrifice to the Lord. Once there, Araunah was going to give David everything he needed to make the sacrifice. This offer to King David was very generous as the man was going to give away his means to survive. For today’s farmer it would be like giving away his tractor, combine, plow, harrow, disk, cultivator, truck and the barn. What Araunah was willing to give away was very generous! Granted, he probably feared for his life, because David was not only king, but he was a warrior that pillaged for personal gain, but he was still willing to give it all away!
David could have certainly taken anything he wanted, but in his mind the sacrifice was more than what was placed on the altar to be burned. For David it was to represent how he felt in his heart. In his thinking he couldn’t give a gift to the Lord that was at the cost of someone else or was of little value. To offer a sacrifice that was unworthy would make matters worse than before he offered the sacrifice. This is why David paid much more than what was needed to replace the things Araunah was giving him to sacrifice to the Lord. David wanted God to know that it was his sacrifice, and not Araunah that made the greater sacrifice. This made me think about God’s sacrifice for me and all of humanity. It was no little thing for the Heavenly Father to send Jesus to earth to become his sacrifice for us. Jesus was not our sacrifice, it was solely God’s! We have the opportunity to benefit from God’s sacrifice, but in no way can we claim any sacrifice on our part for our forgiveness and reconciliation with God.
God’s sacrifice in his only begotten Son cost him more than what we can understand in it’s fullness. How can our finite mind and understanding begin to comprehend and appreciate the infinite price paid for such insignificant sinners as we are. How could an infinite God that is righteous and holy, become apart of creation in such a way as to be immersed in sin all around him. Jesus who knew no sin of his own would experience the great weight of all of humanity's sins as it was placed upon himself as he hung on the cross between heaven and earth. How it must have broken Jesus’ heart that his Heavenly Father who he had never known a time to be apart from, would suddenly not be there. How the words of Jesus’ must have echoed throughout heaven as he said, “Father, Father, why have you forsaken me?” I can’t imagine the eerie silence there must have been in heaven. Suddenly all the worship in song and music that had been before the throne of God became still. No one must have said a word as all of heaven gazed on God’s only begotten son that he loved so much, now brought to a position of sacrifice for a creation that mocked and spit upon him in his brokenness. How that spear of the Roman soldier must have also pierced the heart of the Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit when it was ran through the heart of Jesus.
What must have it been like to see that life giving blood of Jesus flow from his terribly beaten body to fall upon the ground? How could heaven comprehend the plan that was devised before creation to set humanity free for the death grip of sin and separation from God? How could such sorrow bring perfect forgiveness and reconciliation? How could good come from such sadness? But it did! Through the brokenness that God experienced, great joy would be heard throughout heaven for all eternity. Through Jesus’ death and passion would come life, eternal life to all who would receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
How can we ever understand the passion of the cross, by the Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit and of course Jesus? What glorious love compelled Jesus to the cross for us. But it wasn’t for us alone, because it was also for the entire Godhead. Jesus showed this as he sweat great drops of blood in the garden telling the Heavenly Father that he only wanted his will to be done.
What could we ever do or give that would be worthy of such great love for us? Nothing! God’s sacrifice was perfect in every way,and was expressed only in the great price that it cost God.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for becoming our sacrifice for us, so we could find forgiveness of our sins and reconciliation with you. While we can’t know or appreciate the fullness of the cost of your sacrifice, we love you and thank you for it. Please help us Holy Spirit to never take lightly our salvation throughout eternity. You are a wonderful God!
