Prophetic Prospective Daily Devotional

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.

Our extended devotional reading for today is the account of King David purchasing the "threshing floor" from the Jebusite, to be used as a place for an "altar" upon which David could offer sacrifice.

You might recall that King David had conquered the Jebusite's stronghold known as "Jerusalem" and made it the "political capital" of the Jewish people, II Samuel 5.

In II Samuel 6, David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem and then made Jerusalem the "spiritual capital" of the Jewish people. Jerusalem would be the location where David's son would build the first temple.

The threshing floor that Ornan, the Jebusite, owned was the location that King David wanted as a place of "sacrifice" and the King of Israel was willing to pay "cash money" for that piece of real estate.

You'll notice in our extended reading that the Jebusite, Ornan, wanted to give King David this exact location for the place of this altar that the Jewish King wanted for offering sacrifices. When Ornan offered to give the land to King David, the king refused saying that he would not offer sacrifice unless he paid for this sacrificial site.

Let the record show that King David paid cash money for Ornan's threshing floor, 600 shekels of gold, approximately $222,000 in the present day price for gold. It is important to see that King David did not take this site as a gift but instead paid cash money for the location, which was on the peak of Mount Moriah.

Remember, Mount Moriah is the spot where Abraham offered his son Isaac to the Lord, Genesis 22:2. Mount Moriah is also the location where King Solomon built the first temple, II Chronicles 3:1.

This location, Mount Moriah, the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is where the next temple will be built during the Tribulation Period, Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; II Thessalonians 2:4; and Revelation 11:2.

This sacred spot where the first and second temples stood and where the next two temples will also stand is the piece of real estate that a Jewish King purchased for "cash money".

That should settle the question of ownership of the Temple Mount, but it doesn’t. The Temple Mount will be the "center of controversy" until the Antichrist has a temple built on the spot where Jesus Christ will one day build his millennial Temple prior to the 1,000 year Kingdom.

The only problem for building a Jewish temple today up on the Temple Mount is a gold-domed building, a Muslim religious center; however, the Jewish temple will be built there one day, not too far into the future. That Dome of the Rock must be taken down, and it will be taken down during one of the military attacks on Israel in the Tribulation Period.

All preparations have been made for the next Temple, the "Tribulation Temple". This next Temple will be built after the Rapture takes Christians up into heaven to be with Jesus Christ. That Rapture can happen at any moment, even today.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Help me Lord to recognize the times in which we are living and to look for Your soon return.