Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:18-25

Bird's-eye view

This section of 2 Samuel brings the entire book to a climactic and fitting conclusion. After the disastrous sin of the census, which was provoked by God's anger against Israel, and which resulted in a devastating plague, we now come to the resolution. This is not just about stopping a plague; it is about establishing the very place where God will meet with His people for centuries to come. David's sin created the crisis, and David's repentance, through costly sacrifice, provides the solution. The scene is rich with theological significance. It deals with prophecy, obedience, the nature of true worship, the necessity of substitutionary atonement, and the sovereign grace of God in accepting a flawed king's offering. The purchase of this particular piece of land, Araunah's threshing floor, is no historical accident. It is the future site of Solomon's Temple, the place where heaven and earth would meet. This passage is therefore a foundational stone for the entire theology of worship and redemption in the Old Testament, pointing forward to the ultimate sacrifice that would cost not silver, but the very blood of God's Son.

Outline

The Cost of Worship

At the heart of this passage is David's profound statement: "I will not offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God which cost me nothing." This is a bedrock principle for all true worship. Worship is not a casual affair, a matter of convenience, or something done with leftovers. It is the offering of something valuable to God, who is Himself of ultimate value. Araunah's offer, while generous, would have made the sacrifice his own, not David's. David, as the king representing the people, had to be the one to bear the cost. His sin was the issue at hand, and therefore his repentance had to be tangible and costly.

This principle cuts directly against the grain of our modern, consumeristic approach to church and faith. We often look for what is easiest, what requires the least of us, what "fits our schedule." But biblical worship is inherently sacrificial. It costs us our time, our resources, our pride, and ultimately, our lives, which are to be living sacrifices. David understood that a cheap offering is an insulting offering. If it costs us nothing, it is worth nothing, and it demonstrates that we believe the recipient is worth nothing. But because our God is a consuming fire, worthy of all honor and glory, our worship must reflect that worth. It must cost us something.

Verse by Verse Commentary

18 So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

The word of the Lord comes through the prophet Gad. Notice that God Himself takes the initiative in providing the remedy. David is repentant, but he does not know what to do next. God does not leave him to guess. The command is specific: Go up. Build an altar. And the location is precise: the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. This is not just any piece of real estate. A threshing floor is a place of separation, where wheat is separated from chaff. It is a place of judgment. And it is on this site of judgment that the instrument of mercy, an altar, is to be built. This is the gospel in miniature. Furthermore, that it belongs to a Jebusite, a remnant of the pagan inhabitants of Jerusalem, shows God's sovereign plan extending even to the Gentiles and their property, consecrating it for His holy purposes.

19 So David went up according to the word of Gad, just as Yahweh had commanded.

David's obedience is immediate and exact. Having learned the bitter lesson of his self-willed census, he now responds to God's command with simple, straightforward submission. "Just as Yahweh had commanded." This is the heart of true faith. It is not about grand gestures born of our own imagination, but rather humble obedience to the revealed word of God. David's sin was an act of prideful self-reliance; his first step toward restoration is an act of humble obedience.

20 And Araunah looked down and saw the king and his servants crossing over toward him; and Araunah went out and bowed his face to the ground before the king.

Araunah, a man of some stature himself, shows proper deference to the Lord's anointed. He sees the king coming and prostrates himself. This is the right ordering of society. Even in this moment of national crisis and personal sin, David is still the king, and his office is to be honored. Araunah's humility here is a model of respect for God-ordained authority.

21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to Yahweh, that the plague may be checked from being upon the people.”

David is direct and transparent. He does not use his royal authority to simply commandeer the land. He comes as a customer, ready to transact business honorably. His purpose is clear: to build an altar to Yahweh. And the reason for the altar is also clear: to stop the plague. This is intercession. David, the shepherd-king, is acting to save his people from the consequences of his own sin. He is standing in the gap, and the means of doing so is through sacrifice.

22 And Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what is good in his sight. Look, the oxen for the burnt offering, the threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. 23 Everything, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your God accept you.”

Araunah's offer is extraordinarily generous. He offers not just the land, but everything needed for the sacrifice: the animals for the offering and the wooden implements for the fire. He wants to participate in this act of worship and national deliverance. His offer is total, "Everything... Araunah gives to the king." He even adds a blessing, a prayer that God would accept David's offering. This Jebusite shows a remarkable spirit of piety and generosity. He understands the gravity of the moment and wants to contribute to the solution.

24 However, the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price, for I will not offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my God which cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

Here we have the central lesson of the passage. David's refusal is firm and principled. "No." A gift from Araunah would make it Araunah's sacrifice, not David's. But David sinned, and so David must pay. Worship that costs nothing is worth nothing. It is an empty gesture. A sacrifice, by definition, must be a loss to the one offering it. It represents the giving up of something valuable as an acknowledgment of God's supreme value and as a substitute for the penalty deserved. David understands that cheap grace is no grace at all. So he insists on paying a fair price. He is not just buying land; he is funding the atonement for his people. The fifty shekels of silver is the price of reconciliation.

25 Then David built there an altar to Yahweh and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. Thus Yahweh was moved by the entreaty for the land, and the plague was checked from being upon Israel.

Action follows the transaction. The altar is built, and the sacrifices are made. The burnt offering signifies total consecration and atonement for sin. The peace offerings signify reconciliation and restored fellowship with God. And God responds. He was "moved by the entreaty." The sacrifice was acceptable. The prayer offered through blood was heard. And as a direct result, the plague stopped. God's wrath was appeased through a substitutionary sacrifice, offered in faith, at the place He appointed. This act not only ends the immediate crisis but also sanctifies this ground as the future center of Israel's worship, the place where God would put His name. It all points forward to that final sacrifice on a hill nearby, where the true King would purchase His people, not with silver or gold, but with His own precious blood, offering a sacrifice that cost Him everything, so that our worship might be accepted.