Day 72: 2 Samuel 21:1–9

He asked the Gibeonites, “What should I do for you? How can I wipe out this guilt so that you will bring a blessing on the Lord’s inheritance?” (v. 3).

A sobering realization falls on us from our next passage. Many years later, the people of Israel were still suffering the ill effects of a king who was rebellious to God. I once heard a preacher say, “Never forget, God can outwait you. Time is always on His side.” That preacher could have been thinking of what happened next in Israel.

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” (2 Sam. 21:1).

God was making an important point. He was holding the nation of Israel to an old vow made with the Gibeonites generations prior to David’s reign. I think you will find the circumstances of the vow very interesting.

The story appears in Joshua 9. When the Israelites entered Canaan, the Lord sent a great fear of them upon the peoples. Most of the people groups in Palestine joined forces to fight the Israelites, but the people of Gibeon chose a wiser and sneakier course of action. They dressed as if they had come from a distant country to make a treaty with Israel. The elders of Israel did not inquire of the Lord and so were fooled. They made a promise never to destroy the Gibeonites.

Fast forward three hundred years. During his forty-two years as king, Saul sought to destroy the Gibeonites, but God has a long memory—much longer than a few hundred years.

God meant for His people to be good for their word. He still does. Surely one reason He expects His people to be good for their word is so that observers will come to believe He is good for His. Israel had to keep her agreement with the Gibeonites even though they should never have entered the agreement. Saul broke the agreement with the probable aid of his sons and tried to annihilate a people innocent of their father’s sins. Ironically, Saul’s sons were brought to account for their father’s sins.

God considers vows extremely important. Ecclesiastes 5:5–6 says, “It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, ‘My vow was a mistake.’ ” Countless men and women have broken marriage vows by claiming their marriage was a mistake. Maybe they were like the Israelites who did not inquire of the Lord and were sorry later, but a vow is still a very serious thing. Others have vowed to honor their mates, but although they still live under the same roof, honor moved out long ago. Still others have decided they prefer richer over poorer. We don’t live in a society that supports the seriousness of long-term vows, but we live under the heavenly authority who does.

Many young people have taken vows of purity to God through a wonderful program called True Love Waits. I spoke at a youth camp one summer in which several high schoolers came to me individually grieving their broken vows. They asked my advice, and I didn’t have to think very long to answer based on what I understand about God and His Word.

I explained to them that I have also made promises to God along the way that I have not kept. Rather than continue in disobedience, God desires two responses to broken vows: repent and recommit! Several vows I made to God as a teenager I broke within the first couple of years; but after recommitment, most of those have been kept for decades through the grace of God.

Oh yes, I wish I had kept every vow just as I had promised from the very beginning; but I am so thankful to have had the opportunity by God’s grace to recommit my life and try again successfully.

The Gibeonites made what seemed a horrible request. The very horror of it should remind us how very seriously God takes vows. They wanted pure blood revenge—seven of Saul’s male descendants to kill and to expose their bodies to the elements.

I’m sure your stomach turns over as mine does, but again, a vow is a serious matter. The Israelites recommitted themselves to the vow they made with the Gibeonites by satisfying their demands.

Christ has led us to a new form of warfare far more effective than guns and tanks. We have weapons of grace, mercy, love, and the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. Anybody out there need your forgiveness? Your acceptance? Your release? It’s time for some old battles to end. Just like the Israelites, we will suffer in ways that seem totally unrelated when we allow matters to continue unsettled and outside the will of God. Rebellion inevitably leads to famine in our relationship to God. A new beginning is as close as the fresh smell of rain.