God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was about to destroy, Yahweh saw, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the destroying angel, It is enough; now stay your hand. The angel of Yahweh was standing by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
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.