David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Yahweh standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces.
The writer gave much attention to detail and background events because of the importance of the temple site. All these events point to God’s ultimate purpose for the temple: that it would draw the Israelites and the Gentiles to Himself.