“But King David said to Ornan, ‘No, but 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.’” —1 Chronicles 21:24

Failure is not final. It’s how you respond to your failure that is of grave consequence. Spiritual maturity can be measured in “resilience time”—the time it takes you to get back up from a failure. Or better yet, the time it takes you to come to God’s terms in settling the accounts of your failure.

In today’s passage, we see that Satan stood against Israel and incited David to foolishly take a prideful and presumptuous census of Israel. This numbering of the Lord’s people was reckless because of a principle stated in Exodus 30:12, which speaks of God’s sole ownership of His people. David had reached such a pinnacle of success that his pride got in God’s way. The Chronicler further emphasizes David’s sinfulness by adding that even Joab, the commander of David’s army, found the king’s census abhorrent and dangerous.

In ancient cultures, a man only had the right to count or number what belonged to him, but Israel never belonged to David; Israel belonged to God. Therefore it should’ve only been at the Lord’s directive that David would decree a census and should then receive the appropriate ransom money to “atone” for the counting. This thing greatly displeased the Lord and there would be consequences for David’s imprudence. God offered the king a choice between Israel’s suffering famine, foreign invasion, or a pestilence. David threw himself on the mercy of God.

He appealed: “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for his mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” As a plague came upon Israel, the angel of the LORD gave Gad (the prophet) specific instructions on what David needed to do for atonement. He needed to go up and raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Out of the generosity of his heart, Ornan offered to donate the site of his threshing floor to the king, but David refused it—“No, but 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” (v24). David rightly understood that had he accepted Ornan’s charitable offer, it would’ve been Ornan’s sacrifice, not his own sacrifice. So David purchased the site and built an altar, presented offerings of worship, and called upon the Lord’s pardon. The atonement was recognized. The angel of the Lord put his sword back into its sheath and the plague was averted.

David knew that the only suitable response to the Lord’s mercy was worship, so this place of atonement (the site of Ornan’s threshing floor) became the location where the permanent temple would later be constructed (21:28–22:1). God would build something glorious at the place of David’s failure (“For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”) These events ultimately point us to Jesus Christ as a more superior “mediator” of a “better” covenant (Hebrews 8:6), as He also purposed to build a temple and offer his body as a living sacrifice to appease God’s wrath toward our sin. The mediation of God’s Son was superior, for unlike David, Jesus had no sin of His own.

Though David was a man after God’s heart, he wasn’t sinless. However, he did keep a short account with God. He dealt with his failure quickly, not allowing sin to harden his heart, but made swift retribution to make atonement for his transgressions. As George Campbell Morgan notes, “The chief interest of this chapter for us lies in the revelation of the true character of David. His sins were the lapses and accidents of his life. This is not to condone them. It is, however, to emphasize that the habitual set of his life was far otherwise than these sins suggest, and the deepest truth concerning him is revealed, not by the failures, but by his action afterwards.”

What do we do with our failure? Better yet, what has God already done for our failure? The place of David’s transgression also led to the place where a magnificent temple would be erected for the glory of God. Our failure is never final when the mercy of God and atonement of Jesus is present. God is ready to extend His graces and provision so that His kingdom can be built upon the “threshing floor” of our failures. Think about what that might look like as you seek to abide in Him this week.

PRAYER

God, forgive us for any pride and presumption that has led us into failure. We learn from David’s life how to seek atonement quickly, keep a short account of wrongs, and continue building altars of worship in all aspects of our lives. Thank you for Jesus and His blood, which was shed for our atonement. Holy Spirit, teach us how to build wisely in the days we have to honor you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Questions for personal reflection, small group discussion, or dinner table conversations:

1. What is one lesson you’ve learned the hard way?
2. What caused David to take a census of his fighting men? (1 Chronicles 21:1-2) Who tried to stop David from taking a census? (v3) What did David do when he realized his mistake? (v8) What punishment did David choose? Why? (v13)
3. Why did David want to buy Ornan’s threshing floor? (v22) Why did David refuse Ornan’s offer and insist that he pay full price? (v24) What decision did David make about how the threshing floor site would be used in the future? (22:1)
4. Why is it often so difficult for us to admit and confess our disobedience to God? How does David’s refusal to take Ornan’s offer to give him the property to use for a sacrifice set an example for us? Judging from David’s experience, what is the secret of turning a personal failure into a success?
5. How can we take our defeats and failures and turn them into something that will glorify God, help us, and benefit others in the future?

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