This is not an easy story to read or apply. David’s prayerful response to a famine results in God directing him to an historic massacre conducted by his predecessor Saul, who pursued a policy of executing a number of Gibeonites, even though they were protected by an historic oath (Joshua 9). 

This injustice is avenged by the execution of seven of Saul’s sons, bringing the famine to an end. But within this bloodthirsty tale, we encounter the mother of two of the executed men sitting on the rock where they are displayed. The dead men are not given a proper burial, their bodies exposed to the elements. Rizpah sits and mourns until the rains come and the famine ends. 

There’s dignity here in the midst of revenge and loss; a mother whose only desire is to give her children a decent burial. For the sake of her loved ones, she faces down the bitterness of her enemies and guards their remains. There are times when circumstances render us speechless and all we can do is love and wait.

‘Eternal Ruler of … circling planets … guide of the nations … rule in our hearts, that we may ever be / guided and strengthened and upheld by thee.’¹

It is fascinating to see how issues recur throughout history! Here we have an account of how David handled a situation where a historical injustice to a disadvantaged population was identified. There has been much discussion in recent years about whether and what kind of reparation should be made to those who have clearly been mistreated by previous regimes, often through colonialist activity, slave trading or different forms of racism. In this instance God makes it clear that current Israel is suffering because of a promise made in the distant past² and broken in the nearer past (v 2). It seems that God does see current regimes as responsible for keeping promises made by their predecessors and for making reparation to those mistreated by previous regimes. Apparently, responsibility cannot be avoided just because the current population was not directly involved in the actions. 

However, God left David to decide what the recompense should be and again the writer appears to be pointing out difficulties with the actions he took. First, the Law gave various instructions about compensation, but allowing victims to choose the punishment, as David did, is not part of this. Their choice was to kill seven of Saul’s descendants, which may have been convenient for David but went against the law that children should not be punished for their parents’ sin.³ Second, David himself had promised Saul that his descendants would not be killed.⁴ It is ironic that his method of absolving the nation from the guilt of breaking a promise was to break another promise! The story of Rizpah’s desperate grief at the death of her children seems to have been included to suggest that another solution should and could have been found. 

Can you think of another way Gibeon could have been compensated? What might this story teach us about dealing with historical injustice or abuse?

¹ JW Chadwick, ‘Eternal Ruler of the Ceaseless Round’, 1864  ² Josh 9  ³ Deut 24:16; cf Ezek 18  ⁴ 1 Sam 24:21,22