Where Art Thou?
On NO KING day, I John Presco declare……
I AM THE KING OF JERUSALEM
I believe I was a Jebusite named Melchizedek. I suspect Abraham made a pact with this Priest-King that he and the Jews would never tax the Jebusites in Bethlehem and Jerusalem. This promise said the Jebusite will never be counted, thus, they can not be taxed. David broke that promise, and,,,,,,here come the Angel of the Threshing Floor.
I have been watching the stars gather around my birthday, I suspect our President is going after the title….
KING OF JERUSALEM
On this day, October 18, 2025, I john Presco claim all properties belonging to the Order of Saint Francis.
All these things have been forced upon me. I had no choice.
John ‘King of Jerusalem’
12:00 AM
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Araunah (Hebrew: אֲרַוְנָה ʾǍrawnā) was a Jebusite mentioned in the Second Book of Samuel, who owned the threshing floor on Mount Moriah which David purchased and used as the site for assembling an altar to God. The First Book of Chronicles, a later text, renders his name as Ornan (אָרְנָן ʾOrnān).
Biblical narrative
The narrative concerning Araunah appears in both 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21. The Samuel version is the final member of a group of narratives which together constitute the “appendix” (2 Samuel 21–24) of the Books of Samuel, which do not fit into the chronological ordering of the rest of Samuel.[1] In the Samuel narrative, Yahweh was angry again both with the Israelites and David, King of Israel, who imposed a census on the Israelites, an order Joab reluctantly carried out. According to the version of the narrative presented in the Books of Chronicles, it was Satan who incited David to take the census. Yahweh regarded David’s action as a sin, and so punished him, sending Gad the prophet to offer David a choice between three punishments:
- Seven years of famine,[2] (which counts the 4 years of famine that already happened before the census was completed per 2 Samuel 21:1), or (put more symmetrically) 3 more years of famine, as in 1 Chronicles 21:12 and in the Septuagint translation of 2 Samuel.[3]
- Three months of fleeing from an invader,[2]
- Three days of plague from the Angel of the Lord.[2]
David indicated that instead of falling into the hands of men, he would rather fall into the hands of God’s mercy and discretion. An angel was sent to spread a plague. However, when the angel reached Jerusalem, God ordered the angel to stop; at this point, the angel was at Araunah’s threshing floor, which David noticed. God instructed David to build an altar there, so David purchased the location from Araunah for a fair price, even though Araunah offered it to him freely. According to 2 Samuel 24:24, David paid fifty silver shekels for the threshing floor and the oxen; 1 Chronicles 21:25 states that David paid 600 gold shekels for the entire site where the threshing floor was located. Biblical scholar Hans-Peter Mathys noted:
[This incident] is modelled on Abraham‘s purchase of Machpelah’s cave (Genesis 23), even repeating specific details, the most important of which is David’s insistence on paying the full price (an expression used only in Genesis 23:9 and 1 Chronicles 21:22, 24). The 600 gold (sic) shekels David pays is more than Abraham’s 400 silver shekels [paid] for Machpelah’s cave.[4]
Census
In the Books of Samuel, the census is said to indicate that there were 1,300,000 men fit for military service. The Book of Chronicles states that the figure was 1,570,000 men fit for military service.
Joab’s reluctance to complete the census is thought by some scholars to have been due to a religious belief that the people belonged to God, and hence that only God should know how many there were.[5] Some scholars believe the motive for the census was pride, that David’s numbering of the people was to show his strength as a king; his sin in this was relying on human numbers instead of God.[citation needed] Other scholars believe that a more mundane motive is the reason – that the knowledge gained from a census would enable David to impose more accurate taxes and levies, and thus the census would be unpopular with the people who were at risk of higher taxes or levies.[6]
Identity of Araunah
The Bible identified Araunah as a Jebusite. Some biblical scholars believe that he may have been the local king at the time. The word araunah is not a personal name, but a title meaning “the lord” in Hurrian, which was borrowed into several languages of the ancient Near East.[7] In 2 Samuel 24:23, Araunah is referred to as a king: “… Araunah the king gave to the king [i.e., David]”.
Why did David build the Temple on the threshing floor of Ornan (Araunah)?
David takes a census, God gets mad and sends a pestilence and then an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but then God feels sorry and said “enough!” And then David proceeds to buy the threshing floor where the angel was, build an altar and give offerings and then makes plans for the Temple to be built on the threshing floor on which the angel of the Lord stood. The story is told in 1 Chronicles chapter 21 & 22 (also 2 Samuel 24)
Digging Deeper into Scripture: Melchizedek
Phil RigdonJune 12, 2024
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My wife and I are blessed with a large group of nieces and nephews. Our oldest nephew, who is now all grown up, recently celebrated his birthday. As I spoke to him on the phone to wish him a happy birthday, it struck me that this man with whom I spoke was once a child with whom I played many years ago. Tempus fugit! We love him, and we are proud of who he has become.
Abram also loved his nephew Lot, as we learn in Genesis 14. It is in the context of Abram demonstrating that love where we learn of Melchizedek.
Background
In Genesis 14, we learn of a great battle between kings in the Valley of Siddim, south of the Dead Sea. Chedorlaomer and his allies are victorious in battle, taking the spoils of their enemies, including Lot, Abram’s nephew, and all his possessions. Abram learns of the sequestration, pursues and defeats Chedorlaomer, and returns Lot to his home, along with his possessions and kinsmen.
In this context, Melchizedek, king of Salem, appears. He serves Abram bread and wine and blesses him with these words:
Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand!
(Genesis 14:19–20)
In Psalm 110, written by David regarding the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ, we hear again of Melchizedek as David asserts, regarding this Messiah, “The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, ‘You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek’” (v. 4). Some assert that Melchizedek was merely a priest and king who lived and died during the time of Abram. Others have suggested that Melchizedek was not just a human being, but was, in fact, the preincarnate (before taking on flesh) Christ. What follows is a presentation of both sides of this argument.
Preincarnate Christ?
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (Genesis 14:18)
It is salient that Melchizedek offered bread and wine to Abram, given that Jesus offered bread and wine as His body and blood to His disciples at the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This could be Jesus, appearing as human and pointing to His future action for the disciples as He shows hospitality to Abram. On the other hand, it was not unusual to offer bread and wine to guests.
He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. Hebrews 7:2
“King of righteousness” and “king of peace” are titles one could certainly apply to Jesus. Being fully God, the Son is indeed righteous. Through His perfect life, innocent death, and victorious resurrection, Jesus has become our Priest, presenting Himself before the Father as the final sacrifice for our sins.
He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life. (Hebrews 7:3)
Reading this verse helps us to understand that qualifications for serving as a high priest included being able to trace one’s ancestry back to Aaron. The fact that Melchizedek was a priest, elevated though he was, would be evidence of his ancestry back to Aaron. But instead, this verse tells that he had no ancestry at all. To read this verse at face value, one could argue that this is describing Jesus’ divine nature—as the Son of God, He is eternal. On the other hand, Jesus had a human nature—He has a human mother, having been born of the Virgin Mary.
A Type of Christ?
The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” (Psalm 110:4)
There are two ways one could read this verse. On one hand, Jesus could be “after the order of Melchizedek” in that Jesus follows from Himself, being called Melchizedek and appearing to serve and bless Abram. On the other hand, Jesus is a priest in an order higher than all others, as Melchizedek was.
But resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. (Hebrews 7:3)
The key word in this verse is “resembling.” This is perhaps the most compelling verse suggesting that Melchizedek and Jesus were not the same person, that Melchizedek merely resembled our Savior.
This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. (Hebrews 7:15–16)
Where the previous verse uses the word “resembling,” this one uses “likeness” to express a similarity but not sameness between Melchizedek and Jesus. Like Melchizedek, who was in a class by himself and was a priest without the need for ancestral qualification, Jesus is a priest by virtue of His divinity.
Conclusion
Although both arguments are compelling, it is this author’s conclusion that Melchizedek, though perhaps of a higher status than other high priests, was merely a man and not Jesus Christ, appearing before His birth. Wherever one falls on this issue, it must not be forgotten that Jesus is indeed our Priest and King. Our Priest by His divinity and service to sinners: Jesus is not only our mediator before the Father but He also presents Himself as the sacrifice for sins. He is our King in that He has conquered sin, death, and the power of the devil, not with swords and shields, but rather with His life of perfect obedience, the shedding of His blood, and His resurrection. As our King, Jesus remains our Lord, leader, and protector.
Rosamond Press 
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