1 Chronicles 21:25

What does 1 Chronicles 21:25 mean?

David had just realized he'd made a terrible mistake by ordering a census that brought God's judgment on Israel. When he saw the angel of destruction hovering over Jerusalem, he repented deeply and wanted to make things right. The threshing floor belonging to a man named Ornan was where the plague stopped, and David knew he needed to buy that sacred ground to build an altar there. What strikes many readers is the price: six hundred shekels of gold was enormous wealth, yet David paid it without hesitation. He could have taken the land for free (Ornan actually offered it), but David refused to "offer to the Lord that which costs me nothing." His willingness to pay such a significant price showed that his repentance was genuine and that he understood the seriousness of what he'd done. Sometimes genuine reconciliation with God requires us to give something that actually matters to us, not just go through the motions.