{"id":4045,"date":"2019-07-24T20:00:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T03:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=4045"},"modified":"2019-07-19T23:15:53","modified_gmt":"2019-07-20T06:15:53","slug":"1chronicles_21_18-22_1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/1chronicles_21_18-22_1\/","title":{"rendered":"The One Who Goes Before You"},"content":{"rendered":"

1 Chronicles 21:18-22:1 \u00a0Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:1.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

1 Chronicles 21:18-19 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the angel of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the\u00a0LORD.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-19:\u00a0\u00a0After having allowed David and all of Israel to suffer a great plague because of David\u2019s sin, here the Lord sends Gad the prophet with a message for David.\u00a0\u00a0Gad tells David to build an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the very place where God would command the plague to stop (see verses 15 and 27).\u00a0\u00a0The fact that God would take the initiative to tell David to build an altar suggests to me an important lesson:\u00a0\u00a0God is just as intentional about restoring a sinner as He is about disciplining them. This is a good lesson for parents.\u00a0\u00a0When our kids go astray, it is important to discipline them, but after the discipline remember to reassure them of your love and to reaffirm the relationship.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Chronicles 21:20-21 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves.
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses 20-21:\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0This story of David building an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite is also told in 2 Samuel 24.\u00a0\u00a0However, in this account in 1 Chronicles, the Chronicler seems to focus more on the supernatural and spiritual details of this event.\u00a0\u00a0For example, one supernatural detail that the Chronicler mentions is that Araunah saw an angel at his threshing floor before he saw David.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0Even before David went to the place where God called him to go, God was already there.\u00a0\u00a0God went ahead of David.\u00a0\u00a0As David once wrote, \u201cYou go before me\u201d (Psalm 139:5).\u00a0\u00a0In the same way,\u00a0whenever God calls you to go anywhere or to do anything, remember that God always goes ahead of you to pave the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Chronicles 21:22-24 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0David said to him, “Let me have the site of your threshing floor so I can build an altar to the\u00a0LORD, that the plague on the people may be stopped. Sell it to me at the full price.”
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Araunah said to David, “Take it! Let my lord the king do whatever pleases him. Look, I will give the oxen for the burnt offerings, the threshing sledges for the wood, and the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all this.”
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But King David replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying the full price. I will not take for the\u00a0LORD\u00a0what is yours, or sacrifice a burnt offering that costs me nothing.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-24: David understood that giving God worship which costed him nothing is hardly worship at all.\u00a0\u00a0So David insists on paying the full price for everything he is going to use to worship the Lord.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s a good reminder for those of who have already received God\u2019s precious free gift of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t keep coming to church as a consumer who is there just to get more free stuff.\u00a0\u00a0Come to worship and to give God a sacrifice that costs you something.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Come to give, not just to receive.\u00a0\u00a0Be a participant, not just a spectator.\u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t give God convenient worship, but costly worship.\u00a0\u00a0For more on the differences between convenient worship and costly worship, click\u00a0HERE<\/strong>\u00a0[Ryan, please hyperlink my Wednesday, June 21, 2017 GAME sharing on\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>2 Samuel 24:18-25]<\/em><\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

1 Chronicles\u00a021:25\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So David paid Araunah six hundred shekels of gold for the site.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 25:\u00a0\u00a0Here the Chronicler says David paid Araunah 600 gold shekels for the site, but 2 Samuel 24:24 says that David bought the threshing floor and oxen for only 50 shekels of silver.\u00a0\u00a0Is the Bible contradicting itself?\u00a0\u00a0Not necessarily.\u00a0\u00a0Scholars suggest that the 50 shekels of silver were to pay for the threshing floor and oxen, while the 600 gold shekels were to pay for the whole site, a much larger piece of land surrounding the threshing floor that would later become the site for the temple of the Lord.<\/p>\n

1 Chronicles\u00a021:26\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0David built an altar to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He called on the\u00a0LORD, and the\u00a0LORD\u00a0answered him with fire from heaven on the altar of burnt offering.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 26-28:\u00a0\u00a0As David presents his offering and worships the Lord, the Chronicler notes a supernatural occurrence:\u00a0\u00a0the Lord answers with fire from heaven on the altar.\u00a0\u00a0(Many generations later, the Lord would similarly answer Elijah\u2019s sacrifice with fire in 1 Kings 18.)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Seeing God\u2019s response would cause David to offer even more sacrifices (v28).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When we step out in faith, God not only goes before us, but He goes after us as well.\u00a0\u00a0He is the shield before you, and He\u2019s also your rear guard.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As David says in Psalm 139:5, \u201cYou go before me\u00a0and<\/em>\u00a0follow me.\u201d<\/p>\n

1 Chronicles\u00a021:27\u00a0(NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the\u00a0LORD\u00a0spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
\n<\/em>
\nOn verse 27:\u00a0\u00a0Earlier the Lord had told the angel to withdraw his hand (verse 15), suggesting that the Lord was pressing the pause button on the plague.\u00a0(Perhaps that\u2019s because the Lord wanted to wait to see what David would do.)\u00a0\u00a0But after David buys the threshing floor and gives God costly worship, the Lord commands the angel to put his sword back into its sheath for once and for all (verse 27), thus putting an official end to the plague.\u00a0\u00a0This suggests to me thatGod watches our worship and responds accordingly<\/strong>.\u00a0Your worship matters. Your prayers matter.\u00a0\u00a0So give God your best worship.\u00a0\u00a0God is watching and listening, and He will respond.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a01 Chronicles 21:29-22:1 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The tabernacle of the\u00a0LORD, which Moses had made in the desert, and the altar of burnt offering were at that time on the high place at Gibeon.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the\u00a0LORD.
\n1\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then David said, “The house of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0God is to be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for Israel.”
\n<\/em>
\nOn verses\u00a021:29-22:1:\u00a0\u00a0The tabernacle where God\u2019s people normally worshiped was at Gibeon.\u00a0\u00a0What does it mean when verse 30 says that David would not go to Gibeon to inquire of God \u201cbecause\u00a0he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the\u00a0LORD\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0It could mean that David was afraid that if he traveled to Gibeon he himself would be infected by the plague (symbolized by the sword).\u00a0\u00a0In any event, David decides that Araunah\u2019s threshing floor would be the site for the future house of the Lord, the temple that his son Solomon would later build.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Notice that Araunah the Jebusite was not an Israelite, yet God involved Araunah in His plan to build a house for His glory.\u00a0\u00a0In the same way,\u00a0your family background and history may have little to do with Christ, but God has a plan to use you to build His house<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. At the threshing floor of Araunah, God commanded that Israel no longer be punished with the plague.\u00a0\u00a0The fact that the temple of the Lord would be built on Araunah\u2019s threshing floor served as a reminder for generations to come of how great our sin is and how much greater God\u2019s mercy is.\u00a0\u00a0We see this also in the cross.\u00a0\u00a0The very place where God completed his punishment of our sin \u2013 the cross where Jesus died \u2013 was also the same place where God showed us His mercy and enabled our restoration.\u00a0\u00a0Like the threshing floor of Araunah, the cross is the intersection where God\u2019s mercy and our failing meet, and where the punishment we deserved for our sin was taken away.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Heavenly Father, thank You for Your powerful Word.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for being the One who goes ahead of me.\u00a0\u00a0Just as You gave David the threshing floor of Araunah, thank You for giving us the cross, where Your mercy meets our failure.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that just as You used Araunah and His threshing floor to build Your house, You want to use me and what I have to build Your house.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

      <\/div>\n\n\n\n
      \n\n\n\n
      <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Today\u2019s passage is 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:1.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

      1 Chronicles 21:18-19 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n18\u00a0\u00a0Then the angel of the\u00a0LORD\u00a0ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the\u00a0LORD\u00a0on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
      \n19\u00a0\u00a0So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the\u00a0LORD.<\/p>\n

      On verses 18-19:\u00a0\u00a0After having allowed David and all of Israel to suffer a great plague because of David\u2019s sin, here the Lord sends Gad the prophet with a message for David.\u00a0\u00a0Gad tells David to build an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the very place where God would command the plague to stop (see verses 15 and 27).\u00a0\u00a0The fact that God would take the initiative to tell David to build an altar suggests to me an important lesson:\u00a0\u00a0God is just as intentional about restoring a sinner as He is about disciplining them. This is a good lesson for parents.\u00a0\u00a0When our kids go astray, it is important to discipline them, but after the discipline remember to reassure them of your love and to reaffirm the relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

      1 Chronicles 21:20-21 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n20\u00a0\u00a0While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves.
      \n21\u00a0\u00a0Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4046,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4047,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4045\/revisions\/4047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}