And that day Gad came to David and said to him, "Go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." And that day Gad came to DavidGad was a prophet and seer during the reign of King David, often serving as a divine messenger. His role highlights the importance of prophetic guidance in Israel's monarchy. The phrase "that day" refers to the immediate aftermath of David's sin of conducting a census, which led to a plague as divine judgment. Gad's arrival signifies God's intervention and the beginning of restoration. and said to him,
This indicates direct communication from God through His prophet. In the Old Testament, God often communicated His will through prophets, who were His mouthpieces. This underscores the seriousness and divine authority of the message being delivered to David. “Go up and build an altar to the LORD
Building an altar was a significant act of worship and atonement in ancient Israel. Altars were places of sacrifice, symbolizing repentance and reconciliation with God. This command to "go up" suggests a physical ascent, possibly indicating the elevated location of the threshing floor, which was often on a hill to catch the wind for winnowing grain. on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”
Araunah was a Jebusite, one of the original inhabitants of Jerusalem before David conquered the city. The threshing floor's location is significant as it later becomes the site of Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 3:1), making it a place of enduring spiritual importance. The use of a Jebusite's property for an altar also reflects the inclusivity of God's plan, foreshadowing the opening of God's covenant to all nations. The threshing floor, a place of separation and purification, symbolizes the purging of sin and the preparation for divine presence. Persons / Places / Events 1. GadA prophet during King David's reign, serving as a messenger of God's will. Gad plays a crucial role in guiding David to make amends with God. 2. DavidThe King of Israel, known for his heart for God but also for his human failings. In this context, David is seeking to atone for his sin of conducting a census of Israel. 3. Araunah the JebusiteThe owner of the threshing floor where David is instructed to build an altar. Araunah's willingness to offer his property for the altar demonstrates his reverence for God. 4. Threshing FloorA place where grain is separated from chaff, symbolically representing a place of judgment and purification. It becomes a site of worship and sacrifice. 5. AltarA structure for offering sacrifices to God, symbolizing repentance, worship, and reconciliation with God. Teaching Points Obedience to God's InstructionsDavid's immediate response to Gad's message emphasizes the importance of obeying God's directives, even when they require personal sacrifice or humility. Repentance and ReconciliationBuilding the altar signifies David's repentance and desire to restore his relationship with God. True repentance involves tangible actions that reflect a change of heart. The Cost of WorshipDavid insists on paying for the threshing floor, illustrating that genuine worship often requires personal cost and sacrifice. God's Mercy and JusticeThe context of this passage shows God's justice in response to sin but also His mercy in providing a way for reconciliation. Symbolism of the Threshing FloorThe threshing floor as a place of separation and purification serves as a metaphor for spiritual refinement and the need for purity in worship. Bible Study Questions 1. How does David's response to Gad's instruction demonstrate his heart for God, and what can we learn from his example about obedience? 2. In what ways does the concept of sacrifice in this passage connect to the New Testament understanding of Jesus' sacrifice? 3. Why is it significant that David insists on paying for the threshing floor, and how does this principle apply to our own acts of worship and service? 4. How does the location of the threshing floor tie into the broader biblical account, and what does this teach us about God's sovereignty and plan? 5. Reflect on a time when you had to make a personal sacrifice in your spiritual journey. How did it impact your relationship with God, and what did you learn from the experience? Connections to Other Scriptures 1 Chronicles 21This parallel account provides additional details about the events leading to David's purchase of the threshing floor and the building of the altar. Genesis 22The account of Abraham's altar on Mount Moriah, which is traditionally associated with the same location as Araunah's threshing floor, highlighting themes of obedience and sacrifice. Hebrews 13:10Discusses the altar as a place of spiritual significance, connecting the Old Testament practice of sacrifice to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ. People Araunah, Canaanites, Dan, David, Gad, Gadites, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Joab, ZidonPlaces Aroer, Beersheba, Dan, Gilead, Jazer, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Kadesh, Negeb, Sidon, TyreTopics Altar, Araunah, Arau'nah, Build, David, Erect, Floor, Gad, Grain-floor, Jebusite, Jeb'usite, Raise, Rear, Threshing, Threshingfloor, Threshing-floorDictionary of Bible Themes 2 Samuel 24:18 8644 commemoration 2 Samuel 24:10-25 7435 sacrifice, in OT 2 Samuel 24:11-25 4843 plague 2 Samuel 24:16-25 4524 threshing-floor Library The Exile --Continued.
We have one psalm which the title connects with the beginning of David's stay at Adullam,--the thirty-fourth. The supposition that it dates from that period throws great force into many parts of it, and gives a unity to what is else apparently fragmentary and disconnected. Unlike those already considered, which were pure soliloquies, this is full of exhortation and counsel, as would naturally be the case if it were written when friends and followers began to gather to his standard. It reads like …
Alexander Maclaren—The Life of DavidThe Universal Chorus
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto Him that stteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. M en have generally agreed to dignify their presumptuous and arrogant ^* disquisitions on the works and ways of God, with the name of wisdom ; though the principles upon which they proceed, and the conclusions which they draw from …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Letter xix (A. D. 1127) to Suger, Abbot of S. Denis
To Suger, Abbot of S. Denis He praises Suger, who had unexpectedly renounced the pride and luxury of the world to give himself to the modest habits of the religious life. He blames severely the clerk who devotes himself rather to the service of princes than that of God. 1. A piece of good news has reached our district; it cannot fail to do great good to whomsoever it shall have come. For who that fear God, hearing what great things He has done for your soul, do not rejoice and wonder at the great …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux Meditations for one that is Like to Die.
If thy sickness be like to increase unto death, then meditate on three things:--First, How graciously God dealeth with thee. Secondly, From what evils death will free thee. Thirdly, What good death will bring unto thee. The first sort of Meditations are, to consider God's favourable dealing with thee. 1. Meditate that God uses this chastisement of thy body but as a medicine to cure thy soul, by drawing thee, who art sick in sin, to come by repentance unto Christ, thy physician, to have thy soul healed …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety Consolations against Impatience in Sickness.
If in thy sickness by extremity of pain thou be driven to impatience, meditate-- 1. That thy sins have deserved the pains of hell; therefore thou mayest with greater patience endure these fatherly corrections. 2. That these are the scourges of thy heavenly Father, and the rod is in his hand. If thou didst suffer with reverence, being a child, the corrections of thy earthly parents, how much rather shouldst thou now subject thyself, being the child of God, to the chastisement of thy heavenly Father, …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety The Order of Thought which Surrounded the Development of Jesus.
As the cooled earth no longer permits us to understand the phenomena of primitive creation, because the fire which penetrated it is extinct, so deliberate explanations have always appeared somewhat insufficient when applying our timid methods of induction to the revolutions of the creative epochs which have decided the fate of humanity. Jesus lived at one of those times when the game of public life is freely played, and when the stake of human activity is increased a hundredfold. Every great part, …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus Of Love to God
I proceed to the second general branch of the text. The persons interested in this privilege. They are lovers of God. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Despisers and haters of God have no lot or part in this privilege. It is children's bread, it belongs only to them that love God. Because love is the very heart and spirit of religion, I shall the more fully treat upon this; and for the further discussion of it, let us notice these five things concerning love to God. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial The Hardening in the Sacred Scripture.
"He hath hardened their heart."-- John xii. 40. The Scripture teaches positively that the hardening and "darkening of their foolish heart" is a divine, intentional act. This is plainly evident from God's charge to Moses concerning the king of Egypt: "Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. But Pharaoh shall not harken unto you, and I will lay My hand upon Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the …
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit The Prophet Amos.
GENERAL PRELIMINARY REMARKS. It will not be necessary to extend our preliminary remarks on the prophet Amos, since on the main point--viz., the circumstances under which he appeared as a prophet--the introduction to the prophecies of Hosea may be regarded as having been written for those of Amos also. For, according to the inscription, they belong to the same period at which Hosea's prophetic ministry began, viz., the latter part of the reign of Jeroboam II., and after Uzziah had ascended the …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate, …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links 2 Samuel 24:18 NIV2 Samuel 24:18 NLT2 Samuel 24:18 ESV2 Samuel 24:18 NASB2 Samuel 24:18 KJV
2 Samuel 24:18 Commentaries
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