5/4/25 Weekly Bible Lesson: What Sin Costs

1 Chronicles 21:14-30 NKJV 

Background of Text — In 1 Chronicles 21, David instructed Joab to number the people. Joab didn’t want to do it, but David insisted, so the census was conducted. We are told that there were over 1.5 million men under David’s rule who drew the sword. These were all men of military age. 

Sin has consequences. It seems like a small thing to number or take a census of the people. What was David’s sin? First, David ignored the command of the Lord, given through Moses in Exodus 30:12. There is no mention of the collection being taken and given to the tabernacle treasury. Some sin may seem trivial to us but is still a direct disobedience to the Lord’s command. 

Next, however, his sin may have also included pride. It seems the census was taken of his military might. David forgot his strength came not from his army but from the Lord. 

His disobedience brought about consequences he had never considered. Sometimes when we sin, it affects others. So did David’s—seventy thousand men died because of the plague sent by God. 

The Bible illustrates sin and its consequences. Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit—what seems small—and it had large consequences. They were expelled from the garden, and death entered the world. David had previously felt the consequences of sin before this time. The loss of a child was a consequence of his sin with Bathsheba. Consequences to sin can carry a heavy burden not only on us but on others as well. Sin has consequences, and when repentance is sought out, it will require sacrifice.  

Sacrifice comes at a cost. Everything costs something. Our possessions cost us, but there are things that do not require money as payment. Some things cost energy or time. It’s called a sacrifice because it always costs something. We sacrifice our time. It’s your time to spend on what you want, but you may sacrifice your time for someone else. 

David’s sacrifice to the Lord came at a cost. The cost of the payment for sin were the sacrifices. The institution of burnt offerings were to be the sacrifices God expected. 

For a man’s personal sins, the individual would provide the lambs, rams, goats, and bulls which would certainly cost him. Here, the cost of David’s sacrifice was 600 shekels of gold. When the sacrifice was accepted, fire came from heaven on the altar. God was accepting the sacrifice that David offered. Not only was the sacrifice accepted, but the place was acceptable to God. You say, “Well, God said to sacrifice there.” That brings us to: 

Salvation’s Mount. This was a well known historical site. It was known as the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. David received mercy from God’s judgment on the children of Israel. What is so special about this place? Why would this place be chosen versus any other we read about throughout their history? Why did God specifically call David to sacrifice here? 

Notice 1 Chronicles 22:1ff. These verses reveal how David began to prepare the materials for the temple Solomon would build. See especially 2 Chronicles 3:1. This exact site is where the Israelites found mercy and forgiveness, but David and the Israelites are not the only ones who find salvation here. 

In Genesis, we read God’s command to Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice (Genesis 22:2). It was here at this place that God provided a ram in the thicket in place of Isaac (vs 4). 

If Abraham only knew in naming the mount what benefits would come from there. Not only did God promise that in Abraham’s seed the nations of the earth would be blessed, but Abraham was also proclaiming from where the blessings would come. It was here on this mount, where the temple stood, that Jesus Christ became the sacrifice for the sins of all people. It is in Jesus where you and I find forgiveness and mercy. 

From David, Abraham, and the Israelites we learn: 

Substitutionary death gives life. Because of David’s sacrifice, the angel of the Lord put his sword back in its sheath. The animals offered were the substitute for the death of those yet to come. That’s what Abraham learned on Mt. Moriah. That’s what the Israelites learned throughout their history. It’s what you and I can learn today.  

All of us stand guilty and condemned for the sins we have committed. We must remember that every sin is against God. David said in Psalm 51, “Against You only have I sinned.” That psalm was written in repentance for his sin with Bathsheba. David learned disobedience is literally a sin against God. 

Sin demands a sacrifice. It is on Salvation’s Mount, Mount Calvary, the same mount where the temple stood, where Abraham offered Isaac—it’s where Jesus was crucified that you and I find forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is the substitutionary sacrifice that gives us eternal life. Our sin surely had consequences. It cost the very life of God’s Son.