18 The angel of God ordered Gad to tell David to go and build an altar to God on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite. 19 David did what Gad told him in obedience to God's command. 20 Meanwhile Araunah had quit threshing the wheat and was watching the angel; his four sons took cover and hid. 21 David came up to Araunah. When Araunah saw David, he left the threshing floor and bowed deeply before David, honoring the king. 22 David said to Araunah, "Give me the site of the threshing floor so I can build an altar to God. Charge me the market price; we're going to put an end to this disaster." 23 "O master, my king," said Araunah, "just take it; do whatever you want with it! Look, here's an ox for the burnt offering and threshing paddles for the fuel and wheat for the meal offering - it's all yours!" 24 David replied to Araunah, "No. I'm buying it from you, and at the full market price. I'm not going to offer God sacrifices that are no sacrifice." 25 So David bought the place from Araunah for 600 shekels of gold. 26 He built an altar to God there and sacrificed Whole-Burnt-Offerings and Peace-Offerings. He called out to God and God answered by striking the altar of Whole-Burnt-Offering with lightning. 27 Then God told the angel to put his sword back into its scabbard.
28 And that's the story of what happened when David saw that God answered him on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite at the time he offered the sacrifice. 29 At this time the Tabernacle that Moses had constructed in the desert, and with it the Altar of Burnt Offering, were set up at the worship center at Gibeon. 30 But David, terrified by the angel's sword, wouldn't go there to pray to God anymore.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 1 Chronicles 21:18-30
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David's numbering the people.
No mention is made in this book of David's sin in the matter of Uriah, neither of the troubles that followed it: they had no needful connexion with the subjects here noted. But David's sin, in numbering the people, is related: in the atonement made for that sin, there was notice of the place on which the temple should be built. The command to David to build an altar, was a blessed token of reconciliation. God testified his acceptance of David's offerings on this altar. Thus Christ was made sin, and a curse for us; it pleased the Lord to bruise him, that through him, God might be to us, not a consuming Fire, but a reconciled God. It is good to continue attendance on those ordinances in which we have experienced the tokens of God's presence, and have found that he is with us of a truth. Here God graciously met me, therefore I will still expect to meet him.