THE THRESHING FLOOR OF ORNAN – Charles Spurgeon
THE THRESHING FLOOR OF ORNAN
“At that time, when David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Ornan, the Jebusite, he sacrificed there.” 1 Chronicles 21:28. “Then David said, This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.” 1 Chronicles 22:1.
Introduction
David was, for many years, searching for a site for the great temple which he purposed to build for Jehovah, his God. It had been ordained that the sacrifices offered to the one God should be offered by all Israel upon one altar, but as yet the Ark of the Lord was within curtains, near David’s palace, and the altar of burnt offering was situated at Gibeon. Where should the one altar be erected? Where should the Ark find its permanent dwelling place? DavId said, “Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids, until I find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.” Yet for a long time, he received no indication as to the exact spot where the Lord’s altar should be reared, save only that he was told that the Lord had chosen Zion and desired it for His habitation. David watched, and waited, and prayed, and in due time, he received the sign. God knew the spot and had consecrated it long before by His appearance unto Abraham. The other Lord’s Day, you remember, our text was, “Jehovahjireh,” and we then learned that in the mountain the Lord would be seen. Upon Mount Moriah, on or near that particular spot which had been named Jehovah-jireh, was the temple to be built. Abraham had there unsheathed the knife to slay his son. Wondrous type of the great Father offering up His Only-Begotten for the sins of men! The scene of that grand transaction was to be the center of worship for the chosen people. Where Abraham made the supreme sacrifice, there should His descendants present their offerings! Or if we look into the type and see God, there, presenting Jesus as a Sacrifice for men—it was most suitable that man should forever sacrifice to God where God made a sacrifice for him!
As yet it was not known to David that this was the chosen place. Now it is indicated by memorable signs—the Angel of Justice stands above the spot and his sword is sheathed there in answer to the cries of the afflicted king, according to the long-suffering mercy of God. Then David clearly saw the mind of the Lord and said, “This is the house of Jehovah my God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel.” Then He commenced at once with double speed to prepare the materials for the temple. Though he knew that he might not build it, since his hands had been stained with blood, yet he would do all that he could to help his son, Solomon, in the great enterprise.
This problem which David had, at last, worked out by the good hand of God upon him, is one which, in a deep spiritual sense, exercises our hearts often. Where is it that man may meet with God? How is it that man may speak with His offended Lord and be reconciled to Him? Is there not some meeting place where the sinner may express his repentance and where mercy may grant full absolution? Many are saying, “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him!” Hearts touched by the Spirit of God are still seeking after God if, haply, they may find Him. In what condition and by what means may man be at peace with God and dread no longer the sword of His justice? For the heart of some of us, that problem takes a further shape—we know where man may meet with God, but we need to know how the careless, proud, rebellious heart shall be induced to come to God in His appointed way. We know it is by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the preaching of the Word of God, and the uplifting of the all-attracting Cross—but we would like to know the state of mind which will lead up to reconciliation—for now we often have to go back to Him that sent us and cry—“Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” We would lead men to God by Jesus Christ if we could—we stretch out the finger and we point the way—but they will not see! We stretch out both hands and entreat them to come, but they will not yield! Our heart breaks for the longing that it has to present every man in Christ reconciled unto the living God—but how shall it be? How shall the sinner come to God? We may get some light from the type before us upon that question— where shall God’s temple be? How shall men be brought to it? We speak not, at this time, upon natural things, but upon the things of the Spirit! Therefore let us pray the Holy Spirit to enlighten and instruct us, for only by His aid shall spiritual Truth enter our hearts!
I. Externally There Is Nothing in Any Place Why God Should There Meet with Men
The Lord chose the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite as the spot whereupon for many a day His holy worship should be openly celebrated according to the outward ceremonies of a typical dispensation. There the Temple was built and, for a thousand years it stood as the center of Divine worship, so far as it was visibly presented according to His ordinance. What that mountain may yet become, we will not, at this time, consider. Prophets give us bright hints of what shall yet be even on Mount Zion, which has so long been trod under foot by the adversary. But why was this to be the meeting place of David with his God and the spot where prayer was to be heard? Certainly it was a very simple, unadorned, unecclesiastical place. It boasted no magnificence of size, or beauty of construction. There was just the rock and, I suppose, a composition spread upon it of hard clay or cement—that the feet of the oxen might the better tread out the corn. That was all it was, yet when the Temple with all its glory crowned the spot, God was never more conspicuously present than on that bare, ungarnished threshing floor!
“Meet God in a barn?” cries one. Why not? Does that astonish you? God met Adam in a garden, Abraham under a tree, and Noah in an ark! There is less of man in the open field than in the cathedral—and where there is least of man, there is, at least, an opportunity to find most of God. “Meet God on a threshing floor?” Why not? It may be a thousand times more sacred than many a chancel, for there, simple minds are likely to pay their homage in hearty truthfulness—while in the other, the artificialness of the place may foster formality. God has met with man in a dungeon, in a cave, in a whale’s belly! When you have displayed all your skill in architecture, can you secure any more of the Divine Presence than the disciples had in the upper room? Can you get as much of it? A tasteful building may be a way of showing your pious regard for the Lord and, so far, it may be justifiable and acceptable—but take care that you do not regard it as essential, or even important—or you will make an idol of it! If the Church or Chapel is esteemed for its form or tastefulness, it will become a mere exhibition of skill and industry—and be no more sacred than the house of a greedy merchant, or the palace of a profligate prince! No chisel of mason, or hammer of carpenter can build a holy place! Without either of these, a spot may be none other than the house of God and the gate of Heaven!
God chose a threshing floor for His audience with David, just as, before, He had chosen to reveal Himself in a bush to Moses. His Presence had been glorious on the sandy floor of the wilderness, in the midst of the curtains of goats’ hair and now it was gracious among the sheaves and the oxen! How can He that fills all things care about a house which is made with hands? You know how curtly Stephen dismisses even Solomon’s Temple with a word—“But Solomon built Him a house. Howbeit, the Most High dwells not in temples made with hands.” What was that golden arch to the Infinite Majesty? Is not His own Creation far more sublime? No arch can compare with the azure of Heaven! No lamps can rival the sun and moon! No masonry can equal that City whose 12 foundations are of precious stones! Thus says the Lord by the Prophet—“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that you build unto Me? And where is the place of My rest? For all those things have My hands made.” Why, then, should He not choose the hill whereon Ornan had made a hardened floor whereon to thresh his corn? At any rate, that was the Lord’s meeting place with David, His audience chamber with the suppliant king—as if to show that He cares not for tabernacles or temples, but, by His own Presence, makes that place glorious wherein He reveals Himself!
Moreover, it was a place of ordinary toil—not merely a floor, but a threshing floor in present use—with oxen present and all the implements of husbandry ready to hand. It was so ordinary and so everyday a place, that none could have been more so—as if the Lord would say to us, “I will meet you anywhere; I will be with you in the house and in the field; I will speak with you when you till the ground, when you thresh your corn, when you eat your bread.” Every place is holy where a holy heart is found! This ought to gladden the solitude of godly men. God is with you, therefore be of good cheer! If you are on board ship, or if you are wandering in the woods, or are banished to the ends of the earth, or are shut out from the Sabbath assemblies of God’s house, yet— “Wherever you seek Him, He is found, And every place is hallowed ground.”
II. Spiritually, This Threshing Floor of Ornan Was an Admirable Type of How God Meets with Men
I think, first, its extreme simplicity enters into the essence of the type. So far from thinking that a threshing floor was a bad place to pray in, if I look a little beneath the surface, I think I can see the reason for it. Golden grain is being separated from the straw by the corn drag—where did this corn come from? From Him who opens His hands and supplies the need of every living thing! Here, then, God meets me in the kindest way. Where can I meet Him better than where He gives me food? Where can we better adore than in the midst of His rich gifts by which He sustains our life? Why, I think if I had gone out to gather manna every morning with my omer, I would have kept on praising God every moment as I collected the heavenly bread! Never could a spot be more propitious than where the gracious Preserver of Men spread out necessary food for His children! We cannot do better than praise God when we are in our daily service earning our daily bread, or gathered at our meals refreshing our bodies. At the gate of God’s almonry let us wait with worship! Where better a temple out of which the Bread of Eternal Life shall come, than on a threshing floor where the bread of the first life is to be gathered? The two things seem to meet right well together. The temporal and the eternal join hands in common consecration. That same prayer which teaches us to say, “Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” leads us on to cry, “Give us day by day our daily bread.” There is a spiritual significance in the type. Would it be fanciful if, with a glance, I indicated that the threshing floor is the exact type of affliction? Tribulation signifies threshing in Latin—and the saints, through much tribulation, enter the Kingdom. One of the titles of the people of God is, “My threshing and the corn of My floor.” Now it is well known that the Lord is with His people in their trials. When He smites with one hand, He holds with the other. In the lion of trial we find the honey of communion!
The temple of glory is built on the threshing floor of affliction! I do not thrust forward this observation as though it were of great weight, but even if it were a fancy so far as the type is concerned, the thought conveys a Truth of God in a pleasing manner. But much more, this was the place where justice was most clearly manifest. Above Ornan’s threshing floor, in mid-air, stood a dreadful apparition. A bright and terrible figure, a mysterious servant of God, was beheld with a drawn sword in his hand, which he brandished over the guilty city of Jerusalem. Deaths were constant. The people fell as forest leaves in autumn. Then was it that David went out to meet with his God and make confession before Him. Oh, Sirs, the problem with many of you is that you have never yet beheld sin in its consequences, sin in its guilt, sin in its doom! God is angry with the sinner every day! Men do not fly to God till fear puts wings on their feet. Take away the dread of the wrath to come and you have removed the great impulse which makes men seek mercy! Men will not meet God till they see the angel with the drawn sword! They will trifle and play with sin and neglect the invitation of God—and even doubt His existence—till conviction comes home to them and they are made to feel that sin is an exceedingly evil and bitter thing.
Conviction of sin worked by the Spirit of God is more powerful than argument! I had religiousness, but I never drew near to God in spirit and in truth till I had seen and almost felt that drawn sword. To feel that God must punish sin, that God will by no means clear the guilty, is the best thing to drive a man Godward! To feel that sword, as it were, with its point at your own breast, its edge ready to descend upon your own being—this it is that makes the guilty plead for pardon in real earnest! Men cry not, “Lord save me,” till they are forced to add, “or I perish!”
III. Heartily Exhorting You to Use This Place
Brothers and Sisters, if we have found out where to meet with God, then let us meet with Him continually! Do you feel guilty this morning? Is your sin heavy upon you? Do you see the sworded angel? Well, you have to meet God even there! Therefore, gird up your loins! “What garments shall I put on?” Put on sackcloth! I mean not literally, but while there is any guilt upon you, come to God with lowliest penitence, mourning for sin, as David and the elders that were with him did. You may not come now in the silken garments of your luxury, nor in the purple robes of your pride, nor in the mail of your hate. Put these away from you and come with sackcloth and ashes, weeping for your transgressions—and God will meet with you—for He will meet with sinners who come to Him mourning because of their sin! When you thus come, I want you to be quiet a while. Stand still! Listen! Suppose you had been with those elders of Israel—what would you have heard? You would have heard your shepherd-king pleading for his flock—“These sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand be on me and on my father’s house.” But now David is dead and buried and his sepulcher is in his own land. But another King of the house of David, one Jesus, is standing before the Lord pleading for mercy! While you are clothed in the sackcloth of your repentance, you may hear Him cry, “As for these sheep, let them live! You have awakened the sword against Me, their Shepherd, therefore let My sheep be spared! Your hand has been on Me, therefore let these go their way!” Do you hear that intercession? Jesus is pleading in that fashion right now! He is “able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.”
Oh it is blessed to come to God that way—with the sackcloth on your loins, but with the prevalent intercession in your ears—confidently believing that Jesus makes intercession for the transgressors and that He must and will so prevail that by His knowledge He shall justify many! Further, when you are coming to God, dear Hearts, always take care that you come to the Sacrifice. We frequently miss communion with God, I am persuaded, because we do not remember, enough, that precious blood which gives us access to God! When you go upstairs to pray and you cannot get near to God, then do not speak, but sit in silence and muse upon the agony and bloody sweat, the Cross and passion of the Lord—and all the circumstances of His wondrous death—and say, “He loved me and gave Himself for me.” There is a matchless power in the Lord’s Sacrifice to remove the stone out of the heart and pluck away selfishness from the affections!
Come, come, come, come to the Sacrifice! There shall you dwell with God in sweet delight. If you would come still nearer to God, do not forget the effect of the Sacrifice and intercession in the sheathing of the sword of justice. I have already set forth this Truth. Now I entreat you to turn it to practical use by enjoying it— “Oh how sweet to view the flowing Of my Savior’s precious blood, With Divine assurance knowing He has made my peace with God!”
Do not say, “I hope that the sword is sheathed”—it either is so, or it is not so. Do not be content with questionable hopes, but aim at certainties. Rest not till you obtain a solid assurance of your peace with God! If Jesus Christ was punished for your sin, you cannot be punished for it! If He bore your sin, He bore it and that is the end of it! And if you have believed on Him, you have the full proof in the Word of God that you are justified before God! What more do you need than God’s own Word for it? And that Word declares that you, as a Believer, have eternal life and shall never perish, neither shall you come into condemnation! Do not continue to mutter, “Well, I hope I may yet realize it.” Why these debates? It is so! “He that believes in Him is justified from all things, from which we could not be justified by the Law of Moses.” God has turned away His wrath from the Believer and the sword is sheathed! Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And lastly, if this is so, and you realize it, go away and begin to build a temple! You say, “Do you want us to build a new place of worship?” No, I speak only of a spiritual house. Of course, build as many Meeting Places as you can where people may come together to hear the Word of God, for many are needed in this growing city, but the peculiar sort of building which I urge upon you is of the heart and spirit. Make your entire being a living temple for the living God! Begin now—the foundations are laid—you would not dream of building on any other, for, “other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid.” The Divine Moriah of Christ’s Person, the sacred place of His Sacrifice, is the mountain wherein God shall be seen! Jesus Christ has, Himself, become the Foundation of your hope—go and build on Him! Set up the pillars of earnest supplication and arch them over with lofty praises. Remember, your God “inhabits the praises of Israel.” Build Him a house of praise, that He may dwell in you! Make your bodies to be the temples of the Holy Spirit and your spirits the priests that sacrifice therein! Spend all your days in acts of holiness, piety, charity and love! Let your houses be churches dedicated to His fear and love—and let their chambers be holy as the courts of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Let each morning and evening have its sacrifice. Be, yourself a priest at the altar! Let the garments of your daily toil be as vestments, your meals as sacraments—let your thoughts be Psalms, your prayers incense and your breath praise! Let every action be a priestly function, bringing glory unto the Lord from this day forth and forever! He that died for you reckons you to be dead to all things but Himself and so it becomes you to be! “You are not your own, for you are bought with a price.” And from this day forward your motto should be—“Yours entirely! Yours entirely, O my God, I am!” Begin to build this living temple and the Lord help you to complete it to His praise. A poor edifice it will be when you have finished it, compared with the Lord your God, but yet if you have labored sincerely and earnestly, it will turn out to be compacted of gold and silver and precious stones! And it will be found in the day of Christ to honor and glory. So may the Lord bless you, Beloved, now and forever. Amen and amen!