Second Samuel 21:1

The Bible says in Second Samuel 21:1-6, “Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.[2] And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)[3] Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?[4] And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.[5] And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,[6] Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.” In verse one we notice once again that David goes to the Lord for wisdom and understanding. Something bad has happened in the nation, and the leader of the nation prays to God about it. That would be a good thing for every nation. The reason that famine happened in the land was because there was innocent blood that had been shed. God watches everything that happens on the earth. God is holy and He is the Judge. That is why there are negative consequences to evil deeds. The way to fix the trouble in the nation was to become aligned with God’s judgment. There must be justice brought to the wrongdoers. David went to the Gibeonites and asked them what could be done to repair the damage that they had suffered. They said that they did not want money or material gain. They just wanted justice. That is what anyone wants who has been the victim of a crime. Based upon their concept of justice, this is what they requested: “Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.”

The Bible says in Second Samuel 21:7-14, “But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD's oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.[8] But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:[9] And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and 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.[10] And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.[11] And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.[12] And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:[13] And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.[14] And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.” In verse seven we are reminded once again of what kind of a person David was. He kept his word. No man is any better than his word. God keeps His promises, and so should people. David was also merciful. David could have punished Mephibosheth along with the others, but David had mercy on him.

Of the seven sons of Saul who were executed, notice verse eight says that David took “the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul.” Of course, Michal was David’s first wife. She turned against David and against the Lord. She probably taught her sons to hate David and he probably knew that they would always be a threat to David and to the next king. David was able to make the tough decisions too. Even though David was merciful and compassionate, he was not weak. He gave people the death penalty if he thought they deserved it based upon the cultural principles in effect at that time. Those were violent times in the Old Testament period. David’s own life was constantly at risk. He fought fire with fire as the king of a nation in those days. Notice in verses thirteen and fourteen that David made sure that Saul and Jonathan and the others were all given a proper burial.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 21:15-22, “Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.[16] And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.[17] But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.[18] And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.[19] And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.[20] And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.[21] And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.[22] These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” Goliath was not the only giant. But God used David to set the example that a giant can still fall. No one is invincible. The Israelites learned that old saying, “the bigger they are, they harder they fall.” Be like David. Fight the battles of faith, and then some will see you and will follow. That is one of the values of Christian fellowship. You will benefit from your fellow Christians because of the gifts and strengths that they have, and because of seeing what Jesus is doing in their lives.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 22:1-7, “And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:[2] And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;[3] The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.[4] I will call on the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.[5] When the waves of death compassed me, the floods of ungodly men made me afraid;[6] The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;[7] In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.” The spiritual truths presented in these verses can be also found in some of the Psalms that David wrote such as Psalm 18. What motivated David to write these Psalms? Verse one tells us the answer: “the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul.” Notice that the Lord did not just deliver David from some of his enemies, but “all” of his enemies. David’s greatest enemy was Saul. Saul chased David and sought to kill David for years, but God protected David. Many of David’s enemies were flesh and blood, but that was symbolic for us. The enemies of Christians are not other people. We are told in Ephesians 6:12-13, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.[13] Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

David used every word that he could think of to describe what God has done for him and will continue to do for him: “rock,” “fortress,” “deliverer,” “shield,” “high tower,” “refuge,” and “savior.” In verse three David says, “in him will I trust.” Everyone trusts in something. Perhaps their own knowledge, perhaps other people, perhaps their money, perhaps a lawyer; but everyone trusts in someone or something. David trusted in the Lord. David said in verse four, “I will call on the LORD.” Of course, if you are trusting in Him, then you are praying to Him. When you pray, remember that God “is worthy to be praised.” Before you ask Him for anything, you might want to praise the Lord Jesus for all that He is and all that He will do for you. If you have faith in Who He is, you will be able to do that. David said at the end of verse four, “so shall I be saved from mine enemies.” David knew that prayer was the answer. If he prayed, everything would be fine. In verses five, six, and seven David mentioned some of the things that he was up against: “the waves of death,” “ungodly men,” “the sorrows of hell,” “the snares of death,” and “distress.” It does not matter how long the list is. Each of us has our own list in the life that God has given to us. Jesus can conquer them all. God has a solution for everything. Put your trust in Jesus. He has a plan. He knows what is best. He can do anything. Go to Him in prayer. That is key.

The Bible says in Second Samuel 22:8-17, “Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations of heaven moved and shook, because he was wroth.[9] There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.[10] He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under his feet.[11] And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: and he was seen upon the wings of the wind.[12] And he made darkness pavilions round about him, dark waters, and thick clouds of the skies.[13] Through the brightness before him were coals of fire kindled.[14] The LORD thundered from heaven, and the most High uttered his voice.[15] And he sent out arrows, and scattered them; lightning, and discomfited them.[16] And the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered, at the rebuking of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.[17] He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters;” These verses give a great description of amazing things happening on the earth: powerful things, wonderful things happening on earth. God Himself is doing these things. Notice the words used to describe God’s actions in the earth: earthquakes and even “the foundations of heaven moved and shook,” smoke, and fire, and coals, wind, darkness, thick clouds, brightness, thunder, arrows, lightning, and the channels of the sea being moved. Why was all this power manifested? The answer to that is found in the first word of verse eight: “then.” That word refers back to the previous verses where David was praying to the Lord for help. God loves His children. God answers prayer. All the power of God is available to every believer. One earnest prayer from you can change the world. All the power of Almighty God just might be unleashed because you prayed to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, or because you prayed directly to Jesus. What was the result of all this prayer and of all this power that was unleashed? David was delivered from one of his distresses. He said in verse seventeen, “He sent from above, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.” David’s prayer was answered.

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