I was teaching a certain group on the subject of my recent book, The Third Temple, and included in my teaching on this subject was the historic location of the former Temple in Jerusalem, a particular threshing floor. At one point in my teaching, someone in the audience asked regarding the significance of the location being a threshing floor. I responded by saying that it was just used as a location marker and there didn’t seem to be any further significance to the place being a threshing floor. However, the man who had asked this question responded in a forthright manner saying something to the effect, “Of course it is significant that it was the place of a threshing floor because of the spiritual symbolism of a threshing floor.” I understood what the man was saying and I stood corrected that there more than likely was a greater spiritual reason to this location being a threshing floor. In this article we will investigate this subject of the threshing floor on a deeper level as it connects to the Coronavirus.

COVID-19

The pandemic of COVID-19 (the Coronavirus) continues to infect hundreds of thousands of people around the world with a majority of countries being affected by this virus causing sickness and death. The global plague of COVID-19 has literally brought the peoples and nations of the world to a standstill and has disrupted everyday life and global commerce. In last week’s article, Plague Prevention, we studied the weekly Torah Portion to see what the Bible says about national plagues and how a decision of a national leader directly affects the citizens of one’s country. If you have not yet read last week’s article, it would be best to start there and come back to this article as I will continue on this subject of national plagues.

I have received feedback from several of you regarding last week’s article and one of my friends, Larry Jones, shared with me how the Holy Spirit had spoken to him during the previous week in connection to the COVID-19 outbreak with the phrase, “The plague stops at the threshing floor.” It was neat to see how God was speaking to us in a similar manner as this directly relates to the article I wrote last week on Plague Prevention. It that article we reviewed the national plague that broke out in Israel as a result of King David’s decision to take a census of the people in violation to God’s commandment. The plague in Israel at that time was stopped at a threshing floor. What is the spiritual significance of the threshing floor? Before we answer this question we need to understand what a threshing floor is and how it is used.

The Threshing Floor

Agriculture has been a part of humanity ever since the Garden of Eden and it continues to be a necessary part of everyday life in order to grow and harvest food. When various grains are grown from the ground, it is necessary to separate the grain from the stalk, the plant from which the grain sprouts. The cut plant is called chaff after it is harvested and separated from the grain. Today the harvesting of grain is mostly accomplished by machinery, however, up until the modern era separating the grain from the stalk was done by hand or with the help of animals pulling a threshing sledge. Historically, the place where the grain and the stalk are separated has been called a threshing floor.

We see several examples of threshing floors being used in the Bible with one of the most well-known examples being the threshing floor of Boaz. The book of Ruth is set during the season of the grain harvest in Israel (Ruth 1:22). Naomi and Ruth had recently journeyed back to Bethlehem and we read how the threshing floor became part of the context of the story:

Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking…” So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. – Ruth 3:1-3, 6-7

We literally read how the first date of Ruth and Boaz took place at the threshing floor. We all know the rest of the story: Ruth obeyed the instructions of her mother-in-law, she talked with Boaz, and soon after they became husband and wife. Life was simple in those days!

The Spiritual Threshing Floor

Threshing floors were common place in times past as they were a vital part of the process of harvesting grain. After grain is harvested it needs to be properly threshed in order for the grain to be separated from the stalk. Grain is considered to be a valuable commodity whereas the stalk or chaff are considered to be worthless. We see an example of this in the Psalms:

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, but they are like chaff which the wind drives away. – Psalm 1:3-4

The righteous man is likened to the fruitful tree which bears its fruit while the wicked person is compared to the chaff which is blown away by the wind.

In the New Testament we see how the setting of the threshing floor was used as spiritual analogy by John the Baptist when he spoke of the baptism of the Spirit which would come through the Messiah:

Now while the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John, as to whether he was the Christ, John answered and said to them all, “As for me, I baptize you with water; but One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” So with many other exhortations he preached the gospel to the people. – Luke 3:15-18

The grain of the wheat is compared to those who would believe in the Messiah and be purified by His Holy Spirit (Mal. 3:2-3) while the chaff is compared to those who would reject Him and be burned with the fire of judgment (Mal. 4:1). John the Baptist used the agricultural image of the threshing floor because he obviously believed that his hearers would understand this analogy.

The threshing floor is a place of decision, a place of separation, and a place of judgment. The grain is separated from the chaff, the good is separated from the bad, and the righteous is separated from the wicked. There is no spiritual middle ground on a threshing floor. The spiritual threshing floor is a place of decision and action with eternal consequences.

The Threshing Floor of Araunah

It was not a coincidence that the plague on the nation of Israel was stopped at a threshing floor. As we studied last week, judgment was poured out on the people of Israel as a result of King David’s sin by taking a census of the people:

So the LORD sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning until the appointed time, and seventy thousand men of the people from Dan to Beersheba died. 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 Samuel 24:15-16

Seventy thousand people were killed by the plague and then there was a pause in the judgment when the LORD told his angel to stop as he was about to destroy Jerusalem. The angel was stopped at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

It was at this point in the account of the ravaging plague upon the nation of Israel that King David again confessed his sin and pleaded with the LORD for the lives of his people:

Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking down the people, and said, “Behold, it is I who have sinned, and it is I who have done wrong; but these sheep, what have they done? Please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s house.” So Gad came to David that day and said to him, “Go up, erect an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” – 2 Samuel 24:17-18

It was a place of judgment and a place of decision. King David confessed his sin and took full responsibility for the situation. The LORD then sent the prophet Gad to inform King David that God had heard his prayer and he instructed him to build an altar at the place of the threshing floor.

For King David and the nation of Israel that particular threshing floor became a place of separation from judgment in the past to forgiveness going forward. King David was faced with a decision on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite and he chose repentance and life for himself and his people. The LORD answered with fire from heaven and forgiveness (1 Chronicles 21:26-28). The Temple of King Solomon was later built on that very threshing floor which would memorialize the events which occurred there (2 Chronicles 3:1). To understand more about this particular location of the Temple and how it will impact future events, including the return of the Messiah, I highly recommend my book: The Third Temple, A Sign of The Coming Messiah

Another Threshing Floor

Sometime before the events at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, King David encountered another tragic experience involving a different threshing floor. The ark of the covenant was being stored at a certain location a few miles outside of Jerusalem, at Kiryath-jearim, and King David decided to bring the ark of the covenant from that location up to Jerusalem. We read about this account in the second book of Samuel:

They placed the ark of God on a new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart. So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark. Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals. But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it. And the anger of the LORD burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God. – 2 Samuel 6:3-7

It was a situation that started out well with good intentions but then suddenly went wrong with the end result being the death of Uzzah who had touched the ark.

Why was Uzzah struck down by the LORD? In brief, although the people had good intentions regarding moving the ark, they did not follow the instructions of the LORD in the Law regarding transporting the ark of the covenant (Num. 4). The ark was never to be placed on a cart and only the Levites from the family of Kohath were permitted to carry the ark. Therefore when Uzzah touched the ark to steady it, he was simply the wrong person at the wrong place doing the wrong thing. Being that our main focus in this article is on the subject of the threshing floor I will not go into great detail here regarding all of the implications in transporting the ark in 2 Samuel 6, however, if you would like to read more about the spiritual lessons from this story, click this link: One Way

The Threshing Floor of Nachon

Again, it was no coincidence that judgment broke out at a place designated as a threshing floor. The people had broken God’s Law in the manner by which they were transporting the ark and, as a result, God judged the people. Although only one person (Uzzah) was killed, King David and the entire nation were affected by this tragedy.

The place where Uzzah was struck down when he touched the ark of the covenant is called “…the threshing floor of Nacon,…” The word “Nacon” in Hebrew is נכון – Nachon (the “ch” signifies the hard “h” sound in Hebrew) and literally means established, firm, right, or correct. It is a word commonly used in the Bible as well as in Modern Hebrew. This name is very fitting for the place where God’s judgment broke out against Uzzah in that God was establishing a clear violation of His written Law. God was also declaring that there is a right and correct path forward and His people needed to choose that right path.

We know that the tragic death of Uzzah weighed heavy on the heart of King David to such an extent that he felt unworthy to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem at that time:

So David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” And David was unwilling to move the ark of the LORD into the city of David with him; but David took it aside to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. Thus the ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and all his household. – 2 Samuel 6:9-11

A period of three months passed after the tragedy of Uzzah at the threshing floor of Nachon and during those three months God blessed the home of those who kept the ark.

King David was told of the blessing upon the house of Obed-edom where the ark was being kept and he decided that it was time to bring the ark to Jerusalem. Those three months of inactivity regarding the ark were not spent in vain because we read in the Scriptures that King David learned the proper way to carry the ark during that intervening time period (1 Chronicles 15:11-15). As a result of this new revelation regarding transporting the ark, which was really an old commandment, King David inaugurated a new plan to have the ark moved:

Then David said, “No one is to carry the ark of God but the Levites; for the LORD chose them to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever.” And David assembled all Israel at Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD to its place which he had prepared for it. – 1 Chronicles 15:2-3

King David and the people of Israel were successful in bringing the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem at that time and the nation of Israel celebrated that event with great joy (1 Chronicles 15:28). The threshing floor of Nachon proved to be a pivotal teacher as King David and the nation of Israel learned afresh to walk with God according to His holy ways.

At the Threshing Floor of COVID-19

As we consider the global pandemic of COVID-19, I believe it is wise for us to apply the Scriptural principle of the threshing floor to this current situation. As we have read in the Scriptures above, the spiritual threshing floor is a place of judgment, separation, decision, and a place to hear afresh from God. There are many ways to apply this principle of the spiritual threshing floor of COVID-19 to everyday life and I will present a few practical applications below in the categories of global, national, corporate, and individual.

Globally

From a global perspective, we know that the manner in which this virus was handled at its source was improper and negligent. The Chinese government failed to properly acknowledge this outbreak, they suppressed and in-prisoned those who tried to alert the public to the reality of this virus, and as a result they allowed the virus to be transferred globally which has literally affected hundreds of thousands of people in almost every country of the world. The Chinese government needs to repent of their failure to do what was right at that time. We need to pray accordingly that the Chinese government would repent and do what is right in this situation today by simply acknowledging their wrongdoing in regard to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Nationally

Nearly 200 countries around the world have been affected by the COVID-19 virus and each nation has needed to adapt and respond for the health and safety of its citizens. Many countries have been caught off guard and have naively depended on their own strength, knowledge, and wealth to carry them through this unprecedented pandemic. Nations are being challenged to the very core of their existence and they are being reminded that they cannot depend solely on their riches and self-reliance to see them through this challenge.

In a general manner, I believe that God is calling the nations to repent and to turn to Him as we read in the book of Isaiah:

Gather yourselves and come; draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; they have no knowledge, who carry about their wooden idol and pray to a god who cannot save. Declare and set forth your case; indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, the word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness and will not turn back, that to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. – Isaiah 45:20-23

God is always calling the nations to come to Him and worship Him alone. We need to pray that the nations of the world, and especially the nation in which we live, will come to a point of national repentance. We need to pray that the nations of this earth will bow their knee to the LORD and confess with their tongues that He alone is God.

Individually and Corporately

Last but not least, we need to take this moment of coming to the spiritual threshing floor of COVID-19 to ask the Lord if there is anything in our personal lives or in our believing communities (church or home group) that needs to change. Just like King David and the nation of Israel when they attempted to first move the ark, it is easy for us to stray from the right path which God wants us to walk and to simply walk in the manner of this world. When necessary, we need to repent of ways that are an affront to God’s holy ways and take action to do what is right.

What is it in our personal lives or communities that needs to change?

What have we allowed into our lives or communities that is in violation to God’s holy word?

How can we more effectively fulfill our God-given calling in life?

The threshing floor of COVID-19 has caused the entire world in which we live to stop and has forced the majority of us to have a period of interruption to our daily schedules. Most of us have been stunned by the situation that we see around us and in the world. We need to make the most of this threshing floor situation and reevaluate how we are living in light of God’s word. The threshing floor of COVID-19 provides us with an opportunity to stop, consider God’s ways, and choose the right path forward for ourselves, our communities, our nations, and our world as a whole.

Shabbat Shalom!

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**The Hebrew name “Yeshua” is used in the biblical quotations in place of the English name “Jesus” to give emphasis to the meaning of this name, salvation. The word “Messiah” is also used in place of the word “Christ” to bring clarity to the office of Yeshua.

Torah Portion: Lev. 1:1 – 6:7

Haftara: Isaiah 43:21 – 44:23

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At The Threshing Floor of COVID-19 – Mar. 25