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2 Samuel 24:18–25
Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God with that which costs me nothing” (v. 24a).
By some supernatural means, David is enabled to see the angel “striking the people” with the plague God ordained in response to David’s sin. The sight fills him with grief, and he cries out to God on the people’s behalf. He again confesses his own sin, acknowledging God’s right to punish him. However, he cannot understand why the people are suffering because he does not know of their unspecified sin that has aroused God’s anger. Therefore, he asks that God would execute His wrath exclusively on him and on his family. David’s great love for his people is beautiful to behold, but he is asking the impossible—he, a guilty man, cannot stand in the place of a guilty people. Only the God-man, the sinless Messiah who someday will be born into David’s family, can be the sacrificial substitute.
However, God is willing to use David to remind the people of this messianic hope. The prophet Gad comes to the king once more, this time to deliver the divine command that David build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place where he saw the angel standing. The sacrifices to be offered on this altar will point to the future sacrifice that will placate God’s anger, reminding the people to seek His mercy. When the people have thus been brought to acknowledge their sin, God will heed their prayers and halt the plague, which is still spreading (though the angel’s causitive work has ceased). Secondarily, this command lets David know that he has been reconciled to God, for God is prepared to accept his act of worship.
David therefore goes to Araunah and offers to buy his threshing floor. He does not use God’s command as a license to seize the property, rather, he deals with Araunah according to the law. Araunah is willing to give the land to the king, as well as oxen for his sacrifice and wood for the fire. Perhaps he believes he will be contributing to the national welfare thereby, for he adds a prayer—”May the Lord your God accept you.” But David, knowing that his sin led to this mess, insists on paying. He then builds the altar and offers burnt offerings and peace offerings, and God then heeds the prayers of His people and withdraws the plague. Finally, David decrees that the temple shall rise on this site (1 Chron. 22:1), that from there a witness to the perfect sacrifice to come might shine forth until the fullness of time.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Jesus has paid the cost of our sins. That does not mean, however, that the Christian life is without cost. Indeed, it costs us our very lives, for to be a disciple of Christ is to die to self. This may seem like a high cost, but God’s worth makes such a sacrifice appropriate. Do you value your Lord so much you are willing to die? Or is that price too high?
For Further Study
- Rom. 14:8
- 1 Cor. 6:20
- 1 Peter 2:24
- Rev. 2:10