My apologies for missing two of our weekday lessons. We were without internet since Sunday. At any rate, we are back! To God be the glory!
In this chapter, David makes things right with the Gibeonites after King Saul, during his reign, failed to keep the word of Israel. The chapter begins, “There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted for three years, so David asked the Lord about it. And the Lord said, “The famine has come because Saul and his family are guilty of murdering the Gibeonites.” (Notice David’s continued communication with the Lord.)
So King David summoned the Gibeonites. They were not part of Israel but were all that was left of the nation of the Amorites. Israel had sworn not to kill them, but Saul, in his zeal, had tried to wipe them out. David asked them, “What can I do for you to make amends? Tell me so that the Lord will bless his people again.”
“Well, money won’t do it,” the Gibeonites replied. “And we don’t want to see the Israelites executed in revenge.” “What can I do then?” David asked. “Just tell me and I will do it for you.” Then they replied, “It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in Israel. So let seven of Saul’s sons or grandsons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.”
“All right,” the king said, “I will do it.” David spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord. But he gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah.” (2 Samuel 21:1-8)
The men were then executed on the mountain at the beginning of the barley harvest. The mother of two of the men executed, Rizpah, remained on the mountain to protect the bodies from being eaten for the entire harvest season.
“When David learned what Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and asked for the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When Saul and Jonathan had died in a battle with the Philistines, it was the people of Jabesh-gilead who had retrieved their bodies from the public square of the Philistine city of Beth-shan.) So David brought the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed. He buried them all in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. (What an honorable gesture by David.) After that, God ended the famine in the land of Israel.” (2 Samuel 21:11-14)
The chapter ends with Israel being at war with the Philistines again, and in the process they killed four Philistine giants. One particular time, David had become weak and exhausted, and a giant named Ishbibenob had cornered David with a spearhead weighing more than seven pounds. “But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his rescue and killed the Philistine. After that, David’s men declared, “You are not going out to battle again! Why should we risk snuffing out the light of Israel?” (2 Samuel 21:17)
Lord, thank you for your Word today! Help us remain honorable and faithful to our word, and help us seek your guidance in all that we do like David did. We love you!
May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
….AND MAY WE ALL PRACTICE THIS WITH ONE ANOTHER.
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