The Famine
21:1-2
Israel suffered under a famine for three years. Famines were usually associated with droughts (periods of no rain).
This story may not be in chronological order. The time reference is vague: “in the time of David”. Given what David does here with regard to Mephibosheth, the events may have occurred shortly after the events of chapter 9.
In the third year of the famine, David sought the Lord. He asked the cause of the famine. Drought and famine were some of the curses for disobedience. (Leviticus 26:19-20)
The Lord answered him: there is bloodguilt on the house of Saul because he killed a number of Gibeonites.
Gibeon was an area about six miles northwest of Jerusalem in the hill country. When the Israelites invaded Canaan under the leadership of Joshua, it was a Canaanite city. The Israelites had been instructed to defeat and destroy the cities of the Canaanites. They had already done that to Jericho and Ai.
The people of Gibeon did not believe they could win a battle against Israel. So, they resorted to deceit. You can read about this in Joshua 9. They met the Israelis and convinced them they were people from a distant country.
They convinced Israel to make a covenant with them to spare them. Israel’s swore by the Lord to let them live. Swearing by the Lord’s name invites him to impose consequences for breaching the covenant.
That covenant did not expire with the passage of time. “…even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.” (Galatians 3:15)
The area of Gibeon was allotted to the tribe of Benjamin. Saul was a member of that tribe. Despite the covenant, Saul attacked and killed many of the Gibeonites, wanting to purge them from the area. Since this killing was unjustified, due to the covenant, Saul and his family had “blood guilt”.
David Seeks Atonement For Israel
21:3-9
David engaged the Gibeonites, asking what it would take to make this right, to relieve the blood guilt. They Gibeonites wanted seven sons of Saul to be given to them to be hanged at Saul’s home town, and capitol, of Gibeah. The number seven was probably a symbol for all of the tribe of Benjamin, or even Israel, as the perfect retribution for blood guilt. David agreed to do this.
David did spare Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, because of the oath he swore to Jonathan. Notice the contrast: Saul is the covenant breaker; David is the covenant keeper.
David delivered seven other descendants’s of Saul to the Gibeonites, who hanged them. It is likely they hanged them as an act of symbolism, because a man who was hanged was cursed by God. These descendants bore the curse incurred by Saul.
Deuteronomy 21:22-23 says:
“And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance.”
This is similar to Paul’s reasoning for the crucifixion. In Galatians 3:13, he wrote:
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, ‘cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree…”
David Buries The Dead
21:10-14
Rizpah, the mother of two of the hanged men, went to mourn at the tree. She also protected the bodies from carrion birds. The bodies of the hanged men had been left unburied, probably to show they were executed as an act of judgment.
When David heard about this, he went and gathered the bodies of the hanged men, along with the remains of Saul and Jonathan, and had them buried in the tomb of Fish, Saul’s father.
Once this was all accomplished, God relented from punishing Israel, ended the famine and brought rain. (14)
David And The Philistines
21:15-17
David, now older, went out again to fight the Philistines. He was attacked by one of the giant men. David got tired as he fought, making him vulnerable to being killed. Fortunately, Abishai, who had always be loyal to and protective of David, came to his rescue and killed the Philistine. After this, David’s men did not want him to go into battle and risk being killed.
More Battles With Philistine Giants
21:18-22
Israel continued to have battles with the Philistines. Several really large men fought Israel. Yet, the Israelites were able to overcome this and kill the giants. Even one of David’s nephews killed a giant. God continued to raise up men to protect his people and preserve the kingdom.
Takeaways
So, we see that God continued to keep his covenant with Israel.
And that tells us God will keep his covenant with us, those who believe in his Son, giving us eternal life.
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