1 Chronicles Chapter 21
Where to Build the Temple
A. David Commands a Census to Be Taken
1. (1 Chronicles 21:1-2) David is moved to take a census
“Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”
This moment marks a dark turning point late in David’s reign. Scripture reveals two concurrent realities: Satan moved David to number Israel, yet according to 2 Samuel 24:1, it began because “the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.” God allowed Satan’s activity as a means of chastening, permitting David to step into a prideful decision that would expose the heart of both the king and the nation. The Chronicler, writing for post-exilic Judah, passes over many painful events of David’s life such as family sin, Absalom’s rebellion, and the national turmoil that followed. His aim is to highlight David at his best, to give a wounded nation hope, stability, and a picture of restored worship. Yet he does not hide that David, even at his height, could be moved by Satan when pride and complacency were left unchecked.
This is also the first time in Scripture that the name “Satan” appears as a proper noun, without the definite article, indicating the Adversary acting personally against Israel. When Satan incites, he does not care for justice, discipline, or repentance. He simply seeks destruction. God’s sovereignty and Satan’s malice intersect here in a way consistent throughout Scripture: God uses even the enemy’s schemes to expose sin, humble His servant, and prepare the ground for mercy.
David’s command, “Go, number Israel,” carried danger because of the principle established in Exodus 30:12, which says, “When you take the census of the children of Israel for their number, then every man shall give a ransom for himself to the Lord when you number them, that there be no plague among them when you number them.” Israel belonged to the Lord, not to David, and numbering the people implied ownership. Only God had the right to order such a census, and when He commanded it, the ransom offering acknowledged His authority. Without that divine command and without that ransom, the census became an act of presumption and pride. David’s motive was not service but self-assurance. Counting the people fostered a subtle shift: trust in numbers rather than trust in God. The temptation to measure strength apart from God is as old as humanity, and in David’s late reign, success made him vulnerable to pride.
2. (1 Chronicles 21:3-4) Joab objects to the census
“And Joab answered, May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel? Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem.”
Joab, though a hardened commander with serious flaws, recognized the danger and dared to oppose David respectfully but firmly. His plea revealed both loyalty and discernment. Joab pointed out that Israel already belonged to God and that an enlarged nation was God’s gift, not David’s achievement. He also implied David’s motive, hinting that the king’s heart had shifted toward pride, self-reliance, and curiosity about the size of his own military strength. The census, in Joab’s view, was not an act of leadership but a perilous invitation to national guilt.
According to 2 Samuel 24:4, Joab was not alone; the captains of the army also urged David not to take this action. Yet David refused their counsel. As his reign neared its end, the blessings and prosperity of Israel had grown beyond anything seen in the nation’s history. The temptation to credit himself was real. Instead of remembering that “the battle is the Lord’s”, David momentarily shifted his confidence to numbers, manpower, and strength on paper.
The verse concludes soberly: “Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed.” David overrode sound counsel and proceeded with the census, setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to judgment, mercy, and ultimately to God revealing the exact site where the future temple would be built.
3. (1 Chronicles 21:5-8) The census is made, and David is immediately sorry
“Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. And God was displeased with this thing, therefore He struck Israel. So David said to God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing, but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”
Joab returned with the final numbers of the census, revealing that Israel had one million one hundred thousand fighting men and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand. These totals point to a population of several million. Yet the Chronicler immediately notes that Joab intentionally excluded Levi and Benjamin because the king’s command was “abominable” to him. Even Joab, a hardened warrior with a long record of bloodshed, recognized that David’s order was spiritually dangerous. His partial refusal to obey was not rebellion but conscience. God’s displeasure followed swiftly, and He struck Israel. But the deepest strike fell upon David’s conscience. David confessed, “I have sinned greatly,” acknowledging that what he had done was foolish, prideful, and contrary to God’s order. David remained a man after God’s own heart not because he avoided sin, but because he was broken under conviction and quick to repent.
The census took nearly ten months to complete, according to 2 Samuel 24:8, which means David had many opportunities to stop the process and reverse his error. Instead, he persisted. The differences between the totals recorded in Samuel and Chronicles reflect the work of scribes and copyists through the centuries, not flaws in God’s original revelation. As Clarke notes, inspiration applies to the original authors, not necessarily every later copyist. The Chronicler also records why Levi and Benjamin were excluded. Levi was exempt from military census by divine command, and Benjamin had already suffered severely in earlier national judgment. Joab sought to spare them further harm. David’s confession shows that God’s first act of judgment was moral, not physical. The Lord wounded David with the guilt of sin before He touched the nation with plague. David’s quick repentance reflects a heart sensitive to God, humbled under His hand, and aware that pride had clouded his judgment.
4. (1 Chronicles 21:9-12) David is allowed to choose the judgment
“Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, Go and tell David, saying, Thus says the Lord, I offer you three things, choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you. So Gad came to David and said to him, Thus says the Lord, Choose for yourself, either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord, the plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel. Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.”
The Lord sent Gad, David’s prophet, with a solemn message. David must choose one of three judgments. The first option was three years of famine, which would kill many but allow the wealthy and powerful to survive through stored resources and help from surrounding nations. The second option was three months of defeat by Israel’s enemies, which would primarily kill soldiers and humiliate the nation as hostile neighbors triumphed. The third option was three days of plague, the “sword of the Lord,” where death could strike anyone regardless of status. These three choices exposed the heart of the king. Every judgment involved suffering and loss, yet each differed in whom it would touch and how the nation would be humbled. God’s mercy is seen even in the structure of these judgments, for as Trapp said, David must be disciplined, but God allowed him to choose the rod.
Gad’s question, “Now consider what answer I should take back,” demonstrates God’s insistence that David respond through the prophet. God required David to deal with His appointed mediator, reinforcing that spiritual authority and divine communication follow God’s established order. The Lord was not merely punishing David but shaping him, teaching him to submit, and preparing him for the next great revelation: the site of the future temple would be shown through this judgment.
5. (1 Chronicles 21:13) David chooses the three days of plague
“And David said to Gad, I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man.”
David’s response reveals the heart of a repentant king who knows the character of God. Faced with three forms of judgment, he chose the one that placed Israel entirely under the direct hand of the Lord. David declared that God’s mercies are “very great,” acknowledging that even in chastisement the Lord remains compassionate and just. If David chose famine, the wealthy, including himself, could shield themselves while the poor suffered. If he chose foreign invasion, Israel would fall into the cruel hands of enemies who have no mercy. But choosing the plague ensured that David and his household would be exposed to the same danger as every other Israelite. This decision demonstrated humility and integrity. Clarke notes that David’s personal safety was guaranteed in war because he no longer went to battle, and famine would not touch his household because of his wealth. By selecting the plague, David accepted judgment equally with his people. He would rather be disciplined by God than tormented by man because he trusted God’s mercy more than human compassion.
B. The Course of the Plague
1. (1 Chronicles 21:14-15) The plague of destruction hits Israel severely
“So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, It is enough, now restrain your hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”
The judgment came quickly and with devastating effect. Seventy thousand men died in a short span of time, revealing both the seriousness of David’s sin and the holiness of God. This staggering loss underscores the danger of pride at the national level, especially when embodied in the king who represented the people before God. The angel sent to execute judgment moved toward Jerusalem itself, indicating that even the capital city was not exempt from divine chastisement. But the same God who judges is the God who remembers mercy. Scripture says that “the Lord looked and relented of the disaster,” commanding the angel to stop. David’s confidence in God’s mercy was vindicated. Human armies would not have relented, and famine would have been a prolonged suffering, but God, in His compassion, halted the plague at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. This location would soon become one of the most important sites in Israel’s history, as God was guiding the events that would reveal the place where the temple was to be built.
2. (1 Chronicles 21:16-19) David’s intercession, and God’s instruction
“Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. And David said to God, Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed, but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued. Therefore, the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David that David should go and erect an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. So David went up at the word of Gad, which he had spoken in the name of the Lord.”
When the Lord opened David’s eyes to see the angel standing between earth and heaven, holding a drawn sword over Jerusalem, David immediately responded with the humility of a broken shepherd. He and the elders clothed themselves in sackcloth and fell on their faces, acknowledging that the judgment hovering over the city was righteous. David confessed openly that the sin was his alone, declaring, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed.” His words reflect a true shepherd’s heart, for he pleaded that judgment fall upon himself and his father’s house rather than upon the people, whom he called “these sheep.” David’s intercession mirrors Moses standing in the breach for Israel and foreshadows the perfect Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who bore the judgment of His flock upon Himself.
God, however, had a greater purpose than merely shifting the judgment. Through the angel, He commanded Gad to instruct David to go to the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and erect an altar. The same place where judgment paused would become a place of mercy, atonement, and worship. David obeyed immediately, responding to Gad’s word as the very command of the Lord. This obedience marks the turning point where judgment gives way to restoration.
This threshing floor sat on elevated ground, as threshing floors were traditionally located where wind could separate chaff from grain. According to 2 Chronicles 3:1, this was Mount Moriah, the site where Abraham offered Isaac in Genesis 22:2, and the same region where the Lord provided a substitute sacrifice in Genesis 22:14. Ultimately, this same mount would become the location of Solomon’s temple and, centuries later, the broader hill system upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. Thus, in this moment of judgment and mercy, God revealed the precise place where atonement for the nation would be focused for generations.
3. (1 Chronicles 21:20-25) David buys the threshing floor of Ornan
“Now Ornan turned and saw the angel, and his four sons who were with him hid themselves, but Ornan continued threshing wheat. So David came to Ornan, and Ornan looked and saw David. And he went out from the threshing floor, and bowed before David with his face to the ground. Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this threshing floor, that I may build an altar on it to the Lord. You shall grant it to me at the full price, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people. But Ornan said to David, Take it to yourself, and let my lord the king do what is good in his eyes. Look, I also give you the oxen for burnt offerings, the threshing implements for wood, and the wheat for the grain offering, I give it all. Then King David said to Ornan, No, but I will surely buy it for the full price, for I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing. So David gave Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.”
Ornan, like David, had seen the angel, and the sight terrified his household. His sons hid themselves in fear, recognizing both the majesty and the danger of the angelic presence. Ornan himself, however, remained at the threshing floor, perhaps stunned or immobilized by awe. When David approached, Ornan bowed to the king, showing deep respect. David explained that he needed the threshing floor to build an altar to the Lord so the plague would be withdrawn. Ornan responded generously, offering not only the land but also the oxen, the implements, and the wheat — everything needed for sacrifice.
David refused such generosity, insisting on paying full price. His words reveal a core principle of true worship: “I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing.” Sacrifice without cost is not sacrifice. Worship that demands nothing reflects nothing. David knew that honoring God required personal expense, personal surrender, and personal devotion. Clarke notes wisely that a religion that costs nothing is worth nothing, and Meyer adds that genuine love for God always proves itself costly.
David paid six hundred shekels of gold for the site, a sum indicating that he likely purchased not just the small threshing platform but the entire mount. 2 Samuel 24:24 records a smaller sum paid for the threshing floor itself, while Chronicles records the full purchase of the surrounding area, preparing the entire mount for future temple construction. This purchase ensured that the site of Israel’s future worship would forever belong to the Davidic line and would stand as the place where judgment was halted and mercy revealed.
4. (1 Chronicles 21:26-27) God is satisfied and relents of the judgment
“And David built there an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called on the Lord, and He answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of burnt offering. So the Lord commanded the angel, and he returned his sword to its sheath.”
David built an altar on the threshing floor and offered both burnt offerings and peace offerings, recognizing that the death of seventy thousand Israelites did not atone for sin. Atonement required the blood of an approved substitute. The burnt offering dealt with sin before God, and the peace offering celebrated restored fellowship. This moment shows that from the beginning to the end of David’s life, true worship, repentance, and fellowship with God marked his spiritual walk. Morgan notes that David turned even his failure into an occasion of worship. Spurgeon adds that Abraham demonstrated the fact of sacrifice, but here in David the reason for sacrifice becomes clearer. The plague symbolized sin’s judgment, and the altar pointed forward to the One who would be sacrificed to stay the plague of mankind’s iniquity.
God answered David visibly and powerfully by sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice, showing unmistakable acceptance. The Lord honored David’s humbled heart, restored fellowship, and obedience. The angel, seeing the divine acceptance, received God’s command to return his sword to its sheath, ending the judgment. This fire from heaven also settled a long-standing desire in David’s heart. Psalm 132:1-5 records David’s vow:
“Lord, remember David
And all his afflictions,
How he sware unto the Lord,
And vowed unto the mighty God of Jacob,
Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house,
Nor go up into my bed,
I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Or slumber to mine eyelids,
Until I find out a place for the Lord,
An habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.”
The fire confirmed the word delivered earlier by Gad that this was the place where the altar and ultimately the temple were to be established. God even used Satan’s initial provocation in this chapter to guide David to the divinely chosen location for the future temple.
5. (1 Chronicles 21:28–22:1) David decides to build the temple where God showed mercy to Israel
“At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. For the tabernacle of the Lord, which Moses made in the wilderness, and the altar of the burnt offering, were at that season in the high place at Gibeon. But David could not go before it to inquire of God, for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord. Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.”
David recognized that God had chosen and sanctified the threshing floor by answering with heavenly fire. Though the tabernacle built by Moses and the bronze altar stood at Gibeon, David did not dare go there because the judgment had appeared at Jerusalem, and the sword of the angel had hung over that region. God had redirected Israel’s worship by His own presence and by His own fire. This place, not Gibeon, would be the new center of sacrifice and prayer. Selman notes that because God had answered David there, it had already become a house of prayer and a temple for sacrifice.
David declared, “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel.” He knew from this moment forward that the temple must be built on this very ground. The location aligned perfectly with prophecy, for Moses foresaw a divinely chosen site for worship in Deuteronomy 12:11, where he said the Lord would appoint a place for His name. The threshing floor of Ornan would become Solomon’s temple mount.
The nature of Ornan’s threshing floor reveals a pattern of how and where God meets with His people. It was a simple place, not adorned or constructed for religious display. It was the site of ordinary labor, where grain was separated from chaff. It was a place purchased by sacrifice, a place from which bread came forth, a place where divine justice was displayed, where sin was confessed, and where the offering was accepted by God. Spurgeon reminds believers not to think they need architectural grandeur to meet with God. Anywhere that God sanctifies by His presence becomes holy ground. From this humble threshing floor, God established the permanent site of Israel’s worship, the place where sacrifices would rise for generations, and where ultimately the Lamb of God would accomplish the final atonement.
