2 Samuel 24:22
Araunah said to David, "My lord the king may take whatever seems good and offer it up. Here are the oxen for a burnt offering and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood.
Araunah said to David
Araunah, also known as Ornan in 1 Chronicles 21, was a Jebusite, a group that originally inhabited Jerusalem before David conquered the city. His willingness to speak directly to King David reflects the peaceful coexistence and respect between the Jebusites and Israelites at this time. This interaction highlights the importance of Jerusalem as a central location for Israel's worship and governance.

May my lord the king take whatever seems good to him and offer it up
Araunah's offer to give David whatever he needs for the sacrifice demonstrates a spirit of generosity and submission to the king. This reflects the cultural norm of showing deference to royalty and the recognition of David's authority. It also underscores the importance of sacrificial offerings in maintaining a right relationship with God, a theme prevalent throughout the Old Testament.

Here are the oxen for a burnt offering
The oxen were valuable animals, often used in agriculture, and their use as a burnt offering signifies a significant sacrifice. Burnt offerings were a common form of worship in Israel, symbolizing atonement and dedication to God. This act foreshadows the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who is often typified as the Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world.

and the threshing sledges and ox yokes for the wood
Threshing sledges and ox yokes were essential tools for agriculture, indicating Araunah's willingness to give up his livelihood for the sake of the king's offering. The use of these items as wood for the sacrifice highlights the theme of total surrender and devotion to God. This act of using everyday items for worship can be seen as a precursor to the New Testament teaching that all aspects of life should be offered to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1).

Persons / Places / Events
1. David
The King of Israel, who seeks to build an altar to the Lord to stop a plague on Israel.

2. Araunah
A Jebusite who owns the threshing floor where David intends to build the altar.

3. Threshing Floor
The location owned by Araunah, which David desires to purchase for the altar.

4. Burnt Offering
A sacrificial offering to God, symbolizing atonement and dedication.

5. Plague
A divine punishment on Israel, which David seeks to halt through sacrifice.
Teaching Points
Sacrificial Giving
Araunah’s willingness to give freely to the king exemplifies a heart of generosity. We are called to give sacrificially, not out of compulsion but out of love and reverence for God.

Obedience and Repentance
David’s actions demonstrate the importance of obedience to God’s commands and the need for repentance. When we stray, we must seek God’s forgiveness and make amends.

God’s Provision
Just as God provided the means for David to make a sacrifice, He provides for our needs. Trust in God’s provision, even when circumstances seem dire.

The Cost of Worship
True worship often requires a personal cost. David insists on paying for the threshing floor, teaching us that worship should not be cheap or convenient but should reflect our devotion and commitment to God.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Araunah’s response to David reflect a heart of generosity, and how can we apply this attitude in our own lives?

2. In what ways does David’s insistence on paying for the threshing floor teach us about the nature of true worship?

3. How does the concept of sacrifice in 2 Samuel 24:22 connect to the New Testament understanding of living sacrifices in Romans 12:1?

4. What can we learn from David’s actions about the importance of repentance and obedience in our relationship with God?

5. How does God’s provision in this passage encourage us to trust Him in our own times of need?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Genesis 22
The concept of sacrifice is echoed in the account of Abraham and Isaac, where God provides a ram for the burnt offering.

1 Chronicles 21
This parallel account provides additional details about David's census and the subsequent plague.

Hebrews 13:15
The idea of offering sacrifices of praise, connecting the physical sacrifices of the Old Testament to spiritual sacrifices in the New Testament.

Romans 12:1
Paul’s exhortation to present our bodies as living sacrifices, drawing a parallel to the dedication seen in David’s actions.
David Numbering the PeopleH. Melvill, B. D.2 Samuel 24:1-25
David Numbering the PeopleF. M. Sadler, M. A.2 Samuel 24:1-25
David's Numbering of the PeopleHomiletic Magazine2 Samuel 24:1-25
In What Respect the Census was SinfulA. F. Kirkpatrick, M. A.2 Samuel 24:1-25
Numbering the PeopleC. S. Robinson, D. D.2 Samuel 24:1-25
The Church's Resources2 Samuel 24:1-25
Divine Justice in National RetributionsG. Brooke.2 Samuel 24:15-25
God's Judgment on PrideHenry, Matthew2 Samuel 24:15-25
The PestilenceDean Stanley.2 Samuel 24:15-25
The Plague StayedMonday Club Sermons2 Samuel 24:15-25
The Plague StayedS. D. Niccolls, D. D.2 Samuel 24:15-25
Araunah the JebusiteB. Dale 2 Samuel 24:20-23
People
Araunah, Canaanites, Dan, David, Gad, Gadites, Hittites, Hivite, Hivites, Joab, Zidon
Places
Aroer, Beersheba, Dan, Gilead, Jazer, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Kadesh, Negeb, Sidon, Tyre
Topics
Araunah, Behold, Burnt, Cattle, David, Instruments, Offer, Offering, Ox, Oxen, Pleases, Seems, Sledges, Threshing, Whatever, Wood, Yokes
Dictionary of Bible Themes
2 Samuel 24:22

     4522   threshing
     4696   yoke

2 Samuel 24:10-25

     7435   sacrifice, in OT

2 Samuel 24:11-25

     4843   plague

2 Samuel 24:16-25

     4524   threshing-floor

2 Samuel 24:22-23

     4552   wood

2 Samuel 24:22-24

     5865   gestures

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 David

The 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 24:22 NIV
2 Samuel 24:22 NLT
2 Samuel 24:22 ESV
2 Samuel 24:22 NASB
2 Samuel 24:22 KJV

2 Samuel 24:22 Commentaries

Bible Hub
2 Samuel 24:21
Top of Page
Top of Page