What can we learn about God's mercy from 1 Chronicles 21:18? Context: David’s sin meets divine compassion “Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.” (1 Chronicles 21:18) • David’s unauthorized census (vv. 1–8) triggered judgment, yet verse 15 shows God halting the angel’s hand—already a mercy move. • Verse 18 follows immediately, introducing a fresh instruction: build an altar. The command itself is a merciful bridge from punishment to reconciliation. Mercy inside the command • God could have completed the destruction, but He chose to speak—a sign He still desired fellowship. • He supplied the very plan that would secure atonement: an altar on Ornan’s threshing floor. Mercy doesn’t leave a sinner guessing; it gives clear steps back. • The order comes through Gad, the prophet. Mediation is mercy in action, sparing David from direct confrontation with the destroying angel. Mercy that welcomes sacrifice rather than death • An altar means substitution: life taken on the stones so David’s life may be spared. • Foreshadowing shines here—pointing forward to the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 9:26-28). • Psalm 103:10 echoes the principle: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor repaid us according to our iniquities.” The altar embodies that sentiment. Mercy that transforms a place • A common threshing floor becomes holy ground. Mercy turns ordinary locations into meeting points with God. • This site later becomes the temple mount (2 Chronicles 3:1). What began as a scene of potential wrath becomes the center of worship for generations. Mercy working through a mediator • Gad acts as go-between. David listens; wrath recedes. • In a greater way, “there is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Mercy always provides a mediator, never leaving the guilty to fend for themselves. Mercy stronger than judgment • Lamentations 3:22: “Because of the LORD’s loving devotion we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.” Verse 18 is a living illustration. • Ephesians 2:4-5 shows the pattern unchanged: “But God, being rich in mercy… made us alive with Christ…” Mercy interrupts deserved outcomes and brings life where death loomed. Living in the light of such mercy • Remember: God still speaks—through His Word—offering the pathway back when we sin. • Respond promptly, as David did, building “altars” of confession and obedience (1 John 1:9). • Rejoice that places once marked by failure can become platforms for worship, because God delights to turn threshing floors into temples. |
    |