As I continue to go through the Scripture in my reading I came across one of my favorite passages in 2 Samuel 21. The Lord comes to David and tells him that he (David) must right a wrong that the former King Saul had committed. Saul had attacked the Gibeonites during his reign as king. The only thing wrong with this is that Joshua had made a covenant with the Gibeonites that they would be protected from Israel. Because of this sin there had been a famine in the land for three years. God told David that he needed to make it right.
Is it me or do you not think that it is awesome that after all this time God is remembering the covenant made with the Gibeonites. You and I should take a lesson from our God when it comes to keeping our promises. Oh, by the way you do realize that when you make a debt you promise to repay that debt. CHRISTIANS SHOULD PAY THEIR BILLS!!!.
When David went to the Gibeonites to ask them what he could do to repay the wrong they quickly told him that they did not want silver or gold. They wanted seven of Saul’s sons to be given over to them so that might hang them. David agreed to give them.
Let’s just stop right there and make a few comments. Sometimes we as parents do some goofy things without ever taking into account the consequences for doing so. Here you have Saul sinning and his sons paying the price for his sin. Now you may cry out that this is wrong but it is reality. Our sins have a way of costing those we love around us. You see it all throughout the Scriptures but you see it all around us as well. I’ve seen it in my own life. Many times you just wish that you could relive that moment when you failed. Well you can’t. And yes, God can forgive you but the scars remain.
Well the Gibeonites hang the sons. Two of them were the sons of Rizpah, one of the wives of Saul. After they hung the seven Rizpah did a very noble thing. She did something that got the attention of the King. This is what the Scriptures says: “2 Samuel 21:10 (KJV)
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.” Each day and night she remained there and would not let the buzzards eat away at her children. She did this until after hearing of her sacrifice David took them down and gave them a proper burial.
Rizpah did what Saul would not do. He sinned without thinking of the consequences. She toiled day and night keeping the buzzards away.
Rizpah is a lot like my wonderful wife Candie. Candie is not perfect but most of the time she is going to do the right thing because she has those around her in mind. She tries so hard to be a good mom. I’m so thankful that God gave her to me.
These days parents just let their kids do whatever they want. Most parents feel to guilty to say otherwise because their lives are filled with failure. We have parents who just simply fail to lead because they feel unable. The great thing about the Christian life is that we can change. We can change. Failure does not have to define our future. One of the greatest promises in the Scripture to me is the one that speaks of God’s ability to restore the years that the locust have eaten. God can restore the years of our failure. Praise the Lord!
I say that because I have found myself in the past living more like Saul that Rizpah.
