“But God was displeased, and he struck Israel. David said to God, ‘I have sinned greatly in that I have done this thing. Now, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly…’ Then David said to Gad [the seer], ‘I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is very great…’
“So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel, and 70,000 men of Israel fell…[then] the Lord relented from the calamity. He said to the angel.., ‘It is enough; now stay your hand…’ David saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, and his drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders… fell upon their faces…
“David said to Ornan, ‘Give me the site of the threshing floor that I may build on it an altar to the Lord—at its full price—that the plague may be averted.’ Ornan said, ‘Take it, and let my lord the king do what seems good to him. I give the oxen… the threshing sledges… and the wheat..; I give it all.’ But King David said, ‘No, 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… and built there an altar to the Lord and presented offerings… and called on the Lord, and the Lord answered him with fire from heaven… Then the Lord commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
“When David saw that the Lord had answered him at the threshing floor, he sacrificed there…
“Then David said, ‘Here shall be the house of the Lord God and here the altar of burnt offering.'” 1 Chronicles 21:7-8,13-16,22-24,26-28; 22:1
After inching into pride by ordering a census of his Israelite subjects, David is stricken with conviction and begs to take the punishment so they can be spared suffering. When instructed to build an altar, David encounters Ornan who honors the king by offering freely the threshing floor and necessities for sacrifice. David insists on paying, knowing that averting punishment, true sacrifice, is costly, and he is all in.
Every expression of honor is marked by genuine humility that acknowledges another’s worth. It is costly because it requires our descending the throne of our lives and unclutching personal resources, even life, for the sake of the other. It might also be costly in reputation, material losses, pain. Do we delight to show honor to the Lord and His people because they’re worthy, or do we shrink from it out of fear, selfishness, or prejudice?
The greatest expression of honor, measured in infinite love, is Christ’s ultimate sacrifice for His people. Considering Him and the gift of salvation His gift affords, how will we honor Him in return? What biblical examples can we emulate to humble ourselves and sacrifice for Christ and His people? What costly love, forgiveness, blessing, or grace will we offer?
“When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.” ~Isaac Watts (1707)
Lord, make me willing to give my all for You and Your sake.
As the rain and snow 