Stepping in the Light

“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. 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. 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. So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 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.” I Chronicles 21:22-26

King David asked one of his subjects named Ornan if he could buy a parcel of ground from him for a place to make a sacrifice to God. Ornan offered to give the king the land that he had asked for as well as all of the things that would be needed to make the sacrifice. We can assume that Ornan meant well, but David refused his offer. David understood that his sacrifice was to be between him and God. If it were to truly be a sacrifice that represented the condition of David’s heart, it would have to be a sacrifice that affected his pocketbook. David was not perfect, but he understood that sacrifice is not free. When we give to God, it should cost us something.