The famine was a punishment for Sauls violation of the covenant, made with the Gibeonites back during the days of Joshua. 1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. How many rebellions were there? That would be such a carnal thing to dojust let the Gibeonites kill seven of Saul's kids who could claim the Israelite throne and get them out of the way. You are getting later and later in David's life here. Based on this principle, I think we can be confident that justice was carried out in this very nasty incident, even though we are not told all the details of what happened. Saul also had sound state reasons for his action, for the Gibeonites were occupying an enclave in the very If you read Psalm 51 it is very clear that he understood his own makeup. Joshua 9:25-27 "And now, here we are, in your hands; do with us as it seems good and right to do to us." The breach of contract was serious enough that God sent the famine in response. Even though the avenger of blood could kill the person if he caught him before he arrived at the city of refugewhat this verse is saying, here, is that if the nation follows through, and enlarges the lands by obeying God, He will designate more cities of refuge so that they are closer. If the Gibeonites brought guile and deceit into the land; it was Saul who set the example for deep and devastating 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. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing. Go back with me to Deuteronomy 7 and see the instruction that God gave to Israel about how to deal with these kinds of people. Just tell me and I will do it for you.. WebWhich city did Saul destroy when he found that its priests had given David's men provision? It does not matter. You cannot tell. King Saul would conscript them into the army, and off they would go in a bloodthirsty rage against somebody else. 5. Lets be clear from the very beginning, David was kind to Mephibosheth for his father Jonathans sake (2 Samuel 9:1). Mephibosheth was only five ye God!before the Lordin Gibeah of Saul. How many died in sicknesses? The Gibeonites actually lived only a few miles from Jericho, the Twelve Tribes' designated entry point to Palestine. The person who commits a sin is guilty of that sin, and God punishes that person for that sin. He enslaved them all, and made them wood cutters and menial laborers at the Tabernacle. 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. How many died in bar-fights? Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of God said explicitly to destroy everything! Even their empty wine skins were completely dried up and cracked. He gets kicked down the societal ladder for his sin, and it takes three or four generations for the family to recover. I think that this was a test from God, and David failed spectacularly, except in keeping his promise to Jonathan. The Bible implicitly hints at something which caused a feud which was settled only by the blood of Sauls descendants. They do what their flesh tells them to dowhat Satan inspires them to want to doand they do it. Of course, a part of it is being able to look at ourselves and see how dirty, nasty, and rotten we are, and saying, "There is no way that anybody could live in this world without sin; even God's beloved Son.". Vote Up Seven of Sauls descendants were hanged as a result. He attempted the genocide of By this time, having fought all his life since he was a teenagerup against Goliath when he was eighteen or soand here he was approaching 70 years old, and he was tired. If we think that we have it all figured out, I am sorry, we do not. 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. Where are they from? All they wanted, they said, was a peace treaty with Israel; then they would return to their distant home. This was history now. On the other hand, when people do well, like Abraham, and they live God's way of life, this allows God the leeway to show mercy unto thousands of generations of people. And then King David inquired of the Lord. It would be the equivalent of an event somewhere between the Korean War and the Vietnam War. ", God answered immediately, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house. Something is wrong, David. Therefore, they arrive in the camp of Israel, and say, "Where's your leader? It springs out when you are not ready. (Matthew 14:1921). I am putting this all together from history. The Israelites had been dealing with the Gibeonites, who were Hivitesand as it says here, they were a part of the Amorite peoplesince the first days in the land under Joshua. WebThe designation Nethinim is derived from the Hebrew verb natan ("to give over"), which can mean devoting someone to cultic service. The "Great Debate" between Nixon and Kennedy had not occurred yet. There was a covenant with those people that not only Joshua and the people honored, but also God Himself honored as well. 0 responses Notice God declares that the bloodguilt was not just on Saul, but also his house. In effect, what they wanted to do was hang the bodies of Saul's family in Saul's hometown in sight of Jerusalem. He made huge errors in judgment, both personally and in a larger sense. I know that is how I always read itas straight historyand I did not think about it very much. The Gibeonites presented themselves to the invading Israelites, not as nearby neighbors, but as distant foreigners who lived in a far-off land. They have a discussion in the next few verses, and many Israelites want to go ahead and kill these Gibeonites for what they did. In Rizpahs case, her husband, King Saul, broke his promise that the Israelites would spare the Gibeonites in battle; he ordered the Israelites to annihilate them. The verb is used in this sense with respect to Joshua's action toward the Gibeonites in Joshua 9:27, where cultic servitude is involved ("for the altar of the Lord"). Ezekiel 18:19-20 indicates that guilt for sin is not transferable, but the consequences can often touch several generations. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. Asked August 31 2013 Then they replied, It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in Israel. Where have you been, David? He had to sit there and judge people with all the little things they constantly brought up to him that seemed to need his decision on. King David was perhaps the only converted person in the entire nationmaybe besides the high priest of the time, but we do not know. However, there was a difference between Israel's version and the Gentiles' principle of vengeance or retribution. Much later, King Saul ignored this covenant of peace and killed some Gibeonites. A person dies for his own sins, not those committed by someone else, whether father, son, or black sheep uncle. Perhaps those first two, Armoni, and Mephibosheth were old enough to have participated in the event. II Samuel 21:3-6 Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? Most, if not all, of those responsible were dead. David asked the Gibeonites what punishment would satisfy them and atone for (cover) Sauls sin of murder. Webzeal of king Saul - who was a Benjaminite - against the Gibeonites. Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. It was not just Saul, but other members of his family. They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. Let me ask God about this. This could indicate that the sons of Saul were actively implicated in this attempted genocide, although we cannot tell for sure as the details of this awful event are not recorded. However, if he did not lie in wait, but God delivered him into his hand, then I will appoint for you a place where he may flee.". Share (4:10). He simply folded, giving the Gibeonites everything they wanted. They agree to the death of seven of Saul's descendants. But they refused the offer. That generation had begun to pass. Samuel turns away; Saul grabs at him and only catches his robe, and tears it. And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD? They are two separate things. Then we have the explanations of which we just went over. However there is nothing in the text that indicates he did this. And they went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country; now therefore, make a covenant with us. II Samuel 21:10-11 Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night. Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! But the massacre of the Gibeonites probably occurred after that. Finally the light came on, and David said, "I had better ask what is going on here. The words "thirty" and "forty" are not in the original Hebrew. 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. He had a body of law that he could have referred back to and come up with a solution. They are still there. 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. Joshua 9:14-16 Then the men of Israel took some of their provisions; but they did not ask counsel of the LORD. However, there was not. Before she married David, Abigail had been the wife of _____. Ezekiel 18 makes it clear that God punishes people for their own iniquity. This cultural thing about wanting our heroes flawed is so deeply ingrained in us that we cannot imagine anyone going through life without sin. WebVetus Testamentum 24:1 (January 1974):1-7.] Forty years, at least, has passed, and had they been involved in it back when Saul was still kinglet us say they were 18 to 20 years oldthese men involved in this massacre, should they still be alive, might be 60, 65, or even 70 years old. WebThe consequences of Israels covenant with the Gibeonites were not short-term. Another group, however, argues that as God's anointed king, . WebThe biblical writer confirms this charge by stating that Saul tried to annihilate [ nkah, to inflict a dead blow] them (2 Sam. I dont think it was a matter of God allowing the Gibeonites to put to death Sauls sons. God punished the whole nation for breaking the covenant. Jonathan. And after that God heeded the prayer for the land. WebA three years' famine in the days of David was attributed to God's anger at the unexpiated crime of Saul in slaying the Gibeonites. Our God has given us a law that says such and such, so this is what we are willing to do for you.". By this time, Moses had died and was buried. Turn to Exodus 20 and see that right in the Ten Commandments it sounds like it could mean that sin does travel down the family tree. And the Gibeonites said to him, "We will have no silver or gold from Saul or from his house, nor shall you kill any man in Israel for us." Deuteronomy 19:7-10 Therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall separate three cities for yourself.' It does not seem to me that during this time of the three years of famine David was emulating the attitude that he wrote about in Psalm 34. Exodus 20:4-6 You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. He is beyond us; it does not make any sense. About two years ago, Barry Watson, our lone member in Namibia, wrote me an email message in which this incident was at the heart of it. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Saul, after having disqualified 2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the The Gibeonites left their mark on Israel's history in another wretched incident involving It has got to go. No silver or gold from that house. Vote Up The world's arsenal is growing daily in material strength and sophisticated intimidation. They quailed at what they heard that Joshua and Israel had done at Jericho and Ai. Joshua did try to make lemonade out of his lemons. Gibeon is only a few miles mostly north of Jerusalem. It seems that modern Westerners want their heroes flawed. But so did David. by LeRoy Gardenier 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. So this zeal may not have carried good connotations (cf John 2:17) it was not zeal for God but zeal for man, an ongoing problem with Saul. It is not pretty when we allow the people of the land to dictate to us. The time had passed. We have all these things coming at the end time, which is very short. Joshua and that generation did not do their entire job, and so they were stuck. And David sought the face of the Lord. For unknown reasons, Joshua and the elders of Israel quickly bit on this proposal. The last time Saul did swear not to kill David, Saul swore "by YHWH" not to kill david he broke it many times over since. There was not a cloud in sight and you are the king. God spared them as a people, but His nation condemned them to endless servitude. 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. Why were two of Saul's sons and five of Saul's grandsons killed for a crime they didn't commit? Were they participants in killing the Gibeonites? WebWhen God called Saul to be king, Israel was on the verge of collapse. It comes as a snare, Christ says, on everybody. He was thinking about a lot of other things. But what actually did Saul do to the Gibeonites? PHARAOH AND HAMAN - Web11 Then the king sent for the priest Ahimelek son of Ahitub and all the men of his family, who were the priests at Nob, and they all came to the king. 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Laborers at the Tabernacle them as a snare, Christ says, on everybody the death of Seven of descendants. The `` Great Debate '' between Nixon and Kennedy had not occurred yet probably occurred that... Covenant of peace and killed some Gibeonites of which we just went.. For yourself. shall separate three cities for yourself. or four generations for the land them to servitude! Own sins, not those committed by someone else, whether father son... Family to recover shall I make atonement, that you may bless the of. He could have referred back to and come up with a solution the event hints! Ezekiel 18 makes it clear that God sent the famine was a difference between Israel 's version the. Ladder for his own sins, not as nearby neighbors, but members... Sorry, we do not poor man cried out, I am sorry, do! Not as nearby neighbors, but also God Himself honored as well bloodthirsty against... Themselves to the Gibeonites everything they wanted killed for a crime they n't. David was kind to Mephibosheth for his father Jonathans sake ( 2 9:1... Your leader with Israel ; then they would return to their distant home with what shall make! A larger sense their heroes flawed sent the famine in response something which a...
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