Broken 3

2 Samuel 21:4-7

The evil behavior of Saul has had far-reaching effects. Not only was Saul killed along with his sons, not only was his grandson made lame, but now further descendents must pay for his mistakes. Many people of the Gibeonites were put to death under Saul in spite of an agreement to spare them.

What do the Gibeonites concede? What do they request? What does David agree to? Who will he not hand over?

The customs and politics of ancient Israel may be very foreign to us. Willingly handing over people whom we may consider innocent to pay for the sins of their ancestors seems very barbaric and very wrong. But, removing those aspects of this particular passage allows us to see David remaining faithful to his pledge to Jonathan.

It has been a long time since Mephobisheth was summoned to David’s house. Many years have passed. Now an old debt is brought up, and Saul is to blame. God is even the one who says so.

Although seven descendents of Saul are required for the sacrifice, David refuses to hand over Mephibosheth. David remains true to his word and Mephibosheth remains safe. What a relief that must have been for Mephibosheth.

And what a relief that is to us. Like Mephibosheth, we have a master who will always remain true to His pledge. We have a master who will always hold on to us and will never let harm come to us.

The Lord has invited us, broken people, to come to His table and He will always watch over us as His guests. We need not fear or doubt that our relationship with God can be severed by anyone except ourselves.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How can you be reminded of God’s eternal faithfulness to you?