Cost
• 1 min. read • grade level: 6
Neither will I offer burnt offerings . . . of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.
David had sinned and caused a plague to come upon Israel. He was told to go to a certain place and offer a sacrifice to the Lord so that the plague would stop. David arrives at the place and the owner wanted to give David everything he needed for the sacrifice, but David refused to accept it. He wanted to feel the cost of the sacrifice. So he finally buys what is required for 50 shekels of silver. God much prefers our sacrifices when they cost us something. When we give from an abundance that costs us nothing, the sacrifice doesn’t mean as much as it does when we have to put some effort into what we give.