The Cost of Worship

However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, 
for I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.”
2 Samuel 24:24

God has instructed David through the prophet Gad to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah. To do this, he would need to purchase Araunah's property. When David approached Araunah and told him he needed his property so he could build an altar and offer sacrifices to God, Araunah offered to give David the property, the two oxen he was using, and the threshing sledges drawn by the oxen. Araunah offered David everything he needed to offer a sacrifice to God free of charge. But David refused to accept Araunah's offer. Instead he bought everything from Araunah. David displayed an important principle: worship comes with sacrifice. Whether it's money, time or devotion, true worship should cost us something. "Let us learn from David that there is no worship without sacrifice. Ultimately, of course, our worship is based upon the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ. But there is also a sense in which our worship should take place through our own sacrifice." (Bob Deffinbaugh)