Sweeter Than Honey: Sacrifice Should Cost Something

From the Old Testament to the New, the eternality of God's Word is clearly proclaimed: 

Job tells us, “I have treasured the Words of His mouth more than my portion of food” (Job 23:12). 

Isaiah reminds us that, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God endures forever” (Isaiah 40:8). 

And Matthew records Jesus saying, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away” (Matthew 24:35).

God's Word is like an eternal Love Letter to us!

​Have you ever received a love letter, friend? Did you read it? Did you read it just once, or did you read it over and over again? A Love Letter is a treasure when you love the One who sent it!

How would you like to read through God's Love Letter—His Word, the Bible, with a group of like-minded, Christian girlfriends? We're doing that over in the private, Sweeter Than Honey, Facebook group. Did you know you don't have to start a Bible reading plan on January 1? You can begin today! This simple plan, and an accountability partner, will help you succeed. Who will be your accountability partner? Share this post with them and invite them to the private Facebook group.

JOIN THE PRIVATE SWEETER THAN HONEY FACEBOOK GROUP

Sweeter Than Honey is patterned after this Bible Reading Itinerary. On Tuesdays, here at the blog, I would love it if you and I could take a trip through God's Word and Sweeter Than Honey, together! I would also encourage you to Join us over in the private, Sweeter Than Honey, Facebook group, introduce yourself, meet new friends, and share your thoughts there as well. We're waiting for you!

1 Chronicles 20-22: Sacrifice Should Cost Something

In 1 Chronicles 21, we find David building an altar to God. He wants to build this altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. The story begins in verse 1 where Satan puts in David’s mind to number Israel. David does this thing, but it displeases God. Maybe it was a pride thing? The Bible doesn’t tell us why God was displeased. But here we find ourselves in verses 20-30, and David is building an altar. ​

“Now Ornan was threshing wheat. He turned and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves. As David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David and went out from the threshing floor and paid homage to David with his face to the ground. And David said to Ornan, ‘Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the Lord—give it to me at its full price—that the plague may be averted from the people.’ Then Ornan said to David, ‘Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. See, I give the oxen for burnt offerings and the threshing sledges for the wood and the wheat for a grain offering; I give it all.’ But King David said to Ornan, ‘No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’ So David paid Ornan 600 shekels of gold by weight for the site. And David built there an altar to the Lord and presented burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from Heaven upon the altar of burnt offering. Then the Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.” (1 Chronicles 21:20-27)

One of the many things that caught my attention about this story is recorded in verse 24, “But King David said to Ornan, ‘No, but I will buy them for the full price. I will not take for the Lord what is yours, nor offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’” Ornan is willing to give David whatever he asks—his threshing floor, oxen, wood, wheat. “I give it all” (21:23), Ornan says. But that’s not going to be David’s offering. That would be Ornan’s offering.

David’s offering could also be called a sacrifice. When we make an offering or sacrifice to God, we don’t build a physical altar as David did. We make sacrifices to God by giving over and above our tithe or giving up our time or other resources. There are a lot of ways we can make a sacrifice to God, but it’s got to cost us something to be a sacrifice. If it doesn’t cost something, it’s not a sacrifice.

That was David’s point in verse 24. He didn’t want to take the threshing floor, oxen, wood, or wheat from Ornan. David wanted it to cost him something. He didn’t even want a bargain threshing floor. He wanted to pay “full-price,” the passage tells us. What kind of sacrifice are we making to God today? What price are we willing to pay? Full-price? Or, are we looking for a bargain sacrifice—one that doesn’t cost us too much? True sacrifice should cost us something. True sacrifice will cost us something.

What kinds of sacrifices have you made to God lately?

About Sweeter Than Honey

When I read God’s Word each morning, I find inspiration and insight that keeps my day on track. Join me on this journey. Let’s settle in with His Word—it’s His Love Letter to us. Did you know that? Let’s read it like a love letter, expecting to glean something for our walk with Him every day. Let’s look for peace in the chaos and strength for our weaknesses. Even on our busiest days we can carve out a few minutes to refocus on the important—the eternal. Can’t we? We may have to get up a little earlier, when the house is still and quiet, or stay up a few minutes after the others are all tucked in for the night, but we can do this! I know we can.

Let's be intentional about focusing on God’s Word and the truths found there. Let's let it inspire us to live out our faith each day in a way that causes those we come in contact with to want what we have found. God sees you. He knows you by name, He knows the number of hairs on your head, and He cares about every detail of your daily existence. He wrote you a Love Letter. Let’s dive in!

---

Thanks for joining the InstaEncouragements weekly Christian link-up! We would really appreciate it if you would grab this IE link-up button, place it on your blog, and link back to this post. Thanks! Have an awesome week! 

If you're new to link-ups, checkout our IE LINK-UP page for a brief explanation and a list of other link-ups to participate in!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

---