A Costly Altar and Sacrifice

Wednesday, November 5, 2014
2 Samuel 24:17-25 KJV

17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against my father's house. 18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him, Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the LORD commanded. 20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground. 21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant? And David said, To buy the threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that the plague may be stayed from the people. 22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what [seemeth] good unto him: behold, [here be] oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments and [other] instruments of the oxen for wood. 23 All these [things] did Araunah, [as] a king, give unto the king. And Araunah said unto the king, The LORD thy God accept thee. 24 And the king said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy [it] of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. 25 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the LORD was intreated for the land, and the plague was stayed from Israel.

OBSERVATION QUESTIONS
1) King David had sinned by taking a census of his warriors in Israel and Judah. What did David ask of the Lord when he realized that he had sinned? (v.17)
2) What suggestion did Gad make to King David? How did David respond? (v.18-19)
3) What was Araunah's response to David's arrival and offer? (v.20-23)
4) Why did David refuse Araunah's offer? (v.24)
5) How did the Lord respond to King David's offerings? 

APPLICATION QUESTIONS
6) Who else in your life has suffered as a result of your sin? Briefly explain one such incident.
7) Who do you turn to when seeking godly counsel?
8) When making an offering at your local church, do you typically give the most you have, or the least?

PRINCIPLES
9) The chastening of the Lord not only affects us, but often affects those closest to us.
10) Our gifts to the Lord include our time, our talent, and our treasure.
11) God so loves us that He gives us His best.
12) As children of God, we owe Him our lives.