And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as the Lord commanded. From the place where he was in a lower part of the city to Mount Moriah, on which was the threshing floor, a place fit for winnowing corn when threshed. read more
And Araunah looked ,.... Peeped up out of the place in which he had hid himself with his four sons, for fear of the angel, and which they saw, 1 Chronicles 21:20 , and saw the king and his servants coming towards him ; he perceived, by the course they steered, that they were coming to him: and Araunah went out ; of the threshingfloor, out of the place where he had hid himself, for he had been threshing wheat, 1 Chronicles 21:20 ; nor was it thought below great personages in those... read more
And Araunah said, wherefore is my lord the king come to his servant ?.... Which both implies admiration in him, that so great a person should visit him in his threshingfloor; that a king should come to a subject his servant, who should rather have come to him, and would upon the least intimation; it was a piece of condescension he marvelled at; and it expresses a desire to know his pleasure with him, supposing it must be something very urgent and important, that the king should come himself... read more
And Araunah said unto David, let my lord the king take and offer up what seemeth good unto him ,.... Build an altar, offer sacrifices of whatsoever he found upon the premises fit for the same, and make use of whatever came to hand proper to perform such service with, as follows: behold, here be oxen for burnt sacrifice : which were employed in treading the corn, hence the law in Deuteronomy 25:4 , and threshing instruments ; not flails, such as are used by us, but wooden... read more
All these things did Araunah, as a king, give unto the king ,.... The note of similitude as is not in the text; from whence some have thought he was king of the Jebusites before Jerusalem was taken out of their hands, or however was of the royal race, perhaps the son and heir of the then king at that time; or he has this title given him, because of his great liberality, having the spirit of a prince in him, even of a king; so Ulysses addressed Antinous, saying, thou art like a king, and... read more
And the king said unto Araunah, nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price ,.... And a full price too, 1 Chronicles 21:24 ; that is, give him as much for it as it was worth: neither will I offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing ; which shows an ingenuous spirit, and contrary to the temper of many, who like to serve the Lord in the cheapest manner, or with little cost to themselves: so David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty... read more
Here be oxen for burnt-sacrifice - He felt for the king; and showed his loyalty to him by this offer. He felt for the people; and was willing to make any sacrifice to get the plague stayed. He felt for his own personal safety; and therefore was willing to give up all to save his life. He felt for the honor of God; and therefore was glad that he had a sacrifice to offer, so that God might magnify both his justice and mercy. read more
As a king , give unto the king - Literally, All these did King Araunah give unto the king. That there could not be a king of the Jebusites on Mount Moriah, is sufficiently evident; and that there was no other king than David in the land, is equally so: the word המלך hammelech , "the king," given here to Araunah, is wanting in the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic; in three of Kennicott's and De Rossi's MSS., and in the parallel place in Chronicles: and, it is very probable,... read more
Neither will I offer burnt-offerings - It is a maxim from heaven, "Honour the Lord with thy substance." He who has a religion that costs him nothing, has a religion that is worth nothing: nor will any man esteem the ordinances of God, if those ordinances cost him nothing. Had Araunah's noble offer been accepted, it would have been Araunah's sacrifice, not David's; nor would it have answered the end of turning away the displeasure of the Most High. It was David that sinned, not... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 2 Samuel 24:18-25
Here is, I. A command sent to David to erect an altar in the place where he saw the angel, 2 Sam. 24:18. This was to intimate to David, 1. That, upon his repeated submission and humiliation, God was now thoroughly reconciled to him; for, if the Lord had been pleased to kill him, he would not have accepted an offering, and therefore would not have ordered him to build an altar. God's encouraging us to offer to him spiritual sacrifices is a comfortable evidence of his reconciling us to himself.... read more