by Aleta McDowell
Rizpah was the concubine of King Saul which was the troubled mentor of David. Rizpah was loved by King Saul and bore him at least two sons, Armoni and Mephibosheth.
Saul had become conspicuous for his pride and self-will, he broke an oath that had been made with the Gibeonites by Joshua. Although the idolatrous Gibeonites had deceived Joshua, the treaty with them had been made, and an oath not to destroy them by the sword was seated in the Lord’s name. When Saul came to power he set about the obliteration of Israel’s enemies, and treating the Gibeonites as a heathen settlement in a holy land, he endeavored to annihilate them. As soon as Saul met his death on Mount Gilboa, the Gibeonites sought for retribution for the profanation of the oath given by Joshua.
A severe famine lasting three years overtook the land of Israel, and David was divinely informed the famine was in consequence of Saul’s slaughter of the oath to protect the Gibeonites. They demanded by way of compensation that the seven sons of Saul should be hung up before the Lord in expiation for what had been done there. It thus came about that innocent children had to bear heavy punishment for the sin of their father.
Rizpah's two sons were among the seven. They were cruelly slaughtered, not to appease divine wrath, but to satisfy a human thirst for vengeance. What a ghastly scene that had been during the barley harvest with those seven blood covered bodies hanging on the respective trees, and Rizpah protecting them from the vultures waiting to gorge themselves on the corpses. Through the days and weeks she watched those broken bodies gradually blacken, decay, and wither, and never relaxed her virgil. She had no power to prevent the gruesome murder of her two sons, but none could stray her from the act of mercy in caring for their mangled bodies on the gallows-tree. Leaving those bodies to hang unburied testified to the vengeance being made of man and not of God, for the law demanded that anyone hanged on a tree must be buried before sunset of the same day.
Rizpah was a woman that feared God. This woman lost her husband, her sons, she lost everything and to watch her sons be murdered and hang on a tree for over four months in agony, pain, and humiliation and yet she was still determined to stand and stay there until her sons were buried.
I have two questions: At what lengths will you go to make sure the right thing is done? Will you persevere or will you give up when it gets to hard? We have to have the same determination, same courage, and the same devotion in this walk with Christ. We have to stand as saints of God and say to the enemy you are a liar, I won’t give up, I will be strong and say “No Weapon that is formed against me shall prosper!”
Bible Reference: 2 Samuel 21: 7-14
About the writer: Missionary Aleta McDowell is thankful to God that he had allowed her to be ordained in March 2012. The Lord has charged her to spread the gospel, and she is to also encourage, teach, motivate, mentor, and help His people be set free.
© 2016 by Aleta McDowell. All Rights Reserved.
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