Bible Talks

1 Chron. 21:19-3019And David went up at the saying of Gad, which he spake in the name of the Lord. 20And Ornan turned back, and saw the angel; and his four sons with him hid themselves. Now Ornan was threshing wheat. 21And 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. 22Then 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. 23And 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. 24And 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. 25So David gave to Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold by weight. 26And 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. 27And the Lord commanded the angel; and he put up his sword again into the sheath thereof. 28At that time when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite, then he sacrificed there. 29For 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. 30But David could not go before it to inquire of God: for he was afraid because of the sword of the angel of the Lord. (1 Chronicles 21:19‑30).
DAVID then went up to the threshing floor of Oman to offer the sacrifice, as the Lord had said. When Oman saw him coming he fell upon his face before him, and I believe this is a picture of the faith of those who saw in the Lord Jesus, when He walked as man here upon earth, the "Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:2929The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (John 1:29). He was the true David, the Offerer, and the Sacrifice, all in Himself.
David said he would buy Oman's threshing floor from him at full price, but Oman wanted to give it to David along with oxen, threshing instruments, and wheat for the meal offering — all without charge. David refused this offer, however, and paid full price for the threshing floor, saying he would not offer burnt offerings to the Lord without cost. This makes us think of how the blessed Lord Jesus paid the price of our redemption in full at Calvary. No other could have any part in that — He must bear it all alone, the awful judgment of sin. But blessed be His name, He has said, "It is finished." The sword of judgment has now been sheathed and we can sing,
"Death and judgment are behind us,
Grace and glory are before;
All the billows rolled o'er Jesus,
There they spent their utmost power."
There is also a very important lesson here in connection with what worship really is. King David offering the sacrifice and paying the price in full is a picture of the Lord Jesus, but I believe we could say that Oman is a picture of ourselves as worshipers. Oman offered David the four things; the threshing floor, the oxen, the threshing instruments, and the wheat. And so in our worship we are brought to Calvary where the rod of judgment was lifted up upon Christ, the perfect Sacrifice who "offered Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet. smelling savor." Eph. 5:22And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savor. (Ephesians 5:2). Then We think of how it was our sins (the "threshing instruments" as it were) that made the "fire" of judgment, which He bore in His own body (the perfect meal offering) on the tree. I believe if we realized more of the presence of the Lord in the midst, and the emblems there of His death, as We gather to remember Him, our worship would have more of that character.
When David had built the altar and prepared the sacrifice, the Lord answered by fire from heaven, and how blessed it is for us to know that the work is all finished now. Our sins are gone, just as the threshing instruments here were all burned up, and David and all Israel knew that the sword had been sheathed so they could "stand where the fire had been" and rejoice.
After this David sacrificed in this spot instead of at Gibeon, where the tabernacle which Moses made was pitched. And so when we have learned what the Lord Jesus did for us upon the cross, the perfection of His work before God, and the place we have been brought into through it, we see the end of the old order of things in Judaism altogether. How can we return to "the worldly sanctuary" (Hebrews 9:11Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. (Hebrews 9:1)), when we see what the Lord Jesus accomplished for us "outside the camp"? Instead of the tabernacle with all its ritual, David went out to the place where there was nothing to attract the natural man — only a charred threshing floor—but that spot where the Lord had met him was precious to his heart. To go to the tabernacle was as though there were some good in the flesh, but at Oman's threshing floor he must own it was all of grace.
Messages of the Love of God 2/16/1958