How does 1 Chronicles 21:22 reflect on the concept of sacrifice? Text “David said to Ornan, ‘Grant me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar to the LORD on it. Sell it to me at the full price, so the plague on the people may be halted.’” (1 Chronicles 21:22) Historical Setting • Date: c. 970 BC, late in David’s reign. • Occasion: David’s illicit census provoked divine judgment; a plague was sweeping Israel (21:14). • Place: Ornan’s (Araunah’s) threshing floor on Mount Moriah (2 Chronicles 3:1). • Cultural backdrop: Threshing floors doubled as public gathering sites and, being elevated and windy, were naturally clean—ideal for altars (Judges 6:11). Immediate Context: Sin, Wrath, and Mercy David’s census violated reliance on Yahweh (Exodus 30:12). The LORD’s angel stood “between earth and heaven” with a drawn sword (21:16), dramatizing the need for substitutionary appeasement. The king’s request to buy a place for sacrifice is thus a plea for mercy grounded in atonement. Costliness of True Sacrifice David insists on “the full price.” The Hebrew phrase מלא־הכסף (male-hakkesep) stresses completeness. Parallel account: “I will not offer burnt offerings that cost me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). Scripture repeatedly links authentic worship with personal cost (Genesis 4:4; Malachi 1:8). The principle foreshadows the perfect, infinitely costly sacrifice of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). Location and Typology: Mount Moriah 1. Abraham’s test with Isaac occurred here (Genesis 22:2). A ram died “in the stead of his son,” prefiguring substitution. 2. Solomon’s temple would rise on this exact ridge (2 Chronicles 3:1), institutionalizing the sacrificial system. 3. Calvary/Golgotha lies on the same mountainous complex just outside the ancient wall; Jesus, the final Lamb, was crucified within sight of Moriah’s summit (John 19:17). Sacrifice as Substitutionary Atonement • David: one altar + one offering = plague halted (21:26-27). • Mosaic Law: life-for-life principle (Leviticus 17:11). • Prophets: Suffering Servant bears iniquity (Isaiah 53:5-6). • Christ: “once for all” offering (Hebrews 9:26). Thus 1 Chronicles 21:22 crystallizes the biblical thread: divine wrath appeased by a representative, costly offering. Divine Initiative and Human Response God commands Gad the prophet to tell David to build the altar (21:18). Human obedience is necessary, yet it is God who provides the means and ultimately the Lamb (John 1:29). Archaeological Corroboration • The stepped-stone structure and massive retaining walls under today’s Temple Mount match Iron Age engineering necessary to convert a natural summit—consistent with a former threshing floor—into Solomon’s platform. • Bullae with paleo-Hebrew “Belonging to Hezekiah son of Ahaz king of Judah” (discovered 2015) confirm royal activity in the temple precinct originating at David’s site. • Tel Dan Stele (9th c. BC) mentions the “House of David,” affirming his historicity. Theological Trajectory 1. Sacrifice introduces mediation. 2. Mediation points to covenant fellowship. 3. Covenant fellowship culminates in Emmanuel—God with us—achieved through Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:29-32). Christological Fulfillment David’s purchased site hosts centuries of animal blood yet never fully removes sin (Hebrews 10:4). Jesus, the infinite King-Priest, pays the “full price” once, shouting “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The halted plague foreshadows the final conquest of death in the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:54-57). Conclusion 1 Chronicles 21:22 teaches that acceptable sacrifice is costly, substitutionary, divinely directed, and oriented toward ultimate redemption. It anchors a continuous line from Abraham’s ram to the temple altar to the cross, demonstrating that every true offering anticipates the perfect, priceless sacrifice of Christ. |
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