1 Chronicles 21:18 says, Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite. The angel had Gad tell David what he needed to do, and the angel did not tell David directly. This to me would indicate that David's relationship to God was still not fully restored. As Christians, if we get too far outside of the will of God, we may no longer hear Him even if He speaks to us, but if we do get that far away, we need to hope that He will send someone to speak to us for Him. David was to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Verse nineteen adds, And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord. David did what Gad had told him God had instructed him to do. If we do get far out of God's will and He sends someone to speak to us we need to listen to them, but all they can tell us to do really is to repent and put our faith in following Jesus Christ once more, and then we will be restored. There is nothing we can do to be restored to a right relationship to God except to return to Him in repentance by faith. Verse twenty continues, And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. While Ornan was threshing wheat, he saw the angel of the Lord and his four sons and he hid themselves from the angel, or I would say tried to at least. If God sends a messenger to us today, whatever we are doing, we don't need to try and hide in fear but need to listen to God's messenger instead. If we are followers of Christ, we should never try to hide from whatever He has to say to us. Verse twenty-one states, And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to David with his face to the ground. Ornan then saw David and went out to meet him, bowing himself down with his face to the ground. The people of Israel were never told by God to bow themselves before their kings that I know of, but they began to place the kings in a position of honor, even though they were just another of God's people doing what God had called them to do. Verse twenty-two adds, Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the Lord: thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be stayed from the people. David asked Ornan to sell him the threshing floor for full price. At least he didn't just demand that Ornan give it to him, in which case Ornan would be paying the price for David's restoration, and by his restoration, the restoration of Israel. We cannot ask others to pay the price for our restoration to God if we have strayed away. Only through faith in Jesus and obedience to the Holy Spirit after we repent can we be restored if we have fallen into sin once more. Verse twenty-three continues, And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I give it all. Ornan offered to give everything he had to David, and we might be willing to give everything we have to God to save someone else or even the nation, but it doesn't work that way. We cannot pay the price for someone else's sins. Most Christian parents would willingly give all they have for the salvation of their children, but we cannot buy salvation for them. Verse twenty-four says, And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. At least David recognized the fact that Ornan could not pay the price for David's sins. David said he would not offer burnt offerings without it having cost him something. We must all accept responsibility for our own sins, and we must also recognize that even though the gift of salvation is free to us, it cost Jesus Christ His death on the cross to make it possible. If we are to be saved, we must give everything that we are and have to God to be used for His glory. Verse twenty-five adds, So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. David paid Ornan the fair price for his threshing floor. Though David paid Ornan the fair price for his threshing floor, we cannot pay the fair price for salvation, which would be living a sin free life and dying for others. Jesus Christ is the only One Who is able to do this. Verse twenty-six continues, And David built there an altar unto the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon the Lord; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of burnt offering. David then did what Gad had told him God said for him to do. Once we become a follower of Christ, the Holy Spirit will direct us in all that we do, and we just need to be obedient to His guidance. Verse twenty-seven states, And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. The angel had still been standing by with a drawn sword, but now after David was obedient to Him, God had the angel put the sword away. I wonder if we as Christians are all that stand between a person and God's judgment at time. Verse twenty-eight adds, At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. When David saw that God had answered him, he offered a sacrifice to God on the threshing floor. Once we are restored to a right relationship with God, we need to offer everything we have as a sacrifice to Him. Verse twenty-nine adds, For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. God's tabernacle was at Gibeon at that time. We are blessed that as Christians, that wherever we are we can come to God. We don't have to go to a special place to find Him. Verse thirty continues, But David could not go before it to enquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord. David could not go before the tabernacle to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the angel. For that reason, David offered a sacrifice where he was. We can only offer sacrifices to God where we are. I will say again, we don't have to go to a particular place, like a church building for instance, to offer sacrifices to God, but wherever we are every day we need to offer the sacrifice of all that we are and all that we have to God.
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