Memorise: And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; 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. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of sliver. 2nd Samuel 24:24
Read: 2nd Samuel 24:16-25
16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough: stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord was by the threshingplace of Araunah the Jebusite.
17 And David spake unto the Lord when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father’s house.
18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded.
20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that the plague may be stayed from the people.
22 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.
23 All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The Lord thy God accept thee.
24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; 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. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
25 And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.
Bible in one year: Deuteronomy 31-32, Jeremiah 32:26-35
AS REVEALED BY PASTOR E.A ADEBOYE IN TODAY’S DEVOTIONAL
1. Sacrificial sowing can deliver an unending harvest to you, make your harvest irreversible, make you the talk of the town and even turn away God’s anger from you.
2. In 2nd Samuel 24:1-25, we read about how God was provoked to anger by King David, thereby bringing God’s judgment on the people. So many people died in the ensuing pledge.
3. After the first wave of destruction, the angel was about to effect the second phase when God stopped him, while he was on Araunah’s farmland. David’s seer, Prophet Gad, came and instructed him to raise an altar to the Lord on Araunah’s farmland, where the angel was last seen. On arrival, Araunah went to welcome King David and he offered him all he needed to make the sacrifice, but David politely declined it. Why? It is simply because he knew the importance of sacrifice and the power of sacrificial seeds. “And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; 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. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.” 2nd Samuel 24:24
4. When David pleaded with God to temper His justice with mercy and judge him instead of his innocent people, God said, “Alright, I will do something about that. I will overlook your errors, I will forgive you and stop my judgment, but you have to first bring me a sacrifice.” David agreed to give that sacrifice and he turned down Araunah’s offer to make the offering an easy one. He said, “This sacrifice must cost me something. It is a sacrifice in sorrow so that I can go home rejoicing.”
5. Some of us have found ourselves in a similar situation as David, where it was required of us to make painful and costly sacrifices in order to achieve our heart desires. However, instead of going headlong into it, we rather sought and received help from the Araunahs of this world to make the task an easy one.
6. Never accept an affordable or convenient alternative in the place of the sacrifice you need to make in order to enter into your desired breakthrough.
7. If you can make the required sacrifice, you will receive the joy you so desire.
8. If you can make the sacrifice, you can overturn God’s wrath from yourself or your family.
9. If you can stand in the place of prayer long enough and pay the price the situation you are facing requires, you will return with joy.
10. Are you ready to do this?
SHORT REFLECTION BY THE LIGHT POINTERS
The weight of your sacrifice, attitude or gravity of your sacrifice can turn God’s face towards the one offering it such that a positive change is effected as well as seizure of wrath or punishment. Abraham, Jacob, solomon, David just to mention a few in the Bible that offered quality sacrifice that got God’s attention. In 2 Kings 3 king Moab sacrificed his eldest son and got freedom from the 3 kings whom God had promised to deliver Moab into their hands. This scripture pointed to the fact that even an enemy that has been marked for destruction got freedom because his sacrifice was heavy. David understood the implication of making sacrifice to God shabbily or without reverence in our Bible reading today and he didn’t risk doing otherwise even when the offer was made. When God asks for something from us it is not because He needs it but because He wants to bless us, revert a situation or establish something new. We should therefore always endeavour to carry out every of God’s instructions to the last order. This is because in doing this there is a great reward awaiting us. May we be ruled by our spirit and not the flesh in Jesus name. Pastor E.A Adeboye is a blessing to us and we pray that God will never leave nor forsake him in Jesus name.
Action Point
There is no alternative to a sacrifice that should be made. Just ask God for grace to do it.
HYMN
O Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou forever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway
If Thou wilt be my Guide.
Oh, let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will;
Oh, speak to reassure me,
To hasten, or control;
Oh, speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul.
O Jesus, Thou hast promised
To all who follow Thee
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Oh, give me grace to follow,
My Master and my Friend.
Oh, let me see Thy footprints,
And in them plant mine own;
My hope to follow duly
Is in Thy strength alone.
Oh, guide me, call me, draw me,
Uphold me to the end;
And then to rest receive me,
My Savior and my Friend.
RECENT COMMENTS
Joesphine Ehigie
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