Seriously!

2 Samuel 21:1

“During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the Lord. The Lord said, it is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.”

Young kids are the most forgiving and forgetful people. Not willfully of course. They just don’t have the concept of grudges or self-pity or bitterness, yet. Give them a hard spank, a loud shout, a time alone in the corner, a push there, a pull here, and yes,  give them a few minutes cry and a cold drink maybe, and they’ll be back in  your arms, puffed eyes and all. A debrief seems futile and frustrating to parents for it’s more like talking to a wall. Same thing happens if you give them instructions. It’s why some call their mothers tape recorders (ohh, there goes my age, haha!). Give those tots five minutes to keep their toys and guess what? You will have to repeat your instructions when you get back. You wonder if they’re deaf, or really busy (at age 5?), or just heartless. I have to confess my moods sometimes dictate the next strip. But most parents wouldn’t bend, especially discerning some power challenge. If it will take a full hour for our kids to comply, we’ll be there to make sure they do. They need to see we’re serious in this parenting business.

The Israelites are known to forgetful people. Forty years in the desert is suffice to prove that point. They have challenged God here and there, but His rule is immoveable. Scrutinize it on every side and it’s unquestionably righteous. His will reflects His perfect character and so He cannot by all means bend it for our pleading. We cannot plead and cry for mercy when justice awaits outside our doors. Yes, He will continue to love the sinner, but the sin has to be dealt with. It took a wondrous cross to bridge that gap. Praise God! In this chapter we see how Israel suffered three years of famine because of the injustice done to the Gibeonites. It was way back during the time of Joshua that Israel’s leaders made an oath to spare their lives in exchange for their service as woodcutters and water carriers.  But in the time of Saul, for some reason, he put them to death. (This king did a lot of unreasonable killings - - like how he emptied that whole town of priests! :<) David may have never heard their case before, or he could have but thought less for it was not his doing. But justice has to be served. The Gibeonites themselves took it aside, kept their hurts inside, and maybe just gave it all to God. But quiet, long years doesn’t mean God kept a box of unsolved cases on file. It was always on His hand. It was best scheduled for this time.

It took David three years to notice God was behind the famine. How could he miss that? How could we care less and not mind all the circumstances around us? Do we really think life’s events are randomly given, or without purpose and not to be taken seriously? How about the commitments we uttered years ago, the marriage vow especially -- do we really think we can just undo it and pray for God to understand?  Did our parents dedicate us for something, or maybe our past leaders gave an oath of promise in behalf of the land? Ignorance is never an excuse. God is faithful in giving us answers the moment we seek. There is wisdom why God allowed history to be written down. It will do us well to start a recall of our past promises and be responsible for it. It did hurt Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, to see his sons exposed on the hill to appease God’s justice. But she willingly submitted.  It did hurt God to forsake His only Son as penalty for our sins. But He gave Him up so willingly. God takes His rule seriously. It’s high time we do.