2 Samuel 21:1-4

Sept. 27 - 2 Samuel 21:1-4


21 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord. The Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.) David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put anyone to death in Israel.” He said, “What do you say that I should do for you?”


Sept. 30 is the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. This week we will look at Biblical passages that help us explore the Truth and Reconciliation in our time.     

This story is a warning to all that the breaking of treaties is displeasing to God. The promises we make are to be kept, even if the promises become inconvenient, difficult, or expensive to keep. (In this case the price paid for breaking the treaty was extremely high. See 2 Samuel 21:5-14.) 

The backstory: When the people of Israel crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, they mistakenly entered into a treaty with the people of Gibeon (the Gibeonites). In the treaty the people of Israel promised to preserve and not harm the Gibeonites. (Joshua 9)

Many years later, King Saul, trying to prove how faithful he was to God’s desire for the nation of Israel to be pure, broke the treaty, broke the promise, and had his army attack the Gibeonites, killing many. And in today’s reading, describing events many years after Saul’s violation of the treaty, God reminds the people of Israel and David that treaties are to be adhered to, promises are to be kept. The famine had a cause, the land was crying out against the violation of the treaty. God remembered the violation and the nation of Israel suffered.

Notice in vs. 3 and in vs. 4 David asks what the Gibeonites believe justice would be. David recognizes that a sin has been committed and the party that has been wronged will name the price of justice. Further, the goal is not merely justice, it is reconciliation – for David’s hope is that the Gibeonites, despite the pain they have endured, will be able to “bless the heritage of the Lord?” That the Gibeonites will come to place where they can bless Israel as a nation. 

When we break promises, when we violate treaties, we are invited to imitate the humility of David, asking “What do you say that I/we should do for you?” 

PRAYER:

God of mercy and grace, you have called us to live in truth and reconciled with those around us. We confess that we have broken the treaties and failed in our promises. Give us the courage to keep treaty even when it costs, and the commitment to seeking healed relationships with those we have broken faith with in failing to live up to the treaties. In Jesus’ name. Amen.