- God told Abrahamto “go to the land of Moriah and when you get there offer Isaac to Me as a burnt offering on one of the mountains. I will show you which one.” (Genesis 22) And so Abraham took Isaac and wood for a sacrifice and made the three-day journey to Moriah. And just as Abraham was about sacrifice his only son, God stopped him, provided a ram for him to sacrifice, and told him: “I know now that you respect the one True God and will be loyal to Him and follow His commands, because you were willing to give up your son, your only son, to Me.” (Gen. 22.12) Abraham called the place “The Lord Provides” (or “The Lord Sees”).
- God, through King David‘s seer, Gad, told David: “go build an altar to the Eternal on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” (1 Chron. 21.18) So David went and bought the threshing floor of Ornan – and the oxen and threshing tools and supplies – though Ornan had freely offered them to him as a gift. Then “David built an altar to the Eternal, sacrificed burnt offerings, and gave peace offerings and requested His presence, and He accepted the altar and sacrifices by sending fire from heaven onto the altar of burnt offering.” (1 Chron. 21.26) A few years later, David’s son, Solomon, builds the Temple on this spot. Or as the Chronicler puts it: “Solomon … built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, the place provided by David.” (2 Chron. 3.1)
- God sent his Son, Jesus, to us. He lived among us. And then – on a hill called “Calvary” [Latin], also known as “Golgotha” [Hebrew] – he offered himself up as a sacrifice for us. Or as Peter put it: “Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; it is by his wounds that you have been healed. (1 Pet. 2.24GNT)
- We, today, look for God. We reach out to him and call on him to save us. We plunge ourselves into commitment to him, turning our back on all that is within us that is not of him. We confess and profess our allegiance to him, calling him “Lord.” We do this in the name of the One he has provided, his Son, Jesus. We trust that the price Jesus paid for us is more than sufficient to buy his back to himself.
And so we do well to remember something David said when he bought the threshing floor from Ornan. He said:
“I can’t … offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.” (1 Chron. 21.24 CEV)
- This was true of Abraham, as he was ready to offer Issac. “I can’t … offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.”
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- This was true of Davidwhen he bought the threshing floor, erected an altar, and offered sacrifice. “I can’t … offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.”
- This was true of Jesuswhen he lived as he did and laid down his life for us on a cross. “I can’t … offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.”
- And it must be true for ustoday if we claim these as our heritage and Christ as our hope. “I can’t … offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.”
Let me ask you: “What does your faith cost you?” What do you truly give to God with your life and ways? Is your offering “sacrifice?”
“I can’t … offer the Lord a sacrifice that costs me nothing.”
This is a word of declaration and commitment. It is the central principle by which to live. Live by it. Determine to offer nothing to the Lord that doesn’t cost you. Make your faith costly. Make it worth something. Offer up your all.
For He has always been, and always will be, worth it.
David Smith
