2 Samuel 24:18-25
18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
19 Then David went up in accordance with the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded.
20 And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; so Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king.
21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, so that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”
22 Araunah then said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, here are the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood.
23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God be favorable to you.”
24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will certainly buy it from you for a price; for 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.
25 Then David built there an altar to the Lord, and he offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. And the Lord responded to prayer for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.
The Purchase of the Temple Site
An altar to the Lord
The prophet Gad came again and told David that, as a condition for the judgment to cease, he must build an altar and offer sacrifices. The place where the altar was to be built was Araunah’s threshing floor. (1) David went up there according to the word of Gad, just as the Lord had commanded. His faithful obedience is evident. (2) Araunah, surprised by the king’s visit, bowed with his face to the ground to greet him. As a survivor of the Jebusites, the original inhabitants, he likely felt a sense of fear. (3) David told him the purpose of his visit was to purchase the threshing floor and to build an altar there so that it will bring an end to the judgement of God. (4) Upon hearing this, Araunah offered to give everything completely free of charge. (5) However, David declined this generous offer. He believed he could not offer burnt offerings to the Lord that cost him nothing. (6) In the end, David paid fifty shekels of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen. 1 Chronicles 21:25 states that David paid “six hundred shekels,” which likely refers to the price for the entire area needed for the construction of the temple. From David’s attitude, we can see what true religion is. It is not about formality or outward appearance. True religion is offering a sacrifice that costs us something and obeying God from the depths of our hearts.
The temple site
David built an altar on Araunah’s threshing floor and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings there. At that moment, because of His abundant mercy, the Lord stopped the plague and saved Israel. That place is Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered his son Isaac. Solomon’s temple would later be built on that very site. David’s purchase of that location became a remarkably significant event in the history of Israel. Even today, the people of Israel claim ownership of the Temple Mount based on the fact that David purchased the land from Araunah. For us Christians, that place has become one that foreshadows the redemptive death of the Son, Jesus. Just as God’s judgment ceased by shedding the blood of the sacrificial animal, we too are spared from God’s judgment through the blood of the Son, Jesus.
Today's prayer
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus, and for Your abundant mercy. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.