1 Chronicles 21:24 “But King David replied to Aranuah, “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.”
If you only read this verse, it really has no meaning. It’s a nice phrase, but no depth. David had ordered a counting of all his fighting men. The interesting thing is that no reason is given why it was offensive to God for him to do that. But, not only was it offensive, God was angered. He gave David a choice of three punishments and David chose three days of the sword of the Lord in his country. After he saw 70,000 drop dead, he begged for God to stop the punishment and God did, but David was told to build an altar. David made preparations to worship God on the threshing floor of Aranuah, the Jebusite. Aranuah offered to provide the grain, the wood, and the animals for the sacrifice. David refused, and that is when he said the statement, “I will not take for the Lord what is yours, a sacrifice, a burnt offering that costs me nothing.” May we never offer worship to God when it is not something that has cost us something of worth. Maybe the cost will be risking feeling uncomfortable in front of others. Perhaps the embarrassment has nothing to do with others, but what we ourselves limit ourselves to. Maybe it will cost us giving up deep-rooted traditions of religion that are meaningless. What has your worship cost you lately?
Terri Pettyjohn is a regular contributor to ExperiencingWorship.com Her devotionals and Women in Worship articles are a favorite of many of our users as she seeks to touch the hearts of others through her writing. Terri currently lives in Farmington, NM where she is pursuing a career in free-lance writing. She is an attender of Pinon Hills Community Church and volunteers on a regular basis in the Worship Arts Ministry. When she is not busy there she is investing in the lives of her grandchildren and others.