2 Samuel 24:15–25 (ESV)

So the LORD sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. And when the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” So David went up at Gad’s word, as the LORD commanded. And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the LORD, that the plague may be averted from the people.” Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the LORD your God accept you.” But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost 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 responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

David’s guilt is magnified by watching others punished for his sin. His repentance is almost frantic.

So when Gad shows up with a prescription to end this nightmare, David jumps at the chance. He needs to build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. Seems simple enough, right?

Then a blessing comes up that David rightly detects as an impediment—Araunah wants to help David by giving him the threshing floor along with all the animals for the sacrifice.

That sounds great—too great. David rejects Araunah’s gracious offer saying, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.”

It’s not a sacrifice if you don’t sacrifice.

Repentance by proxy is worthless; you can’t just mail it in. This is one of the few places where the adage, “No pain, no gain,” fits. If the pain and shame is bearable, it may not be enough.

Consider an insincere apology (sometimes called a non-apology apology). It’s not only useless; it can be insulting. Mouthing a few humble words is a waste of time if you don’t even state what you did wrong.

This is the perfect intro to a study of the book of James. Conversion has to be life-changing to be real.