Rizpah, Lord Alfred Tennyson in 1878. 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). I think that this was a test from God, and David failed spectacularly, except in keeping his promise to Jonathan. fit into Creation? And David sought the face of the Lord. So, give or take, 40 to 50 years have passed. WebVetus Testamentum 24:1 (January 1974):1-7.] It was certainly alive and well in Israel. However, this chapter drops a few hints about it. This cultural thing about wanting our heroes flawed is so deeply ingrained in us that we cannot imagine anyone going through life without sin. If we would go back to Leviticus 26, we will see that David should have known that famine was no small thing in God's arsenal. He just let them walk all over him. (Mark 6:20). The midrash states that when Saul learned of this, he was angry with his daughter and demanded of her: Why did you deceive me and let my enemy escape? He attempted the genocide of They had remembered it for 40 or 50 years. WebThe consequences of Israels covenant with the Gibeonites were not short-term. Our God has given us a law that says such and such, so this is what we are willing to do for you.". His anger at the To put it in a more modern time setting, a lot of people prefer Batman (the dark one), or Spiderman (the geek), to Superman for the very same reasons. And Agag, he's a nice guy! 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. After that, God heeded the prayer of the land. It said earlier that they wanted them to be hung before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul. He committed colossal sins that whole nations would be held in contempt for. In some ways, the story centers around covenants or treaties, one made between Israel and the Gibeonites in Joshua 9, another between Jonathan and David in 1 Sam. And David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. We are talking about the possibility of only two of the seven even remotely having any guilt in this matter whatsoever. The Israelites had promised not to A person dies for his own sins, not those committed by someone else, whether father, son, or black sheep uncle. And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. If we think that we have it all figured out, I am sorry, we do not. This incident of the famine took place rather late in David's life. Justice seems to have been served. A good answer provides new insight and perspective. So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Notice that I Kings begins not many chapters after this. It does not seem so. Nevertheless, he names a few of them. If the Gibeonites brought guile and deceit into the land; it was Saul who set the example for deep and devastating WebAnd the Lord answered, Saul and his family of murderers are the reason for the famine, because he killed the Gibeonites. 2 (The Gibeonites were not Israelites. It only says that God heeded the prayer of the land. This is a bit unusual. September 01 2013 The Gibeonites deceived Israel, but God's people had really deceived themselves. However, there was a difference between Israel's version and the Gentiles' principle of vengeance or retribution. Where are they from? Joshua kept his word to the Gibeonites even when it was inconvenient. It shows you just how far things had sunk in the land. WebSaul kills the gentile Gibeonites (2 Sam 21) & banishes mediums in preparation for Tabernacle being moved from Nob to Gibeon. Saul and the Pharisees persecuted and killed the Christians, The sons of King Saul were killed as a result of this attempted genocide, The non-Christian inhabitants of Jerusalem were destroyed in AD70 Gods judgment on them for murdering his son and doubtless, the early Christians. Then, I am sure, he started to think about other things that were happening, and he started to make some reforms in himself. If a person sins, he receives God's judgment for those sins. He was endangering the whole army by being out there, an old man trying to fight like a young man. Over the years I've urged our Fellowship to check out, investigate and take to heart such biblical alarms. Ezekiel 18:19-20 indicates that guilt for sin is not transferable, but the consequences can often touch several generations. I Samuel 14:47-48 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. What have they done? And, it certainly does not record that David took this to God for His solution to it. I Samuel 14:52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. We would like to make a covenant with you.". Vote Up And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD? It causes a problem in the way that the next generation is formed. They knew all the things God had stipulated about what they were to do when Israel was going to come into the land. And it would have been done quickly and easily. In reading the Psalms, on the other hand, we get an idea of just how grateful he was for God's forgiveness and grace, because I believe he was aware of just what a rotten individual he really was. So they thought, "Hmm. THE STORY OF THE GIBEONITES - And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself. Something is wrong, David. CONFLICT OF THE AGES ARTICLES Instead, the Gibeonites demanded the execution of seven of Saul's sons. Pagan cultures were killed because they were pagan cultures and they were making war on Gods people. or who shall stand in his holy place? A lot can happen in two years. The historical narrative of King David is drawing to a close. God would have said, "Kill them all!" It is the time of the beginning of the barley harvest. I think he was looking at Adonijah and Solomon, and seeing the positioning for the throne, and he just wanted to throw up his handsflee like some bird (Psalm 139). We are not finished with that yet, because, who were the Gibeonites? [And the answer is] Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. A snare is a trap. The Bible doesnt really say. This is taken from the book Antiquities of the Jews, pg. 7: AFTER this, when the country was greatly afflicted with a He tried to come up with a compromise, and that was basically, "Whatever you want, you can have." Guilt for sin is not hereditary. The time had passed. So, he spared Agag, and he spared a lot of the good stuff. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah. He went after a people that God did not want exterminated anymore. The higher the vote, the further up an answer is. There are references to the Lord, but they are not references in a spiritual sense. 1. Then they went back and took Ai. Good question. Deceit and delusion are powerful spiritual weapons of destruction but they pale in potency compared to the creative and edifying Word of God come alive by faith in believers' hearts! And David sought the face of the Lord. WebSaul slew the Gibeonites, not simply as the son of Kish, but as the king of Israel, and therefore involved all Israel with him in the violation of the national oath; and hence, until the evil should be put away by the execution of the immediate offender or his representatives, all Israel must suffer. How long was the average lifespan at the time? Only in one sense, there was a fall of man, but certainly not in the traditional sense. 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? And we are supposed to be ready. 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. Much later, King Saul ignored this covenant of peace and killed some Gibeonites. They have a discussion in the next few verses, and many Israelites want to go ahead and kill these Gibeonites for what they did. Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. For all his misguided efforts and pains, Saul reaped the fruits of his delusion. Go coach! 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. They got a couple of their men, maybe elders, and got them to appear like they came along distance. Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death [he cannot buy his way out]. What is meaning of 2 Cor. They knew! He sees the hearts of men and the hidden actions of men. Why did God allow the Gibeonites to put to death seven of Sauls sons? David asked the Gibeonites what punishment would satisfy them and atone for (cover) Sauls sin of murder. Let's see what's in our bag of tricks. So, he kept his own covenant, but he did not go any further to figure out from God's law to know what should be done in this situation. Deceit and delusion are powerful spiritual weapons of destruction but they pale in potency compared to the creative and edifying Word of God come alive by faith in believers' hearts! Yes, my lord, he answered. ", If you are on your spiritual game, and famine is occurring in your land, do you wait three years until thousands may have died? Moreover, Samuel said, "What have you done? ( v.1 ) So God sent a famine to punish a kingdom for something that a former king supposedly did. Can we assume that God was in any way propitiated at the conclusion of this story? Joshua kept his word to the Gibeonites even when it was inconvenient. Ezekiel 18:19-20 indicates that guilt for sin is not transferable, but the consequences can often touch several generations. God punished the whole nation for breaking the covenant. Because of what had been going on, all the turmoil in this life and the kingdom, David was not spiritually prepared to face it. Another group, however, argues that as God's anointed king, So you shall not pollute the land where you are [this is very important]; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. 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. Saul killed a lot of people. They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. Verse 5 does not say that the guilt of a person extends to his great-great grandchildren. The Gibeonites remained enemies and aliens to the household of God forever after. There is nothing to give you any indication that God was involved in anything except the faminetrying to teach David a lesson. 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. Seven of Sauls descendants were hanged as a result. And, that was that. What did David do to end the famine caused by Saul breaking a treaty with the Gibeonites? Their deceit, Israel's lack of vigilance and Saul's deep delusion caused God's people centuries of grief and embarrassment. However, if they did not participate, they are not going to be given a black mark by God for something that they did not do. He was thinking about a lot of other things. WebThe LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. And the Lord said, There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death. 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and Deuteronomy 32:4. and for his bloody house. II Samuel 21:3-6 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? I am just going to start with the backdrop to the incident. He was the king. They did what is recalled in verses 3 through 6 above. SERIES INTRODUCTION When asked about the time of the end; when questioned about the signs that would precede His Second Coming, our blessed Lord instinctively cautioned: "Take heed that no man deceive you." Lord answered, it certainly does not say that the guilt of a person extends to his great-great grandchildren out! 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