The threshingfloor
We recently planted a small patch of
wheat which we harvested by hand
and then put it through a combine
harvester that belonged to our
neighbor. The machine happened to
stand on an old threshing floor where
centuries before donkeys or oxen
were used to do the same work. The
biblical images and the lessons they
hold flashed through my mind.
Deu 25:4 Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out
the corn.
1Co 9:9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not
muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth
God take care for oxen?
1Ti 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox
that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his
reward.
The harvest conjures up images of the final harvest, bringing in
the sheaves. The Barley harvest preceded the wheat harvest
and barley sheaves were used in the wave offering to
symbolize the first fruits of the resurrection. The wheat
harvest symbolized the final harvest of the earth together
with its redemptive and judgment aspects. The grain was
likened unto the redeemed and the lost to grapes, chaff or
weeds.
Joe 3:13 Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get
you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their
wickedness is great.
The wheat is harvested with the sickle but the grapes are cut
and placed in the press to be trodden underfoot.
Rev 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying
with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy
sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the
harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his
sickle into the earth, and gathered the
vine of the earth, and cast it into the
great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20 And the winepress was
trodden without the city, and blood
came out of the winepress, even unto
the horse bridles, by the space of a
thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Today we know that the harvest is ready because the prophecies
are being fulfilled before our eyes. Typologically, a local
application must have a universal application before the
‘earth’ is ripe for harvest. Local unrest, war, apostasy and
environmental disasters etc. must become universal. Political
and economic unrest must be universal and religious unrest
must drive the nations to religious unity for the sake of peace.
Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples
came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these
things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of
the end of the world?
Mat 24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed
that no man deceive you.
Mat 24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ;
and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see
that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to
pass, but the end is not yet.
Mat 24:7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and
pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
Mat 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
Mat 24:9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and
shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Mat 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch
is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer
is nigh:
Mat 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,
know that it is near, even at the doors.
Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep
and howl for your miseries that shall
come upon you.
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and
your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is
cankered; and the rust of them shall
be a witness against you, and shall
eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye
have heaped treasure together for
the last days.
Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the
labourers who have reaped down
your fields, which is of you kept
back by fraud, crieth: and the cries
of them which have reaped are
entered into the ears of the Lord of
sabaoth.
Geek austerity protests
Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton;
ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not
resist you.
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the
Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit
of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the
early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of
the Lord draweth nigh.
Threshing floors and their significance to the final harvest
Jer 51:33 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The
daughter of Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to
thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall
come.
Isa 21:9 And, behold, here cometh a chariot of men, with a
couple of horsemen. And he answered and said, Babylon is
fallen, is fallen; and all the graven images of her gods he hath
broken unto the ground.
Isa 21:10 O my threshing, and the corn of my floor: that which I
have heard of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, have I
declared unto you.
Isa 28:25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he
not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast
in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in
their place?
Isa 28:26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth
teach him.
Isa 28:27 For the fitches are not threshed with a threshing
instrument, neither is a cart wheel turned about upon the
cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the
cummin with a rod.
Isa 28:28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be
threshing it, nor break it with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise
it with his horsemen.
Isa 28:29 This also cometh forth from the LORD of hosts, which
is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working.
Isa 41:15 Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing
instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains,
and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.
Amo 1:3 Thus saith
the LORD; For three
transgressions of
Damascus, and for
four, I will not turn
away the punishment
thereof; because they
have threshed Gilead
with threshing
instruments of iron:
It is interesting that the mourning for Jacob took place on the
threshing floor of Atad. Jacob (Israel) is the type of the redeemed
who have wrestled with God and will rise from the threshing floor
in the final harvest when all tears will be wiped away.
Gen 50:7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him
went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house,
and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
Gen 50:8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his
father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and
their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
Gen 50:9 And there went up with him both chariots and
horsemen: and it was a very great company.
Gen 50:10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is
beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very
sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father
seven days.
Gen 50:11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites,
saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous
mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called
Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
Wesley writes in his notes:
Gen 50:11 The solemn mourning for Jacob gave a name to the
place; Abel - mizraim - The mourning of the Egyptians: which
served for a testimony against the next generation of the
Egyptians, who oppressed the posterity of this Jacob, to whom
their ancestors shewed such respect.
Ruth and the threshing floor
Ruth a type of the first fruits of
redemption, a Moabitess converted
to the true God found Boaz the type
of Christ on the threshing floor
during the barley harvest which
serves as the harvest of first fruits or
the early rain experience. If we
faithfully follow His instruction then
we will also be part of the second
harvest, that of wheat.
Rth 3:2 And now is not Boaz of our
kindred, with whose maidens thou
wast? Behold, he winnoweth
barley to night in the
threshingfloor.
Rth 3:3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy
raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make
not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating
and drinking.
Rth 3:4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark
the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover
his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou
shalt do.
Threshing floors and judgment:
The call of Gideon
Jdg 6:1 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the
LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian
seven years.
Jdg 6:2 And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and
because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them
the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong
holds.
Jdg 6:3 And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites
came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east,
even they came up against them;
Jdg 6:4 And they encamped against them, and destroyed the
increase of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no
sustenance for Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.
Jdg 6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and
they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and
their camels were without number: and they entered into the
land to destroy it.
Jdg 6:6 And Israel was greatly impoverished because of the
Midianites; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.
Jdg 6:8 That the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel,
which said unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I
brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth out of the
house of bondage;
Jdg 6:9 And I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians,
and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drave
them out from before you, and gave you their land;
Jdg 6:10 And I said unto you, I am the LORD your God; fear not
the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but ye have
not obeyed my voice.
Jdg 6:11 And there came an angel of
the LORD, and sat under an oak
which was in Ophrah, that pertained
unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son
Gideon threshed wheat by the
winepress, to hide it from the
Midianites.
Jdg 6:12 And the angel of the LORD
appeared unto him, and said unto
him, The LORD is with thee, thou
mighty man of valour.
Jdg 6:13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the LORD be
with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his
miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD
bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and
delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
Jdg 6:14 And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy
might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the
Midianites: have not I sent thee?
Before honor is humility. The Lord can use most effectually
those who are most sensible of their own unworthiness and
inefficiency. He will teach them to exercise the courage of
faith. He will make them strong by uniting their weakness to
His might, wise by connecting their ignorance with His
wisdom. {CC 126.7}
Jdg 6:24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and
called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of
the Abiezrites.
David and the threshing floor
After the Philistines had returned the ark on a cart it arrived at
Bethshemesh during the wheat harvest .
1Sa 6:12 And the kine took the straight way to the way of
Bethshemesh, and went along the highway, lowing as they
went, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left;
and the lords of the Philistines went after them unto the
border of Bethshemesh.
1Sa 6:13 And they of Bethshemesh were reaping their wheat
harvest in the valley: and they lifted up their eyes, and saw
the ark, and rejoiced to see it.
1Sa 6:14 And the cart came into the field of Joshua, a
Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone:
and they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine a
burnt offering unto the LORD.
Our Lady of the Ark of the Covenant
The church belongs to the French Sisters of St
Joseph of the Apparition, and they believe that it
stands on the site of Abinadab's house, where the
Ark was kept (I Samuel 7:1). The church is built on
the same site as a larger Byzantine church.
Today we give thanks to God for the great honor bestowed on Mary
in not allowing decay to touch her body. At the end of her earthly
life she was assumed body and soul into heaven. It was indeed
fitting that no decay would touch her body because she had given
birth to Jesus and also because she was sinless. She was
immaculately conceived and remained sinless throughout her life.
Death is the result of sin as Scripture tells us (Rom 6:23) so therefore
she was assumed body and soul to heaven at the end of her earthly
life. One of the titles we give to our Lady is Ark of the Covenant and
our first reading opens with John’s vision of heaven in which he sees
something which would startle his contemporaries – he sees the Ark
http://www.frtommylane.com/homil
of the Covenant (Rev 11:19).
ies/years_abc/assumption-4.htm
…. We can say that Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament
prefigured Mary in the New Testament, it was pointing forward to
Mary in the New Testament. How and Why? Mary carried in her
womb Jesus the living Word of God, the Word made flesh (not just
written on stone as in the Old Testament)
Jesus was the Bread of Life (John 6) (fulfillment of the manna of the
Old Testament) Jesus was the Priest of the New Testament (Letter
to the Hebrews) (Aaron was a priest and those descended from his
were priests but Jesus is the Priest of the New Testament) So the
Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament was pointing forward to a
far greater Ark of the Covenant in the New Testament, Mary, who
carried the living word of God, Jesus.
http://www.frtommylane.com/homil
ies/years_abc/assumption-4.htm
1Sa 6:15 And the Levites took down the ark of the LORD, and
the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were,
and put them on the great stone: and the men of
Bethshemesh offered burnt offerings and sacrificed sacrifices
the same day unto the LORD.
1Sa 6:16 And when the five lords of the Philistines had seen it,
they returned to Ekron the same day.
1Sa 6:17 And these are the golden emerods which the
Philistines returned for a trespass offering unto the LORD; for
Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, for
Ekron one;
1Sa 6:18 And the golden mice, according to the number of all
the cities of the Philistines belonging to the five lords, both of
fenced cities, and of country villages, even unto the great
stone of Abel, whereon they set down the ark of the LORD:
which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua, the
Bethshemite.
1Sa 6:19 And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they
had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the
people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the
people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the
people with a great slaughter.
1Sa 6:20 And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to
stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall he go up
from us?
1Sa 6:21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of
Kirjathjearim, saying, The Philistines have brought again the
ark of the LORD; come ye down, and fetch it up to you.
1Sa 7:1 And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the
ark of the LORD, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in
the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the
LORD.
David attempts to bring the ark to Jerusalem:
1Ch 13:6 And David went up, and all Israel, to Baalah, that is, to
Kirjathjearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up thence
the ark of God the LORD, that dwelleth between the
cherubims, whose name is called on it.
1Ch 13:7 And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of
the house of Abinadab: and Uzza and Ahio drave the cart.
1Ch 13:8 And David and all Israel played before God with all
their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with
psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with
trumpets.
1Ch 13:9 And when they came unto the threshingfloor of
Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen
stumbled.
2Sa 6:6 And when they came to Nachon's threshingfloor, Uzzah
put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of it; for
the oxen shook it.
1Ch 13:10 And the anger of the
LORD was kindled against Uzza,
and he smote him, because he
put his hand to the ark: and there
he died before God.
1Ch 13:11 And David was
displeased, because the LORD
had made a breach upon Uzza:
wherefore that place is called
Perezuzza to this day.
1Ch 13:12 And David was afraid of God that day, saying, How shall I
bring the ark of God home to me?
1Ch 13:13 So David brought not the ark home to himself to the city
of David, but carried it aside into the house of Obededom the Gittite.
1Ch 13:14 And the ark of God remained with the family of
Obededom in his house three months. And the LORD blessed the
house of Obededom, and all that he had.
The oxen stumbled at the threshing floor – the symbol of
judgment –either unto death or unto salvation. At the
second attempt to bring up the ark David had had time to
reflect and carried it out according to the due order:
His Last Mistake
Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark of God, and took hold of
it; for the oxen shook it. And the anger of the Lord was
kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error.
2 Sam. 6:6, 7. {CC 176.1}
The fate of Uzzah was a divine judgment upon the violation of
a most explicit command. Through Moses the Lord had given
special instruction concerning the transportation of the ark.
None but the priests, the descendants of Aaron, were to
touch it, or even to look upon it uncovered. . . . {CC 176.2}
The priests were to cover the ark,
and then the Kohathites must lift
it by the staves, which were
placed in rings upon each side of
the ark and were never removed.
To the Gershonites and
Merarites, who had in charge the
curtains and boards and pillars of
the tabernacle, Moses gave carts and oxen for the transportation of
that which was committed to them. "But unto the sons of Kohath
he gave none: because the service of the sanctuary belonging unto
them was that they should bear upon their shoulders" (Num. 7:9).
Thus in the bringing of the ark from Kirjathjearim there had been a
direct and inexcusable disregard of the Lord's directions. . . . {CC
176.3}
The Philistines, who had not a knowledge of God's law, had
placed the ark upon a cart when they returned it to Israel, and
the Lord accepted the effort which they made. But the
Israelites had in their hands a plain statement of the will of
God in all these matters, and their neglect of these
instructions was dishonoring to God. Upon Uzzah rested the
greater guilt of presumption. Transgression of God's law had
lessened his sense of its sacredness, and with unconfessed
sins upon him he had, in face of the divine prohibition,
presumed to touch the symbol of God's presence. God can
accept no partial obedience, no lax way of treating His
commandments. By the judgment upon Uzzah He designed to
impress upon all Israel the importance of giving strict heed to
His requirements. Thus the death of that one man, by leading
the people to repentance, might prevent the necessity of
inflicting judgments upon thousands. {CC 176.4}
Feeling that his own heart was not wholly right with God, David,
seeing the stroke upon Uzzah, had feared the ark, lest some sin on
his part should bring judgments upon him. But Obed-edom,
though he rejoiced with trembling, welcomed the sacred symbol as
the pledge of God's favor to the obedient. The attention of all
Israel was now directed to the Gittite and his household; all
watched to see how it would fare with them. "And the Lord
blessed Obed-edom, and all his household." {PP 706.1}
At one stage there were some people in our publishing
houses that wanted to change the policy to make some
publications more popular. They suggested dropping the
references to the Seventh Day Adventist Church and leaving
out prominent truths such as the Sabbath to increase the
circulation of the literature. Ellen White wrote:
This policy is the first step in a succession of wrong steps. The
principles which have been advocated in the American
Sentinel are the very sum and substance of the advocacy of
the Sabbath, and when men begin to talk of changing these
principles, they are doing a work which it does not belong to
them to do. Like Uzzah, they are attempting to steady the ark
which belongs to God, and is under His special supervision.-MS 29, 1890. {PM 224.2}
Uzzah meddled with the ark, notwithstanding the plain
command of the Lord to regard it with fear and trembling,
and to keep it sacred. He had to be removed from the Lord's
work. God changes not. Today he is just as desirous as in the
days of Uzzah that men shall know his ways, and that they
shall reverence the methods he has outlined for their
guidance. They are to carry out the plans he has devised.
When men feel that it is unimportant to obey a "Thus saith
the Lord" in carrying forward his work, but that their own
plans should be followed, they thereby evidence unfitness for
any position of trust in his cause. In every effort to advance
the interests of his work, we must lose sight of self, and keep
in view God's glory. {RH, September 14, 1905 par. 5}
Don’t try to steady the ark which is under divine protection
when the course pursued is a wrong one. Don’t try to steady
the proclamation of the divine precepts when the course is
contrary to the three angels messages as directed by God.
1Ch 15:1 And David made him houses in the city of David, and
prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched for it a tent.
1Ch 15:2 Then David said, None ought to carry the ark of God
but the Levites: for them hath the LORD chosen to carry the
ark of God, and to minister unto him for ever.
1Ch 15:3 And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem, to
bring up the ark of the LORD unto his place, which he had
prepared for it.
1Ch 15:4 And David assembled the children of Aaron, and the
Levites:
1Ch 15:5 Of the sons of Kohath; Uriel the chief, and his brethren
an hundred and twenty:
1Ch 15:6 Of the sons of Merari; Asaiah the chief, and his
brethren two hundred and twenty:
1Ch 15:7 Of the sons of Gershom; Joel the chief, and his
brethren an hundred and thirty:
1Ch 15:8 Of the sons of Elizaphan; Shemaiah the chief, and his
brethren two hundred:
1Ch 15:9 Of the sons of Hebron; Eliel the chief, and his brethren
fourscore:
1Ch 15:10 Of the sons of Uzziel; Amminadab the chief, and his
brethren an hundred and twelve.
1Ch 15:11 And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests,
and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and
Eliel, and Amminadab,
1Ch 15:12 And said unto them, Ye are the chief of the fathers of
the Levites: sanctify yourselves, both ye and your brethren,
that ye may bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel unto
the place that I have prepared for it.
1Ch 15:13 For because ye did it not at the first, the LORD our
God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after
the due order.
1Ch 15:14 So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves
to bring up the ark of the LORD God of Israel.
1Ch 15:15 And the children of the Levites bare the ark of God
upon their shoulders with the staves thereon, as Moses
commanded according to the word of the LORD.
1Ch 15:16 And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint
their brethren to be the singers with instruments of musick,
psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the
voice with joy.
1Ch 15:17 So the Levites appointed Heman the son of Joel; and
of his brethren, Asaph the son of Berechiah; and of the sons
of Merari their brethren, Ethan the son of Kushaiah;
1Ch 15:18 And with them their brethren of the second degree,
Zechariah, Ben, and Jaaziel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehiel, and
Unni, Eliab, and Benaiah, and Maaseiah, and Mattithiah, and
Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and Obededom, and Jeiel, the
porters.
Wesley comments: Porters - who were to keep the doors of the
tabernacle and courts, but with all were instructed in musick,
that when these were free from attendance upon their
proper office, they might not be idle nor unprofitable in God's
house.
1Ch 15:19 So the singers, Heman, Asaph, and Ethan, were
appointed to sound with cymbals of brass;
1Ch 15:20 And Zechariah, and Aziel, and Shemiramoth, and
Jehiel, and Unni, and Eliab, and Maaseiah, and Benaiah, with
psalteries on Alamoth;
‛ălâmôth
al-aw-moth‘ Plural of H5959; properly girls, that is, the soprano
or female voice, perhaps falsetto: - Alamoth.
1Ch 15:21 And Mattithiah, and Elipheleh, and Mikneiah, and
Obededom, and Jeiel, and Azaziah, with harps on the
Sheminith to excel.
The Afrikaans translation renders it: to give a base lead.
shemı ̂ynı ̂yth, shem-ee-neeth', Feminine of H8066; probably an
eight stringed lyre: - Sheminith.
1Ch 15:22 And Chenaniah, chief of the Levites, was for song:
he instructed about the song, because he was skilful.
1Ch 15:23 And Berechiah and Elkanah were doorkeepers for the
ark.
1Ch 15:24 And Shebaniah, and Jehoshaphat, and Nethaneel,
and Amasai, and Zechariah, and Benaiah, and Eliezer, the
priests, did blow with the trumpets before the ark of God:
and Obededom and Jehiah were doorkeepers for the ark.
1Ch 15:25 So David, and the elders of Israel, and the captains
over thousands, went to bring up the ark of the covenant of
the LORD out of the house of Obededom with joy.
1Ch 15:26 And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites
that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that they offered
seven bullocks and seven rams.
Wesley note:
1Ch 15:26 Helped - Encouraging them in their work with some
comfortable sign of his presence with them. In all our religious
exercises, we must derive help from heaven. God's ministers that
bare the vessels of the Lord, have special need of divine help in
their ministrations, that God may be glorified thereby, and the
people edified.
1Ch 15:27 And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and
all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and
Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David
also had upon him an ephod of linen.
1Ch 15:28 Thus all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of
the LORD with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and
with trumpets, and with cymbals, making a noise with
psalteries and harps. (Note that the timbrels were excluded)
Shouting -ter-oo-aw‘ From H7321; clamor, that is, acclamation
of joy or a battle cry; especially clangor of trumpets, as an
alarum: - alarm, blow (-ing) (of, the) (trumpets), joy, jubile,
loud noise, rejoicing, shout (-ing), (high, joyful) sound (-ing).
1Ch 15:29 And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the
LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of
Saul looking out at a window saw king David dancing and
playing: and she despised him in her heart.
At the end of three months he resolved to make another
attempt to remove the ark, and he now gave earnest heed to
carry out in every particular the directions of the Lord. Again
the chief men of the nation were summoned, and a vast
assemblage gathered about the dwelling place of the Gittite.
With reverent care the ark was now placed upon the
shoulders of men of divine appointment, the multitude fell
into line, and with trembling hearts the vast procession again
set forth. After advancing six paces the trumpet sounded a
halt. By David's direction sacrifices of "oxen and fatlings"
were to be offered. Rejoicing now took the place of trembling
and terror. The king had laid aside his royal robes and had
attired himself in a plain linen ephod, such as was worn by
the priests. He did not by this act signify that he assumed
priestly functions, for the ephod was sometimes worn by
others besides the priests. But in this holy service he would
take his place as, before God, on an equality with his subjects.
Upon that day Jehovah was to be adored. He was to be the
sole object of reverence. {PP 706.3}
Again the long train was in motion, and the music of harp and
cornet, trumpet and cymbal, floated heavenward, blended with
the melody of many voices. "And David danced before the
Lord," in his gladness keeping time to the measure of the song.
{PP 707.1} … The music and dancing in joyful praise to God at
the removal of the ark had not the faintest resemblance to the
dissipation of modern dancing. The one tended to the
remembrance of God and exalted His holy name. The other is a
device of Satan to cause men to forget God and to dishonor
Him. {PP 707.2}
The dignity and pride of king Saul's daughter were shocked that
king David should lay aside his garments of royalty, and his
royal scepter, and be clothed with the simple linen garments
worn by the priests. She thought that he was greatly
dishonoring himself before the people of Israel. But God
honored David in the sight of all Israel by letting his Spirit
abide upon him. David humbled himself, but God exalted him.
He sung in an inspired manner, playing upon the harp,
producing the most enchanting music. He felt, in a small
degree, that holy joy that all the saints will experience at the
voice of God when their captivity is turned, and God makes a
covenant of peace with all who have kept his
commandments. {1SP 412.1}
Second incidence
2Sa 24:1 And again the anger of the LORD was kindled against
Israel, and he moved David against them to say, Go, number
Israel and Judah.
1Ch 21:1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David
to number Israel.
The Believers Bible Commentary states:
24:1 It would appear that God in His anger told David to take a
census of Israel and Judah. But we learn from 1Ch_21:1 that
it was Satan who moved David to do this. Satan precipitated
it, David performed it (because of the pride of his heart), and
God permitted it. The Septuagint rendering of verse 1 reads
"and Satan moved David" rather than "and He moved David."
The Geneva Bible Commentary states:
The Lord permitted Satan, as in (1Ch_21:2).
Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God:
for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any
man:
2Sa 24:2 For the king said to Joab the captain of the host, which
was with him, Go now through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan
even to Beersheba, and number ye the people, that I may know
the number of the people.
2Sa 24:3 And Joab said unto the king, Now the LORD thy God add
unto the people, how many soever they be, an hundredfold,
and that the eyes of my lord the king may see it: but why doth
my lord the king delight in this thing?
2Sa 24:4 Notwithstanding the king's word prevailed against
Joab, and against the captains of the host. And Joab and the
captains of the host went out from the presence of the king,
to number the people of Israel.


2Sa 24:8 So when they had gone through all the land, they
came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty
days.
2Sa 24:9 And Joab gave up the sum of the number of the
people unto the king: and there were in Israel eight hundred
thousand valiant men that drew the sword; and the men of
Judah were five hundred thousand men.
SDA Bible Commentary: 9. Gave up the sum. The figures given
here differ from those in 1 Chron. 21:5. Some believe that the
total assigned to Israel in Chronicles may have included the
standing army of 288,000 men (1 Chron. 27:1–15). Others
take this total to include estimates of the tribes of Levi and
Benjamin, whose census was not taken (1 Chron. 21:6).
Perhaps a distinction can be found between the “valiant
men” here designated and the “all they of Israel” in 1 Chron.
21:5 by regarding the former group as troops eligible for
active duty, and the latter as including, in addition, reserve
units. In any case the figures as given are obviously round
numbers.[1]
[1]Nichol, Francis D.: The Seventh-day Adventist Bible
Commentary, Volume 2. Review and Herald Publishing
Association, 1978; 2002, S. 711
2Sa 24:10 And David's heart smote him after that he had
numbered the people. And David said unto the LORD, I have
sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O
LORD, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done
very foolishly.
2Sa 24:11 For when David was up in the morning, the word of
the LORD came unto the prophet Gad, David's seer, saying,
2Sa 24:12 Go and say unto David, Thus saith the LORD, I offer
thee three things; choose thee one of them, that I may do it
unto thee.
2Sa 24:13 So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto
him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land?
or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while
they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in
thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to
him that sent me.
2Sa 24:14 And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us
fall now into the hand of the LORD; for his mercies are great:
and let me not fall into the hand of man.
When David was bidden to choose the punishment for his sin, he
said, "Let us fall now into the hand of the Lord; for His
mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man."
He felt that God knew the struggle and anguish of the soul.
When one is enabled to catch a glimpse of the character of
God, he sees not in Him the heartless, vindictive spirit
manifested by human agents; he sees that affliction and trial
are God's appointed means of disciplining His children, and
teaching them His way, that they may lay hold of His grace.
"Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the
voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no
light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his
God." As the poor backsliding one is led to the river of God's
love, he exclaims, When He hath tried me, I shall come forth
as gold purified. The suffering soul is made patient, trustful,
triumphant in God under adverse circumstances. {TM 354.2}
2Sa 24:15 So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the
morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the
people from Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men.
2Sa 24:16 And when the angel stretched out his hand upon
Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD repented him of the evil,
and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough:
stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD was by the
threshingplace of Araunah (Ornan in 1 Ch 21:15) the
Jebusite.
2Sa 24:17 And David spake unto the LORD when he saw the
angel that smote the people, and said, Lo, I have sinned, and
I have done wickedly: but these sheep, what have they
done? let thine hand, I pray thee, be against me, and against
my father's house.
The taking of the census had caused disaffection among the
people; yet they had themselves cherished the same sins that
prompted David's action. As the Lord through Absalom's sin
visited judgment upon David, so through David's error He
punished the sins of Israel. {PP 748.3}
2Sa 24:18 And Gad came that day to David, and said unto him,
Go up, rear an altar unto the LORD in the threshingfloor of
Araunah the Jebusite.
2Sa 24:19 And David, according to the saying of Gad, went up as
the LORD commanded.
2Sa 24:20 And Araunah looked, and saw the king and his
servants coming on toward him: and Araunah went out, and
bowed himself before the king on his face upon the ground.
2Sa 24:21 And Araunah said, Wherefore is my lord the king
come to his servant? And David said, To buy the
threshingfloor of thee, to build an altar unto the LORD, that
the plague may be stayed from the people.
2Sa 24:22 And Araunah said unto David, Let my lord the king
take and offer up what seemeth good unto him: behold,
here be oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing instruments
and other instruments of the oxen for wood.
2Sa 24:23 All these things did
Araunah, as a king, give unto the
king. And Araunah said unto the
king, The LORD thy God accept
thee.
2Sa 24:24 And the king said
unto Araunah, Nay; but I will
surely buy it of thee at a price:
neither will I offer burnt
offerings unto the LORD my God
of that which doth cost me
nothing. So David bought the
threshingfloor and the oxen for
fifty shekels of silver.
2Sa 24:25 And David built there
an altar unto the LORD, and
offered burnt offerings and peace
offerings. So the LORD was
intreated for the land, and the
plague was stayed from Israel.
2 Samuel relates that fifty shekels of silver were paid and 1
Chron. 21:25 that 600 shekels of Gold were paid for the land.
The two stories augment each other and should not be seen
as contradictory. The silver was probably paid for the
threshing floor implements and oxen and the gold for the
land on which it stood. Silver is the metal for the redemption
money. The redemption money was also melted down to
form the foundations of the pillars in the sanctuary. Both
silver and gold are symbols of the redeemed. A census was
only to be taken at God’s command and was related to the
numbering of Israel in terms of redemption.
The spot upon which the altar was erected, henceforth ever to
be regarded as holy ground, was tendered to the king by
Ornan as a gift. But the king declined thus to receive it. "I will
verily buy it for the full price," he said; "for I will not take that
which is thine for the Lord, not offer burnt offerings without
cost. So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels
of gold by weight." This spot, memorable as the place where
Abraham had built the altar to offer up his son, and now
hallowed by this great deliverance, was afterward chosen as
the site of the temple erected by Solomon. {PP 748.5}
Exo 30:12 When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel
after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom
for his soul unto the LORD, when thou numberest them; that
there be no plague among them, when thou numberest them.
Exo 30:13 This they shall give, every one that passeth among
them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the
sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be
the offering of the LORD.
Zec 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will
refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is
tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will
say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
The account in Chronicles:
1Ch 21:15 And God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it:
and as he was destroying, the LORD beheld, and he repented
him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is
enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the LORD
stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
1Ch 21:16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of
the LORD stand between the earth and the heaven, having a
drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then
David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in
sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
1Ch 21:17 And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded
the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and
done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they
done? let thine hand, I pray thee, O LORD my God, be on me,
and on my father's house; but not on thy people, that they
should be plagued.
1Ch 21:18 Then the angel of the LORD commanded Gad to say to
David, that David should go up, and set up an altar unto the
LORD in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
1Ch 21:19 And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake
in the name of the LORD.
1Ch 21:20 And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four
sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat.
1Ch 21:21 And as David came to Ornan, Ornan looked and saw
David, and went out of the threshingfloor, and bowed himself to
David with his face to the ground.
1Ch 21:22 Then David said to Ornan, Grant me the place of this
threshingfloor, that I may build an altar therein unto the LORD:
thou shalt grant it me for the full price: that the plague may be
stayed from the people.
1Ch 21:23 And Ornan said unto David, Take it to thee, and let
my lord the king do that which is good in his eyes: lo, I give
thee the oxen also for burnt offerings, and the threshing
instruments for wood, and the wheat for the meat offering; I
give it all.
1Ch 21:24 And king David said to Ornan, Nay; but I will verily
buy it for the full price: for I will not take that which is thine
for the LORD, nor offer burnt offerings without cost.
1Ch 21:25 So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred
shekels of gold by weight.
1Ch 21:26 And David built there an altar unto the LORD, and
offered burnt offerings and peace offerings, and called upon
the LORD; and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the
altar of burnt offering.
1Ch 21:27 And the LORD commanded the angel; and he put up
his sword again into the sheath thereof.
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.
1Ch 21:29 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.
1Ch 21:30 But David could not go before it to enquire of God:
for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the
LORD.
The threshing floor becomes the temple site.
2Ch 3:1 Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at
Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto
David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the
threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
1Pe 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and
hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word,
that ye may grow thereby:
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed
indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an
holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to
God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I
lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that
believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but
unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the
builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to
them which stumble at the word, being disobedient:
whereunto also they were appointed.
1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the
people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have
obtained mercy.