"Why has my lord the king come to his servant?" Araunah said. "To buy your threshing floor," David replied, "that I may build an altar to the LORD, so that the plague upon the people may be halted." “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” Araunah said.Araunah, a Jebusite, addresses King David with respect, acknowledging his authority. The Jebusites were the original inhabitants of Jerusalem before David conquered the city ( 2 Samuel 5:6-9). Araunah's question reflects the cultural norms of hospitality and deference to royalty. His use of "my lord" and "his servant" indicates a hierarchical relationship, common in ancient Near Eastern societies. This encounter occurs after David's census of Israel, which led to a divine judgment in the form of a plague ( 2 Samuel 24:1-15). “To buy your threshing floor,” David replied,
David's intention to purchase the threshing floor highlights the importance of this location. Threshing floors were open, flat areas used for separating grain from chaff, often situated on elevated ground to catch the wind. This particular site would later become the location of Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 3:1), making it a significant place in biblical history. David's insistence on buying the land, rather than accepting it as a gift, underscores the principle of sacrifice; he would not offer to God something that cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). “that I may build an altar to the LORD,”
Building an altar signifies an act of worship and atonement. In the Old Testament, altars were places where sacrifices were made to God, symbolizing repentance and seeking divine favor. David's desire to build an altar here is a response to the plague, seeking to appease God's wrath. This act prefigures the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who would atone for the sins of humanity (Hebrews 10:10-12). “so that the plague upon the people may be halted.”
The plague was a direct consequence of David's sin in conducting a census, which was seen as an act of pride and reliance on military strength rather than on God (1 Chronicles 21:1-7). The cessation of the plague upon the building of the altar and offering of sacrifices demonstrates God's mercy and the power of intercessory acts. This event foreshadows the concept of Christ as the mediator who halts the plague of sin through His sacrifice (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Persons / Places / Events 1. DavidThe King of Israel, who seeks to build an altar to the LORD to stop a plague affecting his people. 2. AraunahA Jebusite who owns the threshing floor that David wishes to purchase for building the altar. 3. Threshing FloorThe location owned by Araunah, which David intends to buy to construct an altar. 4. The LORDThe God of Israel, whom David seeks to appease by building an altar. 5. The PlagueA divine punishment affecting Israel, which David aims to halt through sacrifice and repentance. Teaching Points The Cost of True WorshipTrue worship often requires personal sacrifice. David insists on paying for the threshing floor, emphasizing that worship should cost us something. Repentance and RestorationDavid's actions demonstrate the importance of repentance and seeking God's mercy to restore what has been broken by sin. Leadership and ResponsibilityAs a leader, David takes responsibility for his actions and seeks to rectify the situation, setting an example of accountability. God's Mercy in JudgmentEven in judgment, God provides a way for mercy. The opportunity to build an altar signifies God's willingness to forgive. The Role of Obedience in FaithDavid's obedience in building the altar reflects a heart aligned with God's will, showing that faith is demonstrated through action. Bible Study Questions 1. What does David's insistence on paying for the threshing floor teach us about the nature of true worship and sacrifice? 2. How does the account of David and Araunah's threshing floor connect to the broader biblical theme of repentance and restoration? 3. In what ways does David's leadership in this passage serve as a model for taking responsibility for one's actions? 4. How can we apply the principle of offering a "sacrifice of praise" in our daily lives, as seen in Hebrews 13:15? 5. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's mercy in a situation of judgment. How did it change your relationship with Him? Connections to Other Scriptures 1 Chronicles 21This chapter provides a parallel account of the same event, offering additional details about David's census and the resulting plague. Genesis 22The account of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac, which parallels David's willingness to offer a costly sacrifice to God. Psalm 51David's psalm of repentance, reflecting his heart's posture in seeking God's mercy. Hebrews 13:15Discusses offering a sacrifice of praise, connecting to the theme of sacrificial worship. Romans 12:1Encourages believers to offer themselves as living sacrifices, drawing a parallel to David's act of worship. People Araunah, Canaanites, Dan, David, Gad, Gadites, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Joab, ZidonPlaces Aroer, Beersheba, Dan, Gilead, Jazer, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Kadesh, Negeb, Sidon, TyreTopics Afflicting, Altar, Araunah, Arau'nah, Averted, Build, Buy, David, Disease, Floor, Grain-floor, Held, Order, Plague, Price, Restrained, Servant, Stayed, Stopped, Threshing, Threshingfloor, Threshing-floor, WhereforeDictionary of Bible Themes 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 24:21 NIV2 Samuel 24:21 NLT2 Samuel 24:21 ESV2 Samuel 24:21 NASB2 Samuel 24:21 KJV
2 Samuel 24:21 Commentaries
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