📖WEB · 1 Chronicles 21:28
What does 1 Chronicles 21:28 mean?
"At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there."
— 1 Chronicles 21:28 (World English Bible)
Surrounding context
So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
David built an altar to Yahweh there, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on Yahweh; and he answered him from the sky by fire on the altar of burnt offering.
Then Yahweh commanded the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath.
At that time, when David saw that Yahweh had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.
For Yahweh’s tabernacle, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of burnt offering, were at that time in the high place at Gibeon.
But David couldn’t go before it to inquire of God; for he was afraid because of the sword of Yahweh’s angel.
Explanation
This verse comes at the close of a dramatic episode. David had sinned by taking a census of Israel out of pride or lack of trust in God, and as judgment, a plague struck the nation. As the destroying angel reached Jerusalem, God relented, and the angel stood at the threshing floor of Ornan (also called Araunah) the Jebusite. David, guided by the prophet Gad, bought that threshing floor, built an altar there, and called on the Lord. God answered by sending fire from heaven to consume the offering, showing His acceptance. Verse 28 simply notes that once David saw this divine response, he continued to sacrifice at that very spot rather than returning to the tabernacle at Gibeon, where the original altar stood.
The book of 1 Chronicles was written
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