Altar’d: At What Cost?

introduction/scripture

1 Chronicles 21:18–26 NIV

Then the angel of the Lord ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the Lord. While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves. Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground. David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the Lord, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.” Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.” But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site. David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.

Pray.

Do you know what my lowest grade in seminary was?

Preaching.

Yeah. Cool right.

See by the time I was in seminary, I knew I had some gift on the spectrum of communication. Others helped me to know that I could help people understand difficult things or relate to parts of the bible. I had preached in all kinds of settings. Compared to my classmates, I thought this would be the class that was the most fun and the easiest. Boy how I was wrong. When I failed my first sermon, I was astounded. My pride was hurt. As a matter of fact, I was too embarrassed and ashamed that I became a victim and was unable to learn anything.

It wasn’t until I sat down with a trusted mentor and he helped me see opportunities to face hard truth and get better that I made something of all of that.

Failing is hard. Facing failure is really hard. And what is harder is a lot of times you dont have to face it. The irony is in facing failure, we actually grow. This is where David is in our story.

Background

At this point in the history of Israel, we are in the rule of King David. David is the greatest king in their history, one of the few that are even good by the way…so the bar is low. David is not perfect. He has mistakes. We know the famous one with Bathseba. But he messed up a lot. This one told here and in 2 Samuel is lesser known one.

Up to this point David is extremely successful. Great success in conquering the land. Defeating Philistines and other enemies to Israel. His army is growing and his power and authority is multiplying. Well, he wanted to know just how great his power and authority is, so he ordered a census.

The census is common, usually done before war, but it is clearly something more that is at stake here because God’s response to this action is serious.

David’s officials told him not to do this but David insisted anyways. It is probably that a census caused a lot of problems for the people not to mention the waste in resources. David wanted to see how great of a leader he actually was.

I remember when I graduated high school I got the biggest check I have ever seen. It was probably 10,000. It was from a family member and it was their support for college. I couldn’t believe they could get all the zeros on there. I just held it and dreamed of what I could do with it. Little did I know that thing would be gone in 5 seconds.

This is David holding up his check and dreaming of what he can do with it.

As soon as David heard the results of the census, by the way was like 1 million people that could fight, he knew he messed up.

Failure has consequences

We all fail; what matters is what we do after we fail.

Let me just pause here, when we fail. When we ignore a command of God, when we give way to sin, when we hurt another person, when we are jerks to our spouse, there are consequences even when we wont admit it or try to ignore it or hide it like it didnt happen. Or justify our actions in some way. I know I am stating the obvious, but sin against God and sin against people has consequences whether you face yours or not.

I am seeing this in my children right now. But I do the same thing.

David does the best thing in the midst of it. It is hard to say what would have happened, probably become more and more jaded in his leadership. He chose the way to possibly have restoration.

1 Chronicles 21:13 NIV

David said to Gad, “I am in deep distress. Let me fall into the hands of the Lord, for his mercy is very great; but do not let me fall into human hands.”

Ironically, David got to choose his consequence. None of them great or easy. But he chose to accept God’s punishment because God is merciful, unlike people.

We know that to be true, dont we. People are brutal. Especially in the day we live in with cancel culture. If you say one wrong thing or if you do a serious thing, you are discounted, shamed forever.

Now, David could have been overwhelmed by the shame of his actions. He could have beaten himself up, saying, “I knew I would fail, I knew I wasn’t the leader they needed me to be.” He could have let others point their fingers and remind him of all the ways he messed up in the past and how this was just one more mistake that showed everyone he wasn’t good enough. But David knew that if he could give the pain of his mistake to God, that his relationship with God could be restored. In the face of failure, David placed himself in the hands of the Lord.

So what does David do? He makes room to face his failure…

David makes room to face his failure

The guilt offering:

As the Israelites were crossing the desert on their way to the promised land, God provided instructions on how they could bring the sin of their past before Him and receive forgiveness. The guilt offering was the last of the five offerings, and it was provided by God so His people could make restitution for the sin they committed. This offering was meant for restoration when a person sinned, but it also required restitution by paying over and above the price of the sin.

In the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, when Zacchaeus encountered Christ, he realized his sin of overcharging people for taxes and he not only paid back what he took, but paid over and above out of his own pocket. This was an example of restitution for his sin.

Failure isn’t all bad. In turning to God we can find humility and refining. Again, with my children…we are not trying to shame but to teach.

Following Jesus is Costly

This is the point of the guilt offering, to teach them the cost. In chapter 21 that is what is happening. David understands there is cost that he must pay. He is trying to make an altar and he approaches the owner of this threshing floor. He wants to buy it.

When he approached Araunah, ready to buy the threshing floor, Araunah was willing to give it at no cost. In fact, he was willing to give the space and also everything that was necessary for his sacrifice. What a deal! David only needed to recognize his sin and someone else would pay the price. However, David knew that his faith and his discipleship had to be paid and it couldn’t be paid by Araunah:

1 Chronicles 21:24 NIV

But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”

For David to be transformed by God’s grace, he had to accept the cost

Following Jesus is costly. We have confused the low cost of entry with the high cost of following God.

Yes, the invitation to follow Jesus does not include that you have to earn or pay your way. It is all done in Christ.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer has made this point more poignantly than anyone else, especially because of the cost he paid following Jesus:

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price to buy which the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

David paid the cost because he knew it was worth it. Jesus tells us to consider the cost…he says that a wiseman will decide if he has the materials and resources to build a tower or a king will decide if he has enough soldiers before going to war. Following Jesus is costly, but its worth everything.

I feel like what is happening in the church is that we want God but we want it the easy way. We want what God gives but we wont acknowledge our own failures or sin. This week, we will pack the room on Easter but only a few of us will make time for Maunday thursday and good friday. If you rush to the empty tomb, you fly by the necessary death of Christ and the necessary death of you and me. Following Jesus will cost us everything: our devotion, our time, our love, and our mercy.

However this cost pales in comparison to what God does in the surrendered life.

Resurrection does not mean much to you if you think you are good, alive, and can make it on your own. \

Resurrection means something entirely different to the person that knows they are dead.