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2Samuel
CHAPTER 21

1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.) 3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?

Do you ever stop to think WHY things happen the way they do? Do you ever wonder HOW God fits disaster into His master plan for the redemption of mankind? Does God have a purpose for EVERYTHING that happens in this world?

YES!!

And the Bible assures us that He is working all things "..together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)
But sometimes we WONDER! Don't we? David did. When the drought came and lasted three whole years, David began to wonder how that fit into God's master plan to bless Israel. So he did something many folk never think about doing. He ASKED GOD (verse 1)!
And guess what? God ANSWERED!
Sin causes destruction. In this case we see where God does not allow sin to go without judgment. Somehow, sometime God always fits in the appropriate judgment at the appropriate time. He USES it to bring folk back to a close relationship with Him. That's what He did here.
Saul had sinned by breaking the covenant that Israel had made with the Gibeonites. These people had been deceiptful in obtaining the covenant, but Israel had promised they could live peacefully and not be destroyed. But Saul had tried to kill them all.
God sent the drought as a result of this sin.
So David wanted to make amends - obtain forgiveness from God and from the Gibeonites. This was necessary in order to restore full and proper relationship with God.

4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you. 5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel, 6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them. 7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite: 9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

The Gibeonites had said nothing before - they had not reared a complaint. We see why in verse 6. They believed Saul was "chosen" of the Lord. Therefore, whatever Saul did, they felt was justified.
But just because a man is chosen of the Lord, doesn't assure that his actions will always be godly.
The Gibeonites requested judgment in the form of the LAW. (See Leviticus 20:19-20, Deuteronomy 19:18-21).
After a case has been presented to the judges, and someone is found guilty, then it is a "life for a life." And in this case, God Himself had already determined the guilt.
David dutifully fulfilled their request. Was this HARSH? Yes. Was there not SOME OTHER WAY? NO!
The Word of God says, "..thine eye shall not pity.." (Deuteronomy 19:21). After a case has been decided and judgment is pronounced, then the sentence must be carried out. The REASON is "And those which remain shall hear, and fear, and shall henceforth commit no more any such evil among you."(Deuteronomy 19:20)
[A note here: Adriel was Michal's brother-in-law. Michal had no children of her own. Her sister (Merab) must have died, and Michal had raised the fives sons of Adriel for him.]

10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night. 11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. 12 And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa: 13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged. 14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

Rizpah was originally mentioned as Saul's concubine in 2Samuel 3:7. When Abner had gotten Ishbosheth to stand as king and try to keep Dvid out, he also took Rizpah to be his wife. Rizpah had obviously been sold to Saul by Aiah. Concubines were either purchased or won in battle or given as ratification of a treaty.
So we understand then that Rizpah had not had a life free from emotional trauma. She was SOLD to Saul, TAKEN by Abner, and now her two sons were killed.
But look at her faithfulness! She set up a vigil and kept the birds and scavengers away from the bodies. She kept this vigil from "barley harvest" (April) until the rain came (October?).
When David heard of this, he was moved with compassion.
Judgment is sometimes harsh, and brings grief. But judgment is necessary to turn the hearts of men to contrition and to deter sin in humanity.
Now, once judgment has been met, compassion should demand respect. Rizpah's compassion demonstrated her love and respect. David needed to show that love and respect also.
In 1Samuel 31:12-13, the Bible tell us that the men of Jabesh-Gilead came quietly and took the bodies of Saul and Jonathon and buried them under a tree. They did this in compassion and out of respect for Saul and Jonathon. David realized he needed to show this same compassion and respect for Saul's family. So he took the bones of Saul and Jonathon from the place where they wer given a decent burial and gave them a royal burial.
After judgment there was sorrow, after sorrow there was compassion. THEN "..God was entreated for the land."
Sometimes it does good to wonder why things happen the way they do. Sometimes it is good to wonder how God works everything into His master plan. But ALWAYS it is good to ASK GOD!

15 Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint. 16 And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David. 17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel. 18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. 19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Ja'are-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. 20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. 21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David slew him. 22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

During David's latter days as king, there were many wars with the Philistines. Once, David was in the battle, and fighting against a giant. David became weak, but was saved by Abishai - who killed the giant (verse 17).
God always sends help to His servants when they are in the battle for His glory!
After this, the leaders of the army requested that David no longer go into battle. They did not want him killed. They were afraid because they considered him to be the "light of Israel" (Verse 17).
Isn't it interesting? This man had committed many sins and caused evil to come upon his house and his nation. These men who were with him had also committed grievous sins. But they LOVED David! They knew his zeal and his closeness with God. He was an INSPIRATION to them!

Are YOU that kind of Christian?

In another battle, Elhanon killed Goliath's brother. Elhanon is another name for DAVID. This man was also a "Bethlehemite." Isn't it fitting that Goliath and his brother were both slain by "Davids" from the same home town?
Later, Jonathon, David's nephew killed yet another great giant. Jonathon was Shimeah's son (David's brother). Shimeah also had a son named Jonadab. Remember him? He was the one who advised Amnon in the matter of Tamar. These were two boys, brothers, sons of the same man - but quite DIFFERENT in the legacies they left in life!
Do you see the point here? I think it is that David was a man who INSPIRED others to fight for God's glory. To stand their ground against evil, and never back up. Even when he was old, weak and weary - he was FAITHFUL!
As a result, these men were inspired by David's faithfulness to be great warriors in God's army.

Are YOU that kind of Christian?

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