The Lord didn't specifically say to purchase the threshing floor but that was implied because this plot of land does not belong to David. Kings of other nations might seize whatever they want from their citizens but David is not like pagan kings. He follows the laws the Lord laid down for Israel to follow. Building an altar on another man's threshing floor constitutes theft, for the threshing floor would be rendered unusable for anything other than an altar after it has been consecrated to the Lord.
In yesterday's text we found David going to Araunah's house to ask him about the purchase of the land. Araunah offered to give the land to David, along with oxen and wood for the burnt offering. But David said he would not offer to the Lord something that cost him nothing. Araunah is clearly a very wealthy man because his offer of the threshing floor means he either has other pieces of land suitable for use as a threshing floor or he has plenty of money with which to buy another suitable area. It would please him to donate the land for the purpose of building an altar and I am sure David appreciates his kind offer but David understands that the nature of a sacrifice is a "giving up" of something. He wants to pay a fair market value for the threshing floor so that the site he dedicates to the Lord cost him something.
It can be hard for us to relinquish things that cost us something, can't it? It's the way of the world to want to hold onto anything that's been worked for or paid for. But the Lord gave sacrificially when He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. It cost Him something to redeem us. It cost Him the best He had to give. With this in mind, don't we owe Him something in thanks for all He's done for us? Don't we owe Him our time in prayer, in Bible study, in ministering to others, in watching or attending church services? Don't we owe Him our offerings? A sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it doesn't cost anything. If it doesn't cause us some of our time, money, energy, effort, etc. then it is not a sacrifice at all.
When David insists on paying for the land, I believe he's telling Araunah to name his price. If Araunah were selling the threshing floor to someone other than the king, what would be a fair price to him? A fair price is apparently fifty shekels of silver. "So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them." (2 Samuel 24:24b) This amount of silver would have weighed approximately 1.25 pounds. It's important to note that the parallel account in 1 Chronicles 21 differs from 2 Samuel 24. It says, "David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the site." (1 Chronicles 21:25) This amount of gold would have weighed approximately 15 pounds and would have been an exorbitant price to pay for a threshing floor. Why is there a discrepancy between 2 Samuel 24:24 and 1 Chronicles 21:25? We'll discuss that below.
Solomon will build the temple and its surrounding complex on real estate that David purchases from Araunah. The land known as "the site" in 1 Chronicles 21 is believed by scholars to be a reference not just to the threshing floor but to the entire plot of land upon which the temple complex will be built. They feel that David paid the original 50 shekels of silver for the threshing floor alone and that he bought a far bigger plot of land from Araunah for six hundred shekels of gold. Many scholars feel that David entered into a contract with Araunah here in Chapter 24 to purchase not only the threshing floor but a good deal of the surrounding land and that the 50 shekels of silver was just the down payment (or "earnest money", in other words) and that he came back with the six hundred shekels of gold at a later date. Farther on in the Bible we'll be provided with the dimensions of the temple and the surrounding complex and it will become clear to us that there's no way something that large could have been built on a hilltop threshing floor. The remains of threshing floors from the Bible era have been found and some of the largest measure only 25 feet across at the widest point. That's far too small for a temple and its outer courts. But it's the right size for a hilltop altar.
I don't believe there are any contradictions in the word of God. It makes sense to me that David would have gone to Araunah immediately, after being commanded by the Lord, to consummate the purchase of the threshing floor for an altar. I think he paid for it on the spot with fifty shekels of silver and then, at some later date, bought a number of adjoining acres for six hundred shekels of gold. The author of 2 Samuel 24 tells us what David did on the same day the Lord commanded him to build an altar but a later author (or the same author at a later time) tells us about the purchase of "the site" when writing the book of 1 Chronicles. The author of 2 Samuel 24 says David bought "the threshing floor" for fifty shekels of silver and then the author of 1 Chronicles 21 says that David bought "the site" for six hundred shekels of gold. These appear to be two separate purchases conducted at two separate times.
Although David will not be the man to build the temple, the Lord has already told him that one of his sons will build the temple. Farther on in the Bible we'll learn that David began laying the groundwork for his son's project. David accumulated funds and amassed materials. And, as we've seen today, David purchased land.
Now that he's purchased the threshing floor he builds the altar and makes sacrifices and offerings on it. "David built an altar to the Lord there and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer on behalf of the land, and the plague on Israel was stopped." (2 Samuel 24:25) The parallel account adds this: "Then the Lord spoke to the angel, and he put his sword back into its sheath." (1 Chronicles 21:27) The Lord had already commanded the angel to halt the progress of the plague but the angel is still standing at attention waiting for further instructions. The angel waits while David obeys the Lord by buying the threshing floor, building the altar, and making the sacrifices and offerings. If David had not obeyed the Lord, I think the Lord would have commanded the angel to strike Jerusalem with the plague that has already struck inhabitants of the other cities of the nation. But when David obeys the Lord, the Lord tells the angel to put his sword away. The plague is over. The angel is to do no more. David has repented of his sin of conducting the census of the fighting men. He has been disciplined for it. He has made offerings for atonement (burnt offerings) and offerings that symbolize the peace being restored between himself and God (fellowship offerings). The sin and the discipline are behind him now and he is to move forward. He is nearing the end of his reign, as we'll see when we begin the book of 1 Kings tomorrow, but he is still working for the future. He has made the first step in acquiring what will be the location of the temple his son will build. The fact that the Lord told him to make this purchase is the proof that the Lord will not go back on His promises to David even though David has made several extremely sinful mistakes during his lifetime.
Some of the promises of the Bible are conditional. They are conditional upon our obedience and our faith. But some are not conditional upon anything we do. They depend solely on the faithfulness of God. God made the promise regarding David's family line because it is His will for the royal line of Israel to pass down through David's descendants. It is the Lord's will for His own Son to be a direct descendant of David. The keeping of this promise depends solely on the Lord's faithfulness. He didn't make the promise in exchange for David living as perfect of a life as a man can live. He knew everything David had ever done wrong and He knew everything David ever would do wrong. The promise was made because it is the way the Lord wants to fulfill another promise, which is the greatest promise ever made---the promise of a Redeemer. We don't understand everything about why choosing David's family line is the best way of bringing about the ultimate promise but on faith we believe this was the best way. It was the way that lined everything up exactly right according to the will of God and according to His perfect purpose.
Join us tomorrow as we begin our study of 1 Kings, our study of the final years of David's life, and our study of his son and successor ascending to the throne.
No comments:
Post a Comment