This article is part of a series on Old Testament Christophanies. For important background information, see An Introduction to Old Testament Christophanies–with Justin Martyr.
2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 both cover the same events. Most commentators don’t have much to say about the Angel of Yahweh in either chapter. There is no reason to think that the Angel is any other than the divine Angel who had appeared up until this point. But because the Angel brought judgment upon the people, it may be uncomfortable for some to identify Him as the Son of God. We should remember, however, that Jesus will judge all the nations (Matt 25:31–46). Even as the Lamb of God, the Son may still be wrathful (e.g., Rev 6:16).
When reading 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21, we learn that Satan[1] stood up against Israel. The Lord was angry with the people, so He permitted Satan to move David to take a census of all the people of Israel and Judah (2 Sam 24:1; 1 Chr 21:1). By taking the census, David demonstrated a lack of faith in the Lord’s provision. The census also implied David’s attempt to assert ownership over a people who belonged not to him but to the Lord (see Exod 30:12).
After the census was ordered, David’s heart troubled him, and he confessed his sin to the Lord and asked for His forgiveness. The next morning, the Lord spoke to the prophet Gad, giving him three options for David to choose from. Either there would be three years of famine on the land, David would have to flee from his enemies for three months, or there would be three days of pestilence as the Angel of the Lord brought devastation throughout the land (2 Sam 24:10–13; 1 Chr 21:9–12). David made his choice, declaring, “Let us now fall into the hand of the LORD for his mercies are great, but do not let me fall into the hand of man” (2 Sam 24:14). The Targum on 2 Samuel has David asking to be given into “the hand of the Word of the Lord, for his mercies are great.”[2] The Targum on 1 Chronicles similarly has David asking to be given into “the hand of the Word of the Lord, for his mercy is great.”[3] While the author of the Targum on 2 Samuel may have meant to imply that the Word (Memra) of the Lord and the Angel of the Lord were one in the same, the author of the Targum on Chronicles made a distinction between the two by stating that the Word sent the angel.[4] The authors of both Targums portrayed the Word of the Lord as the source of judgment and mercy.
The Lord, then, sent a pestilence, leading to the deaths of seventy thousand men (2 Sam 24:15; 1 Chr 21:14). The number of people, the source of David’s pride, had now been diminished. But as the pestilence neared Jerusalem, the Lord showed mercy:
When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who destroyed the people, “It is enough! Now relax your hand!” And the angel of the LORD was by the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam 24:16).
In the Lord instructing the Angel to stop, we may see the Father speaking to the Son. And the Son always listens to the Father (John 5:30). In 1 Chronicles 21:15–16, it is stated that the Angel was standing by the threshing floor and that David saw the Angel standing between heaven and earth holding an outstretched sword over Jerusalem. The Angel previously appeared with a sword to oppose Balaam (Num 22:23, 31), and He held a sword when He appeared to Joshua as the Captain of Yahweh’s army (Josh 5:13–14). The Angel’s appearance made it clear that the pestilence came from God. But when it came to Jerusalem, the Lord also showed His mercy, ending the pestilence early. Yes, the temple would soon be built in Jerusalem. But on a more fundamental level, the Lord had chosen Zion (Jerusalem) for His habitation (Ps 132:13). He declared the city as His resting place forever, where He would dwell, because He has desired it (Ps 132:14). Jerusalem is the city of God, the great King (Ps 48:1–2; Matt 5:35). It is from Jerusalem where the Lord said He would cause the horn of David, the Messiah, to spring forth (Ps 132:17).
Upon seeing the Angel, David asked the Lord to punish only him and his house, since it was his sin that brought about the judgment (2 Sam 24:17; 1 Chr 21:17). On that day, Yahweh ordered Gad to tell David to build an altar on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Sam 24:18–19). In the 1 Chronicles account, it was the Angel of Yahweh who ordered Gad to tell David to build an altar on the floor of Araunah (called Ornan throughout 1 Chronicles 21), and that Gad spoke in the name of Yahweh (21:18–19). Araunah and his sons too saw the Angel on or near the threshing floor, and it so terrified them that they hid themselves (1 Chr 21:20). When David later approached, Araunah went out to bow before the king. He offered David the threshing floor and everything needed for sacrifices as a gift (2 Sam 24:20–23; 1 Chr 21:21–23). Seeing the Angel undoubtedly motivated Araunah to give the king of Israel whatever he requested.
David, however, insisted on paying, explaining that he didn’t want to offer up sacrifices that cost him nothing (2 Sam 24:24; 1 Chr 21:22, 24).[5] David built an altar there and made burnt and peace offerings. He called to the Lord and the Lord answered with fire from heaven coming down on the altar. Being moved by prayer, the Lord ordered the Angel to sheathe His sword (2 Sam 24:25; 1 Chr 21:26–27). Once David saw that his sacrifices on the threshing floor were accepted, he continued to make offerings there. David could no longer go to the tabernacle in Gibeon out of fear that “the sword of the angel of the LORD” may be used in his absence (1 Chr 21:28–30). David was so shaken by his encounter with the Angel that it changed where he offered sacrifices. He declared that the altar’s location would be where his son Solomon would build the temple (1 Chr 22).
The Angel had earlier caused the ground to become holy when He appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exod 3:2–5) and when He appeared to Joshua as the Captain of Yahweh’s army (Josh 5:13–15). Now the Angel of the Lord had stood near the threshing floor, making the location holy by His presence. And knowing that David’s sacrifices would be accepted there, it was the Angel who ordered that the new altar be built on the threshing floor. Thus, it was the Angel, the Son of God,who ultimately determined the location of Solomon’s Temple. There was once a Christophany on what became the Temple Mount.
There is a high standard for the leaders of God’s people, especially for a king who the Messiah is called a son of (e.g., Matt 1:1; 21:9). Yes, the Angel brought judgment in His correction of David, but He also showed great mercy when David repented and trusted in the Lord. In this way, the Angel’s appearance in these chapters provides a fuller picture of the Son of God than is often presented in our culture.
[1] Satan (which means “adversary” in Hebrew) in 1 Chronicles 21:1 may refer to a neighboring adversary. However, the angel Satan is likely meant. He “stood up,” as if to make an accusation before the Lord’s tribunal. Satan similarly presented himself in Job 1:6 and in Zechariah 3:1.
[2] Targum Jonathan to 2 Samuel 24:14.
[3] The Targum of Chronicles: 1 Chronicles 21:13.
[4] The Targum of Chronicles: 1 Chronicles 21:15.
[5] David paid fifty shekels of silver for the threshing floor and the oxen (2 Sam 24:24), while six hundred shekels of gold was evidently paid for the larger site where the temple would be built (1 Chr 21:25).
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