MPV Commentary

18. The angel of the Lord instructed Gad to tell David to build an altar on a specific site. This order was brought directly by Gad (2 Samuel 24:18), but here we learn that the angel was the source of the command. It's worth noting that angels were not typically used as messengers in Israel's early history.

20-21. Ornan was threshing wheat when David arrived. Threshing involved spreading grain out on a high area and driving oxen over it with a sledge to separate the chaff from the grain. The process was labor-intensive, requiring multiple people to work together.

23. Ornan offered David all his equipment for burning the sacrifice of the oxen, including the threshing instruments. He gave everything he had in an attempt to quickly end the plague. David accepted the offer and used the equipment for the sacrifice.

25. David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the site where he built the altar. Initially, he purchased only the cattle and threshing equipment for fifty shekels of silver (2 Samuel 24:24). Later, he bought the entire property, which included Mount Moriah, the future location of the temple.

26. David built an altar on the site, accompanied by his leading men from the palace down to Mount Zion and through the city. Despite having ample space on his own property, he was commanded to go to this specific location, where Abraham had offered Isaac (Genesis 22).

27. Fire came down from heaven in response to David's sacrifice, a phenomenon also seen at other significant events (Leviticus 9:24; 1 Kings 18:21-23; 2 Kings 1:12; 2 Chronicles 7:1).

28. When David saw that the Lord had accepted his sacrifice, he continued to offer additional sacrifices there. He sought favor through prayer and expiatory rites, motivated by reverence for God and a desire to appease Him after the angel's threat against Jerusalem.