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. You do not know. Another thing that God said to do was not done. THE BATTLES OF THE LORD You are getting later and later in David's life here. He will not relent. God did not necessarily overlook all their sins, but He certainly forgave them. 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. He had to plead to God for clearing and forgiveness, for cleaning up, because he knew it was not in himself to do that. He simply folded, giving the Gibeonites everything they wanted. 5. King Saul would conscript them into the army, and off they would go in a bloodthirsty rage against somebody else. 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. This is certainly not the David of Psalm 34, where he wrote. When the Gibeonites heard that the other nations were going to attack them, they sent a message to Joshua and the people, Help! He tried to come up with a compromise, and that was basically, "Whatever you want, you can have." The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. Finally, after six or seven months, the rains came in their natural cycle. Then they replied, It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place at all in Israel. They knew all the things God had stipulated about what they were to do when Israel was going to come into the land. 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. In other words, we want them to be just like us. Who was the father of Mephibosheth? The Gibeonites decided on a different strategy. Yet, the Bible specifically says in Hebrews 4:15 that He was without sin. David asked. Deuteronomy 32:4. Perhaps he thought, "Hmm. 12 Saul said, Listen now, son of Ahitub.. Was John the Baptist conceived via an immaculate conception? In fact, it can be read as if David approached it as only a minor administrative matter. 'Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses [another layer that comes in]; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. If, in the event the Israelis ever came their way, they would be servants to the people of Israel. How much food did Jesus produce? Samuel turns away; Saul grabs at him and only catches his robe, and tears it. Summary:2 Samuel Chapter 212 Samuel 21 Avenging the Gibeonites A. David avenges the Gibeonites. They were probably innocent of this particular crime. WebThe LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites. 0 responses King Saul exhibited that hubris, that overweening pride in his own decisions and that unfounded confidence in his own good judgment that he brought certain and lasting disaster upon his own dynasty. David did not come to this with any regal neutrality in the least. 20, and still another between Saul and David in 1 Samuel 24. A lot can happen in two years. The Gibeonites left their mark on Israel's history in another wretched incident involving Yet, because of the long time that has passed since then until now, when the Gibeonites were asked to bring it up, how many of the guilty ones had died? Go coach! How many wars were fought? One other thing: Samuel said that God is not going to go back on His word. Even so, maybe there were even worse problems, perhaps, and David was blind to them for three years. Gibeon was situated very close to Gibeah the home town of Sauls family. In verse 7 we see the only thing in the entire situation that was any good at all. There was not a cloud in sight and you are the king. Is there something I'm missing? 6. You are no longer fit to be king." We have a very simple biblical principle here: God is just. Now that we have established that there was a horrible massacre at some point in the past, remember there was sin, and there was a crime committed. And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them. They did what is recalled in verses 3 through 6 above. 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. See? King David was perhaps the only converted person in the entire nationmaybe besides the high priest of the time, but we do not know. In 2 Samuel 21:1-14, we see that Saul committed an awful crime, and this caused famine in Israel. What I am trying to show you by going through these different places is that there is plenty of law that King David could have looked back on. They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. Jesus Christ should be everyone's ultimate hero. I think he was very low. 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." & "Take heed that you be not deceived." There are so many things I have got to do.". The Bible does not provide us the details of this killing. 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. 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 [Merabsee margin of most Bibles] 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. Most, if not all, of those responsible were dead. And if He sinned, then He could not be our Savior. Why is it just now that you are waking up to this? After that, they had their problems at Ai, and figured out that Achan was responsible for that. There were big problems, and one of them was the consequences and effects of Saul and his bloodthirsty house. So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Saul was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for forty -two years over Israel. The Bible implicitly hints at something which caused a feud which was settled only by the blood of Sauls descendants. In their poverty and slavery the bowed but ever proud Gibeonites refused financial and other forms of compensation for the attempted genocide on their tribe. However, there was not. God extends blessings far farther into the future than He does the curses. If we think that we have it all figured out, I am sorry, we do not. 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 If the Gibeonites brought guile and deceit into the land; it was Saul who set the example for deep and devastating delusion. Instead of warfare and bloodshed, their weapons were guile and deceit. King David is mentioned by name as a hero of faith. They did not seek God in this matter. You had to go up quite a bit. It is his sin. He gives them exactly what they want, and look at what happens. It is for Saul. BATTLE AGAINST ENVY AND JEALOUSY David did all this, it seems, off the top of his head. It is after Absalom's rebellion. David was annonted by Sammuel Apr 10, 1035. For many today, this time period is ancient history. The "Great Debate" between Nixon and Kennedy had not occurred yet. He just simply rolled over. I do not know. ", The Gibeonites, we are told, were not necessarily a warlike people. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. ESV - This is what we have to learnunderstanding the distinction between guilt for sin, and the lingering effects of sin. Leviticus 26:3-4 If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them, then I will give you rain in its season, the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. Therefore David said to the Gibeonites, "What shall I do for you? Deuteronomy 7:1-2 When the LORD your God brings you into the land which you go to possess, and has cast out many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than you, and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. They were the five sons of Merab, Saul's daughter. WebMany centuries later (the period from the exodus of Israel to the reign of Saul is generally considered to be about 400 years), Saul came to the throne in Israel. 1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. The Israelites had promised not to So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. But, the others were Saul's grandsons. THE STORY OF THE GIBEONITES - by LeRoy Gardenier The Israelites had taken an oath concerning them, but in his zeal for Israel and Judah, Saul had sought to kill them.) As we get to about verse 32 in Hebrews 11, Paul says that he does not have time to get to all the other heroes of faith that the Bible gives us. God has torn the kingdom from you. I Samuel 14:52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. Saul committed a great crime against Gibeon and the Gibeonites. Up and down your family tree, sin does not go. He was endangering the whole army by being out there, an old man trying to fight like a young man. During the time of the judges, the Israelites had repeatedly turned away, leaving them corrupt and faithless. Why does the Bible say David spared Mephibosheth then offered him to the Gibeonites to be killed? Instead, they told a story that either ignored the truth completely or, at least, shaded the truth in such a way that it was full of guile and deceit. Saul tried to get back his throne from God by doing what he thought was right, what he thought was zealous for God, by getting rid of the foreignersincluding the Gibeonitesthat were among them. There is no want to those who fear Him. He was setting us an example of what we should be doing in a spiritual sense. He just let matters continue naturally and let it rub in for another six or seven months. He did not negotiate at all. We are not finished with that yet, because, who were the Gibeonites? So let seven of Sauls sons or grandsons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord.. 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. 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. God!before the Lordin Gibeah of Saul. If He said that you are out of here, you are out of here. How does this all connect with Ezekiel chapter 18? However, that is not the case. They were a group of Amorites. THE STORY OF JOSEPH - This is a bit unusual. Therefore, there was a different system of justice than what the Gentiles were used to. And the king said, "I will give them." God is warning here that sin has consequences. WebWhen Sauls agents came up, she pretended that David was ill and placed a household idol and a net of goats hair in his bed, as if her husband were still lying there (vv. And they sent them to Joshua at Gilgal. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. So, it is very likely that these men were murdered both as retribution and as sacrifices to some pagan god to spite the God of the Bible, and therefore, Israel. (Now the Gibeonites were not Israelites, but a remnant of the Amorites. 1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the LORD. Psalm 34:4-10 I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Because he may have been still depressed by Absalom's death. Nevertheless, he names a few of them. Exodus 21:23-25 But if any harm follows, then you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. And with what shall I make atonement, that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?" I haven't been keeping up on things. "We don't want any money, for sure not Saul's money. Something is wrong, David. Why wasn't I told about this?" These conflicting views on Saul would continue long past the biblical era and into modern times. WebThe Lord answered, Saul and his family of murderers are the reason for this shortage, because he killed the Gibeonites. 2 Samuel 21:1 American Standard Version (ASV) 1 And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David sought the face of Jehovah. Verse 1 did say that it was "Saul and his bloodthirsty house" who had massacred 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 provides the cities of refuge where he could go serve a type of prison sentenceif it was an accidental murderuntil the high priest died. All answers are REVIEWED and MODERATED. WebThe consequences of Israels covenant with the Gibeonites were not short-term. The Lord told them they had made a commitment to these people and they had to stand by it. However, the Gibeonites did. 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. 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 understood it. The "Man of Steel" is just too perfect, too smart, and too invincible. Psalm 34:17-18 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. Web2 Samuel 21:1 Context. (Mark 6:20). Where are they from? 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]. God is not bloodthirsty, but He had told them what to do. What do we do in a time of spiritual famine? He did not do a thing that a king or judge should do. There was no negotiation; there was no calling them on anything. It says that they were Saul's sons. Some interesting similarities to New Testament times occur to me: The fact that David made a covenant with Jonathan regarding Jonathans house (1 Sam 20:14-16), would take precedence over all other reasons not to give up Mephibosheth, I would suppose. Jonathan. Other people do not carry the guilt for that person's sin. 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." At most it was about ten miles awaynot very far at all. Time to retire!" His anger at the WebThe designation Nethinim is derived from the Hebrew verb natan ("to give over"), which can mean devoting someone to cultic service. Think of it as if it were today. 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. Their deceit, Israel's lack of vigilance and Saul's deep delusion caused God's people centuries of grief and embarrassment. We do not know how long before II Samuel 21 this incident happened. It is very evident from verse 4 that somebody offered money, either from the palace or from the family of Saul. 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. 1316). Should the explanation in Genesis on how God created plants before the sun affect the understanding of creation? Throughout the centuries, the original Gibeonites continued to exist as a people, although King Saul schemed to destroy them. The Gibeonites, howev However, this chapter drops a few hints about it. WebThe Gibeonite Deception - Now when all the kings west of the Jordan heard about these thingsthe kings in the hill country, in the western foothills, and along the entire coast of the Mediterranean Sea as far as Lebanon (the kings of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites) they came together to wage war against Joshua and If people grow up in a society and culture that does not have God at their beck and call, they do whatever they wantwhatever comes naturally. Spiritual virtues and qualities are largely unseen yet are more real and potent in lasting effects than the most formidable nuclear pile. And the king said, "I will give them.". Weba motive for Saul's attack on them. Does the devil have power to make us sick? & "Take heed that you be not deceived." This is very, very important for this vignette in King David's life. And, it certainly does not record that David took this to God for His solution to it. WebWe will attack Gibeon, because they have made peace with Joshua and the Israelites." Each generation had to live out its days as "hewers of wood and carriers of water". I do not know if that was the case, but he had just gone through Absalom's rebellion, and Sheba's rebellion, and maybe he allowed that to cross his mind too. How long was the average lifespan at the time? He was far from God during this time. So the famine continued for another half a year. ", God answered immediately, "It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house. We cannot let them linger around. He got a little weird, throwing spears at David (and Jonathan too, once). By this time, Moses had died and was buried. WebKing Saul later broke the treaty that Joshua had signed and attacked the Gibeonites. WebThe alliance with the Gibeonites lasted for centuries, until Saul - in his zeal (21, 2) - decided that the ancient covenant was no longer binding. But, he did not. 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. How many died in sicknesses? It would be the equivalent of an event somewhere between the Korean War and the Vietnam War. 2. They haven't been put in Kish's sepulcher yet. 2 Samuel 21:2 At this, David summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. God sees behind the scenes. 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. Evidently, that is what he did. And David sought the face of the Lord. 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? 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. 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." Another group, however, argues that as God's anointed king, But it does not say so here in so many words. Fifty years ago was 1957. Your threshing shall last till the time of vintage, and the vintage shall last till the time of sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. Ezekiel 18:19-20 indicates that guilt for sin is not transferable, but the consequences can often touch several generations. 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