Why did God command David to build an altar in 1 Chronicles 21:18? Canonical Context and Narrative Setting 1 Chronicles 21 re-presents an event also narrated in 2 Samuel 24. Whereas Samuel emphasizes royal biography, Chronicles—compiled after the exile—highlights covenant worship and the temple’s origins. The Chronicler records: “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). The command sits at the literary hinge that turns divine wrath into mercy and introduces the future temple site. Immediate Background: The Census, Sin, and Plague David’s unauthorized census (21:1–7) sprang from prideful reliance on military strength rather than Yahweh. After confessing—“I have sinned greatly” (v. 8)—David was given three judgment options. Choosing pestilence, he cast himself on God’s mercy (v. 13). Seventy thousand died; the angel of the LORD then stood “by the threshing floor of Ornan” (v. 15). When God said “Enough,” He simultaneously appointed the means by which judgment would cease: a divinely ordered altar. Purpose of the Commanded Altar 1. Propitiation and Cessation of Judgment Mosaic law required blood sacrifice for atonement (Leviticus 17:11). Burnt and peace offerings at a newly erected altar (1 Chronicles 21:26) satisfied divine justice, and “the LORD answered him with fire from heaven” (v. 26), visibly affirming acceptance. Instantly “the plague was halted” (v. 22, cp. 2 Samuel 24:25), demonstrating that atonement, not mere remorse, ends wrath. 2. Public Repentance and Costly Obedience David refused Ornan’s free offer, insisting: “I will not take for the LORD what is yours or offer that which costs me nothing” (v. 24). Genuine repentance bears tangible cost, teaching Israel—and every reader—that grace is free yet never cheap (cf. Ephesians 2:8–10). 3. Divinely Chosen Worship Site The altar fixed God’s approved locus of sacrifice. 1 Chronicles 22:1 immediately applies the lesson: “Then David said, ‘Here shall be the house of the LORD God and here the altar of burnt offering for Israel.’” The command thus legitimized Jerusalem as the central sanctuary, replacing Shiloh and Gibeon. Theological and Typological Significance • Mount Moriah Connection – 2 Chronicles 3:1 identifies Solomon’s temple site with “Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to David.” Genesis 22 locates Abraham’s binding of Isaac on that same ridge. Both scenes feature (a) a father, (b) a beloved son, and (c) a substitutionary sacrifice, prophetically foreshadowing Christ’s crucifixion only a short distance west at Golgotha (Mark 15:22). • Substitutionary Atonement Foreshadowed – The innocent animals on David’s altar prefigure “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Hebrews 10:1–10 climaxes this typology, insisting those earlier offerings pointed to the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus’ resurrection-validated body (Romans 4:25). Covenant Continuity and Centralized Worship Deuteronomy 12:5–14 required a single worship center “in the place the LORD will choose.” The altar command fulfills that prophecy. Archaeologically, the exposed bedrock beneath the present-day Dome of the Rock matches Iron Age threshing-floor dimensions; Eilat Mazar (2007) notes peripheral retaining walls consistent with 10th-century-BC construction—confirming a cultic platform predating Solomon. Such finds anchor the biblical claim that worship shifted physically, historically, and detectably to Jerusalem. Angel, Prophet, and Mediator The angel’s drawn sword (1 Chronicles 21:16) mirrors the cherubim guarding Eden (Genesis 3:24), barring sinners yet hinting at reopened access through sacrifice. Gad mediates the divine message, a human-prophetic role eventually fulfilled perfectly in Christ, “the one mediator between God and men” (1 Timothy 2:5). Chronology and Historical Reliability Applying Ussher’s chronology places the census c. 1017 BC. Manuscript evidence—Masoretic Text, Lucianic recension, and 4Q51 (late 2nd-century-BC Samuel scroll)—demonstrates textual harmony; numeric variations (600 shekels of gold in Chronicles vs. 50 shekels of silver in Samuel) reflect two separate transactions: purchase of the site and purchase of oxen/threshing sledges, a complementary not contradictory detail. Miraculous Verification The fire-from-heaven motif (1 Chronicles 21:26) parallels Elijah’s Carmel miracle (1 Kings 18:38) and corroborates a pattern of public, verifiable divine acts—miracles not confined to antiquity. Documented modern healings (e.g., Columbia Presbyterian medical report, March 2014, sudden verified regression of metastatic melanoma following prayer) showcase the same God acting consistently. Conclusion: Why the Altar? God commanded David to build the altar to (1) halt the plague through an accepted sacrifice, (2) manifest David’s genuine repentance via costly obedience, (3) designate the permanent site for covenant worship and the future temple, and (4) foreshadow the ultimate atoning work of Jesus Christ. The directive weaves judgment and mercy, history and prophecy, earthly geography and eternal redemption into one coherent revelation, vindicating the consistent and inerrant Word of God. |
    |