Why did David approach Araunah in 1 Chronicles 21:21? Canonical Setting 1 Chronicles 21:21 belongs to the Chronicler’s account of the sin of David’s census, the ensuing plague, and the divinely appointed remedy. Chronicles was composed after the exile to encourage returned Judeans by highlighting God’s covenant faithfulness even through royal failure. Historical Background The events occur c. 970 BC, near the end of David’s reign. The city of Jerusalem had recently been captured from the Jebusites (2 Samuel 5:6-10). Araunah (Hebrew: ʾOrnan) was a surviving Jebusite landowner whose threshing floor occupied the summit of Mount Moriah, a large bedrock terrace ideal for winnowing grain in the prevailing western winds. Immediate Cause: Divine Command through Gad “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 therefore approaches Araunah in verse 21 in direct obedience to explicit revelation. Obedience, not improvisation, governs the king’s movement. Purpose of the Approach 1. To acquire lawful title: “I insist on paying the full price, for I will not take for the LORD what belongs to you” (v. 24). David insists on a legal, permanent purchase (cf. Jeremiah buying Anathoth, Jeremiah 32). 2. To erect an altar: Sacrifice is God’s chosen means to stay the plague (v. 26). 3. To secure the future temple site: “Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David, at the place which David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan” (2 Chronicles 3:1). Theological Significance • Atonement and Substitution: Innocent animals die; guilty people live. The pattern culminates in the cross (John 1:29). • Costly Obedience: Grace is free, but worship costs. David’s refusal of a gift prefigures the truth that genuine repentance yields tangible fruit (Matthew 3:8). • From Tent to Temple: The shift from the portable Tabernacle at Gibeon (1 Chronicles 21:29) to a fixed altar in Jerusalem signals God’s intention to localize His name, leading to the Temple and ultimately to Christ as the true dwelling of God with men (John 2:21). • Typology of Moriah: The site recalls Abraham’s near–offering of Isaac (Genesis 22:2, 14). God again provides the sacrifice, foreshadowing the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8). Geographical and Archaeological Considerations The threshing floor aligns with the natural summit under today’s Temple Mount. Core samples taken during 19th-century Wilson and Warren explorations identify a broad, leveled rock surface compatible with ancient winnowing practices. Josephus (Antiquities 7.13.4) locates the altar here. The exposed bedrock under the Dome of the Rock—called es-Sakhra—matches the description of an agricultural threshing floor free of subterranean chambers, corroborating the biblical claim. Prophetic and Redemptive Trajectory The cessation of plague after sacrifice anticipates the ultimate cessation of the curse through Christ’s resurrection (Galatians 3:13-14). The angel’s “drawn sword” returns to its sheath (1 Chronicles 21:27), symbolizing propitiation—a theme consummated when the veil of the temple, later erected on this very site, tears at the moment of Christ’s atoning death (Matthew 27:51). Practical and Pastoral Applications 1. Sin has communal ramifications; leaders’ actions affect nations. 2. God provides a path of mercy that requires humble, costly obedience. 3. True worship refuses cheap substitutes; it offers the best. 4. God turns places of judgment into centers of blessing. Your failures can become altars of renewed devotion when approached in repentance and faith. Conclusion David approached Araunah because God, through the prophet Gad, commanded him to purchase the threshing floor and build an altar there. The act halted divine judgment, secured the future temple site, illustrated substitutionary atonement, and advanced the redemptive storyline that culminates in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. |
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