1 Chronicles 21:28

Ch. 1Ch_21:28–Ch. 1Ch_22:1. The Selection of the Site of the Temple

28. At that time &c.] The construction of this section must be carefully noted. Ch. 1Ch_21:28 is a protasis to which ch. 1Ch_22:1 is the apodosis, 1Ch_21:29-30 of ch. 21 being a parenthesis. The division of chapters here is unfortunate.

At that time] The phrase is taken up by “Then” of 1Ch_22:1. The Chronicler wishes us to note that David regarded the success of his intercession at the floor of Ornan as an indication that this floor was God’s approved site for the Temple.

then he sacrificed there] Render, and [David had] sacrificed there, (the full stop is wrong, for the sense is continued in 1Ch_22:1).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch 21:28 At that time when David saw that the LORD had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there.

Ver. 28. Then he sacrificed there.] There Abraham had sacrificed long before {Gen 22:2; Gen 22:9}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch 21:28. Then he sacrificed there — When he perceived that his sacrifice offered there was acceptable to God, he proceeded to offer more sacrifices in that place, and did not go to Gibeon, as otherwise he should have done.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

when David saw that the Lord had answered him . . ., he sacrificed there--or, "he continued to sacrifice there." Perceiving his sacrifice was acceptable, he proceeded to make additional offerings there, and seek favor by prayer and expiatory rites; for the dread of the menacing angel destroying Jerusalem while he was absent in the center of worship at Gibeon, especially reverence for the Divine Being, led him to continue his adorations in that place which God (Ch2 3:1) had hallowed by the tokens of His presence and gracious acceptance.

Next: 1 Chronicles Chapter 22

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(28) At that time when David saw . . .—The use of Ornan’s threshingfloor as a place of sacrifice was continued from the time of the cessation of the pestilence. The words “then he sacrificed there” refer to this fact. The answer by fire from heaven (1Ch_21:26) was an unmistakable intimation of the Divine will that it should be so. (Comp. also Jos_5:15.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made,.... Or ordered to be made by the command of God, and according to his direction:

and the altar of burnt offerings, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon; which was four or five miles from Jerusalem, and too far for David to go in that time of extremity; though he must have gone thither to sacrifice, had not the Lord bid him build an altar on the threshingfloor; for there was the altar of burnt offering, on which only, according to the law of Moses, sacrifices were to be offered: this high place is, in the Targum, called the sanctuary, it including, as Kimchi observes, the whole house, the tabernacle, and the altar in it; which had been here, and at Nob, fifty seven years, as the Jewish writers say (n).

(n) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Zebachim, c. 14. sect. 7.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

When he perceived that his sacrifice there offered was acceptable to God, he proceeded to offer more sacrifices in that place, and did not go to Gibeon, as otherwise he should have done.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshing-floor. David "saw "this by the fire on the altar, and by the fact that God, at the voice of the angel (ver. 18), had not misdirected him, but had guided him aright. He sacrificed there. This means to say that he thenceforward sacrificed there;" and established there the service of sacrifices. David was so impressed "at that time," by the answer given in fire from heaven, that he began systematically to sacrifice on the site of this threshing-floor, instead of going to the high place at Gibeon, where the altar of burnt offering still stood. To have attempted to go thither would not only have meant a long and wasteful delay, but would also have meant the neglecting of the august omen of the angel present. An awful sanction is thus given to" this place," Moriah, and it becomes" the house of the Lord God," and the place of lawful and established sacrifice.

Ver. 28-ch. Act_8:3, Act_8:4; Php_1:12)

II HOW SUITABLE WAS THE SITE FOR THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD.

1. Taken from a Canaanite, it suggested and predicted the ultimate triumph of the truth of God over all human error. The kingdom of God would rise and stand in every heathen land, as the temple of Jehovah rose and stood on Gentile soil.

2. It was suitable that a threshing-floor should become the base of atemple. Where God gives to us all nourishment for our necessities, there we, in glad response, may well give back to him all worship of the soul, all thanksgiving of heart and tongue, all offerings of the treasury.

III How GODLY ZEAL WILL FIND A REASON AND A SPHERE FOR ITS ACTIVITY. David"s desire to build the temple had been positively disallowed. Any man in his position who had not that work very much at heart would have abandoned all further concern on the subject, and left the matter to his successor. But David"s heart was so full of holy zeal for the "house of the Lord," that he caught with eagerness at the idea of making preparation for it, though he was not permitted to erect it. "This is the house of the Lord God," etc. (ver. 1), and forthwith he pressed into the service masons to hew stones (ver. 2), and prepared abundance of iron and brass, and of cedar (vers. 2-4). Thus his zeal discovered a sphere of activity; nor was he wanting in the discernment of a reason for action. He might have argued that while his advancing age would excuse inaction on his part, the youth of Solomon would ensure and demand the utmost activity. That is the light in which lukewarmness would have viewed it. Not so the king. He argued that, as Solomon his son was young and tender, and the house was to be magnificent, etc. (see ver. 5), he had better bring his experience to the work, that it might be as complete as possible. If we are really in earnest in the work of the Lord, we shall not see the reasons which might be found for our abstention or delay; we shall readily observe strong grounds for immediate and strenuous exertion. What is seen, in this as well as in other spheres, depends far more upon the eye than upon the object.

IV HOW MUCH ROOM THERE IS IN THE FIELD OF HOLY USEFULNESS FOR THE EXPERIENCE OF LATER YEARS. There is good reason why all the work of the Lord should not be left to those who are "young and feeder." By all means let maturity bring its solid strength; and let age, also, bring its varied experience, its gathered and garnered wisdom to the chamber of consultation and the field of labour. "Old age hath yet its honour and its toil," its witness to bear, its counsel to give, its work to finish. C.

Answer to prayer consecrating the place of prayer.

It is noted that David felt the threshing-floor to have become a sacred place, precisely because there he had gained the answer to his prayer. A similar feeling is illustrated in the case of the patriarchs. Abraham erected his altars where the signs of the Divine favour came to him; and Jacob raised his pillow-stone as a pillar, and consecrated his place of vision, Bethel, the house of God. We may recognize instances of the same kind in our own religious experiences. Certain places are, to our feeling, peculiarly sacred, and we know that they have gained their sacredness out of prayer-times, wrestling scenes, and gracious Divine responses. It appears that David had received answer to his prayer under two symbols.

(1) By the descending of heavenly fire for the consuming of his sacrifice, and

(2) by the sight of the angel reverently and obediently putting the great plague-sword back into its scabbard (vers. 26, 27). These outward signs did but assure the fact of God"s gracious answer, and should not be thought of as necessary to the answer, or we may find difficulty in realizing that nowadays God answers our prayers, and gives us of the answer an inward witness and not an outward sign.

I THE FREEDOM OF SPIRITUAL WORSHIP FROM ALL LIMITATIONS OF PLACE. Every place is holy ground. God"s temple-dome is the "arch of yon unmeasured sky;" God"s temple-area is the floor of the whole earth. This point may be illustrated from the large variety of places which the holy men of Scripture made prayer-places: e.g. the inside of an ark, a cave in a mountain, the belly of a fish, etc. Or from the striking language of the Prophet Isaiah: (Isa_66:1) "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?" Or from the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, in Joh_4:21-23: "The hour cometh, when neither in thismountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship the Father The true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth," This point being well established and efficiently illustrated, there may be shown

II THE HELPFULNESS THAT MAY LIE IN LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS OF WORSHIP. There is a right and reasonable attachment to particular churches, places, and ordinances. Buildings and rooms gain a sacredness by their devotement to prayer and religious uses. And this feeling is to be encouraged, though we need to be reminded how easily it may become mere sentiment and superstition. The house of God where our fathers worshipped should be sacred to us. The sanctuary where the truth of God"s saving love first came home to our hearts must seem sacred to us. And it should be easier to win reverence, worship, and power of prayer in such consecrated places.

III THIS APPLIES TO A MAN"S PERSONAL RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES IN HIS PRIVATE RELIGIOUS LIFE. Illustrate from such instances as may be typified by an instance in the life of Luther. That spot in the forest where Alexis was struck down by the lightning, and he himself spared, must have been ever after a sacred spot to him. Or take a case of prayer under some particular pressure, as when a beloved one, in sickness, seemed to be passing away. The place where prayer was offered and answered seems never to lose the hallowing associations. Our lives, indeed, ought to be fall of consecrated spots, where we have raised, again and again, our pillars, inscribing thereon our Ebenezer, "Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.

Impress that if our religion is to be, in any real and vigorous sense, personal, we must have made our own sacred place. The sanctuaries set apart for worship are most precious and most helpful, and the true hearts in all the ages have said, "Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house." But more is needed. Each man wants a temple of his own, raised in response to Divine goodness personally apprehended a sacred place where, with the fullest emotion, he may offer his sacrifice of love and praise, even as David did. R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Sacrificed - When he perceived that his sacrifice was acceptable to God, he proceeded to offer more sacrifices in that place.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made,.... Or ordered to be made by the command of God, and according to his direction:

and the altar of burnt offerings, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon; which was four or five miles from Jerusalem, and too far for David to go in that time of extremity; though he must have gone thither to sacrifice, had not the Lord bid him build an altar on the threshingfloor; for there was the altar of burnt offering, on which only, according to the law of Moses, sacrifices were to be offered: this high place is, in the Targum, called the sanctuary, it including, as Kimchi observes, the whole house, the tabernacle, and the altar in it; which had been here, and at Nob, fifty seven years, as the Jewish writers say (n).

(n) Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Zebachim, c. 14. sect. 7.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

Ornan

Translate his name as in 1 Chronicles 21:15.

Now at that time ... the angel of Yahweh

Verses 29-30 are background information to explain why David offered this sacrifice at the threshing floor instead of on the altar at the tabernacle. (See: Background Information)

to ask for God's direction

"to ask God to tell him what he should do"

afraid of the sword of the angel of Yahweh

Here "sword" represents being killed by the angel of Yahweh. AT: "afraid he would be killed by the angel of Yahweh" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

thresh

Jebus

sacrifice

tabernacle

Moses

desert

altar

burnt offering

high place

Gibeon

God

fear

sword

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him This section was not written in II Samuel, but because of David’s honor, it was written here that he made an altar, and all the verses of this section are connected to one another, as if they were all one verse.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.