2 Samuel 21

2 Samuel 21

Even though the wars with both Absalom and Sheba were over, there were still problems in the land of Israel. A three year famine had come over the land, and the people cried out to God for relief. David himself went to God and questioned why they had not been spared of the famine. God explained that there was still some strife in the land. From the days of Saul, there had been problems between Israel and Gibeon, and if you recall, there were problems when Joab traveled through that land in 2 Samuel 20 on his way to find Sheba. What had happened was that Saul had desired to kill the Gibeonites back during his reign when the nation had already decided to spare the Gibeonites. From that point forward there were hurt feelings between the two nations, and God wanted that conflict to end.


So David went to Gibeon to see what could be done, seeking a resolution. Through much talk he discovered that were really no problems between the two nations themselves. The only problem that still existed was between the people of Gibeon and the family of Saul. There were still hurt feelings from what Saul had done them several years before. So they asked that David bring them 7 of Saul’s sons so that they might be killed in order to restore the relationship between Israel and Gibeon.

David did as they requested, and he gathered together 7 direct descendants of Saul. One man that was spared from this number was Mephilbosheth, Jonathan’s son. He was the one that David had taken in from the very beginning, promising to look out for and protect him as long as he reigned over Israel. Although he was a direct descendant of Saul, and although many would have viewed him as the enemy, David vowed to protect him and provide for him. Even when Mephilbosheth had sought to take the throne away from David during David’s absence, David sought reconciliation and their relationship had been restored. So David did not even consider adding Mephilbosheth to the number of men who would be handed over to the Gibeonites. After the 7 men were taken to Gibeon and killed, the two nations were able to find common ground again. Israel took Gibeon in as one of their own and all was well in the land again. The famine eventually came to an end.

An almost forgotten enemy of Israel, the Philistines, were rarely mentioned in the book of 2 Samuel (especially recently). Earlier in David’s life, he had had many battles with the Philistines, and God had given him great victories in those battles (such as Goliath). But near the end of his life, the threat of the Philistines returned, and 4 great men, descended from the giants (like Goliath) began to attack Israel. On 4 separate occasions, David and his men went out to battle against the Philistines, but in the first battle, David almost lost his life. His age was finally catching up with him, and some of his servants realized that he could no longer physically go to battle. From that point forward they fought the battles for David and put an end to the threat of the Philistines. So just like the early days of David’s reign, God was giving him the victories. God was still in control, and He still protected Israel. There had been many hard times, and mistakes had been made along the way. But the nation had returned to God, and God continued to bless Israel.

Matt