1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. Here are guidelines to help facilitate a meaningful learning experience for everyone. And after that God heeded the prayer for the land. He made huge errors in judgment, both personally and in a larger sense. We have our own sins to pay for; we do not pay for theirs. You are no longer fit to be king." That is basically how it was. The Gibeonites actually lived only a few miles from Jericho, the Twelve Tribes' designated entry point to Palestine. Then they went back and took Ai. There are so many things I have got to do.". There was a great deal of turmoil in Israel leading up to this time. THE STORY OF THE GIBEONITES - It won't do anybody any good lying here dead. By this time, Moses had died and was buried. The latter believed that Saul's desire was to destroy them utterly. The choice by Adam and Eve in the garden was a sin, and they paid for it through death. (1) A three-year famine prompts David to seek God. There is a great deal more than what meets the eye. Another group, however, argues that as God's anointed king, Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. They agree to the death of seven of Saul's descendants. There is another thing that needs to be thrown out there as a possible scenario, and this would have been the very worst and lowest that David could have sunk to. It must have been a satisfactory solution from Gods point of view, because he sent the rain on the land after the measures had been taken. We still need some more background. How did the spirit of God move upon the face of the waters in Genesis 1:2? 21:1-11 ). He went after a people that God did not want exterminated anymore. Finally, someone says to David, "Hey, did you know that Rizpah has been out on a rock for six months, sitting there day after day, protecting the corpses from birds and such, because the Gibeonites won't let her take them down and bury them? Davids choice of victims reflects at least the covenant between him and Jonathan, if not also the one between him He committed colossal sins that whole nations would be held in contempt for. Yes, my lord, he answered. We are talking about the possibility of only two of the seven even remotely having any guilt in this matter whatsoever. He resolved properlynot without a lot of death, with 70,000 dead in that plague, but at least he had the repentant attitude by the time it was over. Saul agreed, and off he went. 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Notice verse 2 says that Saul tried to strike them down in his zeal (also means jealously or envy) for the people of Israel and Judah. The people of the land stand for our spiritual enemiesour human nature, this world, and Satan the Devil. II Samuel 21:8-9 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. It was not just Saul, but other members of his family. Christ says, Luke 21:34-35 "But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. In 1 Samuel 10, Saul first tries to kill David by straight up pinning him to the wall with his spear, but David dodges twice. They did what is recalled in verses 3 through 6 above. There is less bloodshed, and there will not be much opportunity like in Gentile nations for these blood feuds to last for years and generations. Guilt for sin is not hereditary. WebTranslation Details for 2 Samuel 21:1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. David didnt get the throne until Saul and Jonathon were both dead. David was anointed king many years before he took the throne. He had Saul tryin The world's arsenal is growing daily in material strength and sophisticated intimidation. The Lord told them they had made a commitment to these people and they had to stand by it. This incident appears in time sequence toward the end of his life. Why is it just now that you are waking up to this? Here we find the Gibeonites demand, and King David counter demandsNOT. A little further down, we read: II Samuel 21:2 . Now, if they participated in his sin, then of course, they will bear the guilt for their participation in that sin. Evidently, this is what Saul and most of his family was like, except Jonathan. This indicates that God was not pleased, whatsoever, with how this situation was resolved by David. For unknown reasons, Joshua and the elders of Israel quickly bit on this proposal. Then they answered the king, "As for the man who consumed us and plotted against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the territories of Israel, "let seven men of his descendants be delivered to us, and we will hang them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD chose." He came at this as though he were guilty with Saul; that all Israelites were guilty with Saul and his house. It shows you just how far things had sunk in the land. Because of what had been going on, all the turmoil in this life and the kingdom, David was not spiritually prepared to face it. Joshua 9:14 is the key to Israel's problem. This traditional doctrine, as heard in a Catholic or Protestant church, would say that this sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden rests upon us still. Therefore, one of the first things that Joshua and the Israelites do is they allow a big problem to linger in their midst. As mentioned earlier, there was the rebellion of Absalom. the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the persecuted and killed the Gibeonites men in a covenant relationship with Israel who served at the tabernacle. But talk about your flawed heroes! Those who believe that they can outsmart, outflank or in any way outmaneuver our Enemy through cerebral strategies are doomed to the slavery and destruction heaped upon Saul and the Gibeonites. He gets kicked down the societal ladder for his sin, and it takes three or four generations for the family to recover. One of the things He specifically mentions is famine, which happens to be the third sealphysical famine, but we remember from Amos that there is a spiritual famine as well. Yet, the Bible specifically says in Hebrews 4:15 that He was without sin. Why were genealogies so important to Israel? King David was perhaps the only converted person in the entire nationmaybe besides the high priest of the time, but we do not know. This is pretty clear. Why wasn't I told about this?" Why did Herod like to listen to John the Baptist, who criticized Herods lifestyle? Later, during a wasting famine, David, attempting a political rather than a righteous solution, yielded to the Gibeonites' request that descendants of Saul be hanged to avenge the slaughter. And they took old sacks on their donkeys, old wineskins torn and mended, old and patched sandals on their feet, and old garments on themselves; and all the bread of their provision was dry and moldy. I want you to understand where Barry was coming from in writing the note. David did not make any counter demands. and for his bloody house. Now if the LORD your God enlarges your territory, as He swore to your fathers, and gives you the land which He promised to give to your fathers, and if you keep all these commandments and do them, which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and to walk always in His ways, then you shall add three more cities for yourself besides these three, lest innocent blood be shed in the midst of your land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and thus guilt of bloodshed be upon you. Joshua 9:22-24 Then Joshua called for them, and he spoke to them, saying, "Why have you deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you dwell near us? We have an easier time identifying with the flawed, but heroic, Lancelot from the legends of King Arthur, because he is a lot more like ushe commits sin; he has faults. Who was the father of Mephibosheth? Then they were able to pick up the pieces of their lives and move forward by the strength that God gave them to overcome and to grow, and to put on the mindthe characterof Christ. He received good marks in Scripture. Please ensure your answer MEETS all our guidelines. He was not really on the ball like he should have been. Saul killed a lot of people. David asked the Gibeonites what punishment would satisfy them and atone for (cover) Sauls sin of murder. It cut us off from God. This incident of the famine took place rather late in David's life. Certainly, after three years you would. It seems that modern Westerners want their heroes flawed. Evidently, he thought that he could win back his kingdom if he zealously did God's will. When were threatened by a Philistine attack, Saul he disobeyed Jehovah by offering a sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel to do it. WebWe will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." We don't hear much of the Gibeonites again until the reign of King Saul. And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. God took the initiative in this matter, by afflicting the nation of Israel with a famine because the house of Saul had put the Gibeonites to death. God did not perform a miracle to end this famine after these men were executed. If a person sins, he receives God's judgment for those sins. Berean Literal Bible Acts 13:21. SERIES INTRODUCTION I think he was distracted because the turmoil had taken such a toll on Israel, and the famine too, that he was worried about the economy, rebuilding cities and fortifications, and his alliances with Hiram and others. There is no biblical account of this escapade of Saul and his house against Gibeon. God sees behind the scenes. It is not genetic. How many died in bar-fights? There were no conditions. It would take three or four generations for perversion to be kicked out of a society. Web16 And it happened at the end of three days, after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were their neighbors who dwelt near them. If we were reading this quickly, and not really thinking about it, and not understanding God's own character, we might think that this says that God allows the guilt of sin to pass down three or four generations. King Saul later broke the treaty that Joshua had signed and attacked the Gibeonites. Later still, during the time of King David, a famine occurred in Israel. When David asked the Lord about the famine, God said, It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death (2 Samuel 21:1). To all appearances, it seems that they got away with it. God!before the Lordin Gibeah of Saul. he put the Gibeonites to death. There are things like destruction for their sin, and the family takes that long to recover from that destruction. What should we get out of this? It causes a problem in the way that the next generation is formed. What have they done? They did not seek God in this matter. Back in I Samuel 15, Saul was told by God through Samuel to go up against the Amalekites, and to destroy everything in sight, do not spare anything; exterminate them. He did not perform any miracle, or any other thing to show that He was happy with the way that things turned out. Let's see what's in our bag of tricks. But, they like the dark one because he is moody, and doing things not for quite the right reasons. There is no indication in II Samuel 21 that David got advice from any of his ministers about how to deal with this situation. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.". But it appears at least 40, maybe 50 years in the past. He will not relent. The problem was that God had not told Saul to do this, God had told Joshua to do that. His anger at the Is there something I'm missing? WebOne of the mothers of the men hanged by the Gibeonites protected the bodies of Saul's sons from birds and wild beasts day and night. & "Take heed that you be not deceived." Because he may have been still depressed by Absalom's death. But, the others were Saul's grandsons. Saul's bones are still in Jabesh-Gilead. That is the background on the Gibeonites, and their relationship with Israel. And that day Joshua made them woodcutters and water carriers for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, in the place which He would choose, even to this day. At most it was about ten miles awaynot very far at all. Once again, God's anointed was compelled to humble himself and his nation before a delegation of these servile Gibeonites. He was humble and relied on God, and was granted many victories over Israels enemies. Things started to go downhill over time however, as Saul became presumptuous and arrogant; he ignored several direct commands of God, and the last straw came when he interfered in offering a sacrifice to God, in direct contravention of what hed been told to do. This has become known as the "eye for an eye principle." It does not matter. Luke 21:36 "Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.". It says that they were Saul's sons. 21:2, NIV).2 Saul did this in his zeal for Israel and Judah. So for nationalistic reasons Saul was guilty of attempted genocide. There were big problems, and one of them was the consequences and effects of Saul and his bloodthirsty house. No silver or gold from that house. Or as the 2. God tells us that, spiritually, we have to go and wipe them out. If we think that we have it all figured out, I am sorry, we do not. & "Take heed that you be not deceived." The scriptures are not very definitive as to why. When we read the history of skirmishes and battles between the Gibeonites and Israelites we get a Completely ignoring God's explicit command to spare the Gibeonites, Saul decreed it was time to remove them completely by exterminating them. He was setting us an example of what we should be doing in a spiritual sense. It springs out when you are not ready. Deuteronomy 32:4. He has mercy, and holds the curses to just a few generations, but He allows the results of doing righteousness to last forever. "Now therefore, you are cursed, and none of you shall be freed from being slaveswoodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God." But that conclusion is a bit too sanguine once you begin to look into that which is not said, or what is said elsewhere. Finally the light came on, and David said, "I had better ask what is going on here. The two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul ( v.8 ) Why did he not seem to notice the first year and say to himself, "Hmm. They may not have been involved at all, depending on how early in Saul's reign this event took place. Throughout the centuries, the original Gibeonites continued to exist as a people, although King Saul schemed to destroy them. The Gibeonites, howev For all his misguided efforts and pains, Saul reaped the fruits of his delusion. In effect, what they wanted to do was hang the bodies of Saul's family in Saul's hometown in sight of Jerusalem. He needed God to forgive him. They made their dust-covered clothes to look worn and ragged as if they had been on the road for many days, even months. Perhaps these last few verses suggest that, in burying the bones of Saul and Jonathan, David repented of his sins regarding this whole incident. Good question. WebKing Saul later broke the treaty that Joshua had signed and attacked the Gibeonites. He became jealous and he went wacko, basically. He does not seem to have asked the priest who would know the law the best to find out what Scripture said about situations like this. He sees the hearts of men and the hidden actions of men. If what happened against Gibeon occurred during Saul's reign, even if it was in the latter half, it would mean it was at least (if we are in the last decade of King David's reign) that the massacre of Gibeonites occurred 40 or 50 years earlier. Another possibility is that when Saul slew many of the priests at Nob he also executed many Gibeonites (1 Samuel 22:19). Eisenhower was still in office. Joshua realized he had been deceived, but he kept the letter of his covenant with the Gibeonites to let them live; however, he cursed and enslaved them as woodcutters and water-carriers. Saul later pursued the Gibeonites and sought to kill them off in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. We have a very simple biblical principle here: God is just. Before she married David, Abigail had been the wife of _____. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night. Their representatives were not up front with the Israeli leaders. He was not thinking spiritually. They handed their enemies hard, stale, moldy bread and told them it had been freshly baked when they left home. And the king said, "I will give them.". Or as the Gibeonites said Saul consumed them and tried to destroy them a people Israel had entered into a covenant with 400 years earlier. So 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. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown comments: It was a heathen practice to gibbet men with a view of appeasing the anger of the gods in seasons of famine, and the Gibeonites, who were a remnant of the Amorites, though brought to the knowledge of the true God, were not, it seems, free from this superstition. 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