Is a sacrifice meaningless if it hasn’t been paid for?

[NathanH83]

In 2 Samuel 24, David wants to buy the bulls of a man named Araunah, in order to make a burnt offering unto the Lord. Araunah offers to give David the bulls for free, but David refuses. He says, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord with that which costs me nothing.” So David purchased the bulls from Araunah for 50 shekels of silver, and then sacrificed them.

Here’s the passage:

Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”

And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
-2 Samuel 24:21-25

Bible Gateway passage: 2 Samuel 24:21-25 - New King James Version

Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to...

www.biblegateway.com

So also, in 2 Maccabees chapter 12, they sent 2,000 silver drachmas to Jerusalem with the intention of having the Levite priests use those coins to purchase animals necessary for the sin offering talked about in Leviticus 4.

Here’s the passage:

“After taking a collection from each man, he sent the sum of two thousand silver drachmen to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. He was acting honorably and appropriately, thinking about the resurrection.”
-2 Maccabees 12:43

Bible Gateway passage: 2 Maccabees 12:43 - Common English Bible

After taking a collection from each man, he sent the sum of two thousand silver drachmen to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. He was acting honorably and appropriately, thinking about the resurrection.

www.biblegateway.com

It’s actually very similar to what they did in the book of Baruch, when the captives in Babylon sent money to Jerusalem with the intention of having the priests use the money to purchase animals for burnt offerings.

Here’s the passage in Baruch:

They collected silver from everyone able to give, and they sent it to Jerusalem to the priest Jehoiakim, Hilkiah’s son, Shallum’s grandson, and to the other priests, and to all the people who were with Jehoiakim in Jerusalem.

And the people in exile said: We have sent you silver. Buy what is needed for entirely burned offerings and sin offerings. Buy incense and prepare grain as well, and offer them on the Lord our God’s altar.
-Baruch 1:6-7,10

Bible Gateway passage: Baruch 1:6-7, Baruch 1:10 - Common English Bible

They collected silver from everyone able to give, and they sent it to Jerusalem to the priest Jehoiakim, Hilkiah’s son, Shallum’s grandson, and to the other priests, and to all the people who were with Jehoiakim in Jerusalem.

www.biblegateway.com

 

[pinacled]

In 2 Samuel 24, David wants to buy the bulls of a man named Araunah, in order to make a burnt offering unto the Lord. Araunah offers to give David the bulls for free, but David refuses. He says, “I will not sacrifice to the Lord with that which costs me nothing.” So David purchased the bulls from Araunah for 50 shekels of silver, and then sacrificed them.

Here’s the passage:

Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?”

And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood. All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.”

And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept you.”

Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver. And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So the Lord heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
-2 Samuel 24:21-25

Bible Gateway passage: 2 Samuel 24:21-25 - New King James Version

Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.” Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to...

www.biblegateway.com

So also, in 2 Maccabees chapter 12, they sent 2,000 silver drachmas to Jerusalem with the intention of having the Levite priests use those coins to purchase animals necessary for the sin offering talked about in Leviticus 4.

Here’s the passage:

“After taking a collection from each man, he sent the sum of two thousand silver drachmen to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. He was acting honorably and appropriately, thinking about the resurrection.”
-2 Maccabees 12:43

Bible Gateway passage: 2 Maccabees 12:43 - Common English Bible

After taking a collection from each man, he sent the sum of two thousand silver drachmen to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. He was acting honorably and appropriately, thinking about the resurrection.

www.biblegateway.com

It’s actually very similar to what they did in the book of Baruch, when the captives in Babylon sent money to Jerusalem with the intention of having the priests use the money to purchase animals for burnt offerings.

Here’s the passage in Baruch:

They collected silver from everyone able to give, and they sent it to Jerusalem to the priest Jehoiakim, Hilkiah’s son, Shallum’s grandson, and to the other priests, and to all the people who were with Jehoiakim in Jerusalem.

And the people in exile said: We have sent you silver. Buy what is needed for entirely burned offerings and sin offerings. Buy incense and prepare grain as well, and offer them on the Lord our God’s altar.
-Baruch 1:6-7,10

Bible Gateway passage: Baruch 1:6-7, Baruch 1:10 - Common English Bible

They collected silver from everyone able to give, and they sent it to Jerusalem to the priest Jehoiakim, Hilkiah’s son, Shallum’s grandson, and to the other priests, and to all the people who were with Jehoiakim in Jerusalem.

www.biblegateway.com

You seem to have missed a crucial detail concerning charity.
David the king from his own purse purchased the oxen and more.
Where as the apocrypha mentions taxation that's abhorred in Torah.

Also there is a significance to the number 50.
Do you hear any bells?

Blessings Always

 

[Bluezone777]

I would question if it is even a sacrifice to begin with if nothing is lost by the one performing the ritual? I would say in such a scenario that the one who sacrificed something in that story would have been the one giving the bulls away for free not the one who committed to the sacrificial ritual if he had not paid something for them.

I think it's apparent to anyone that there is nothing inherently noble or sacrificial about being generous with other people's possessions which is what would fit taxes to a T.

 

[tango]

I would question if it is even a sacrifice to begin with if nothing is lost by the one performing the ritual? I would say in such a scenario that the one who sacrificed something in that story would have been the one giving the bulls away for free not the one who committed to the sacrificial ritual if he had not paid something for them.

I think it's apparent to anyone that there is nothing inherently noble or sacrificial about being generous with other people's possessions which is what would fit taxes to a T.

Yep, the point of me making a sacrifice is that I have to, you know, sacrifice something. It costs me something to atone for whatever it was that I did. Hence the requirement for a sacrificed animal to be without blemish - to make up for something I have to provide the best of what I have rather than simply thinning the herd by sacrificing the weakest or least desirable animal.

There's something of a parallel with the story of the widow's mite. The very rich can easily throw around sums of money that are huge to most people but that don't actually cost them anything to speak of. The multibillionaire who throws a few million dollars around (with much fanfare, and presumably a hefty tax write-off) might be the one who gets a new wing at the hospital named after them but, relatively speaking, has given less than the person who goes without something they really wanted so they can give 20% of their income for the month even if that "only" means $500.