King David sinned by taking a census (trusting in numbers rather than God). A plague hit Israel. David looked up toward the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

He saw “the angel of the Lord standing between heaven and earth, with a drawn sword in his hand extended over Jerusalem.”

Visually, this is terrifying. A spiritual giant suspended in the sky, silhouetted against the sun or stars. In its hand is a colossal sword, pointed downward at the city. David and the elders, dressed in sackcloth, fell facedown. The threshing floor (a place where wheat is crushed) became the altar. David bought the site instantly to offer a sacrifice. That very spot, where the angel stopped, later became the site of Solomon’s Temple. The Temple was built on the ground where judgment was halted by sacrifice.

David did not sin by taking a census, Satan was attacking Israel (much like today) and David was making preparations.