2 Samuel 21:1-2

2 Samuel chapter 21 and verses 1 and 2 then there was a famine in the days of David 3 years year after year and David inquired of the Lord and the Lord answered it is for Saul for his bloody house because he slew the Ghibeonites the king called the Ghibeonites and said unto them, Now the Gibbeanites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites, and the children of Israel had sworn unto them, and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah. Wherefore David said unto the Gibianites, what shall I do, and where which shall I make atonement that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord? May God bless to us His sacred and holy word this evening. Many years ago, the Scottish pastor, Kenneth McRae, was puzzled over his congregation at Kilmur. It was in the mid-1920s, and two other congregations where McRae served seemed to show signs of revival, but not Kilmure. McCrae knew that revival comes only, of course, by the sovereign hand of God, but he also saw that there was an obstacle in the way of any type of spiritual renewal taking place at the church he was presently laboring in. And the reason was this. Over a hundred years before, one of their church leaders who thought he had prophetic gifts had prophesied and said that, that there would be no revival until first a bloody wave of persecution had come. And since there was no bloody wave of persecution in 1924, there couldn’t possibly be any revival that would take place. Something someone did a century ago was affecting the church at that particular time. And that is the situation in a way that we see here in second. 2 Samuel chapter 21 verses 1 to 14. Something Saul had done many years before was now causing some type of curse, if you would, to rest upon David’s kingdom. 2 Samuel concludes with two great judgments upon the nation. Here in Chapter 21, we have the judgment of the famine, and when we get to Chapter 24, we’ll have the judgment of the pestilence or the plague that falls upon the nation. In between these national judgments, we have a Psalm of Thanksgiving in Chapter 22. In Chapter 23, we have a prophetic vision of Christ and also a list of David’s mighty men. valuable light is shed on God’s government of the world in which you and I live from this particular passage tonight. Our focus will be on just the first two verses of this particular passage. There’s been some question about the time frame of this chapter when it took place. But I think the word then that begins chapter 21 indicates that this was after the rebellion had been subdued, after David had been restored to the kingdom, and the kingdom had been united together once again. We have these days of famine. Let me begin tonight by saying this. You as a believer see God’s hand in all the troubles of this world. We read here about a famine in the famine. the days of David. When we think about troubles in our world, people often have the wrong idea about their source, ultimate source. You could consider the troubles in our own country. We think about many times we have difficulties that come up. I read about 1977 in particular, the summer of 77, where the U.S. was rocked by a series of terrible tragedies. California was parched by a drought and also scorched by forest fires. Central Pennsylvania had been deluged with flooding, reminded some of the great flood of Johnstown flood of 1889. It buried a whole city in one night. New York City was terrified by the son of Sam murders, and then there was the great blackout, and we’re three. 2,000 stores were looted in a single night, and many people were asking, well, why do these things happen? And that’s what David is asking here. Why is this happening? Why is there a famine in the land? Now, in 1977, of course, they had their, you know, the scientist chimed in on the issue. Psychologists chimed in on the issue. Sociologist chimed in on the issue. We got everything. explanations from everything from planetary disturbances, the sun spots, to astronomical cycles, to psychological disorders, to civil or social justice for those that are oppressed, and that’s why some of these things were happening. And on and on we could go. But none of these people, and none of the people today have the insight that the wizards and the magicians, if you would, of Pharaoh’s court had 3,500 years ago, when the plagues came upon Egypt, when faced by these devastating plagues, you know, descending upon Egypt, they looked beyond all secondary causes and went to the primary source. They didn’t send a sample of the blood-red waters of the Nile to the scientists to check it out, see what was going on, if we could explain it scientifically. They didn’t, have the scientist examined the migration of frogs and locust to see what was going on and how come they were overwhelmed in Egypt by these two flags. They didn’t have any weather experts to provide answers for the hailstone and firestorm that came along. Pharaoh’s magicians looked for the ultimate answers, and they realized that had something to do with the God of Israel. And when they saw the plagues falling upon them, they came to this conclusion at one point in Chapter 8, this is the finger of God. God is doing this. Jehovah God has sent these plagues upon us. Now, if we fast forward to modern man today, we find that modern man, even so-called professing Christians today, do not understand this point. They cannot seem to grasp this issue. People refuse to equate trouble ultimately to God’s hand. But God tells us in His word in Amos chapter 3 and verse 6, shall there be evil, any calamity or trouble in the city, and the Lord hath not done it. Has not God sent it? Scripture teaches that God sends earthquakes and droughts, and famines and enemy invasions and floods and hurricanes. They’re all coming ultimately from the hand of God. Whatever evil or trouble comes into your life or my life, we look at it as if God has eternally decreed and purposed for this to occur in my life, or it wouldn’t have occurred. Even the most fearsome and vile crimes, when we look at the bloody and cruel, crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, when Peter talks about it on the day of Pentecost, when he addresses the issue and while he mentions the sin of the people with wicked hands, they crucified Christ, they only did what God had purposed to be done from all eternity. So we saw the ultimate causes. God sent Christ to God. You’re guilty, and you have a secondary issue involved in this, but ultimately God, is the one who brought it about. Now, obviously, if we study Scripture, we know there is a certain relationship between human behavior and trouble in God’s judgment. Tragedy doesn’t come haphazardly, is what I’m trying to say tonight. It is directed, it is controlled, and ultimately is sent by God himself. There’s an interplay, certainly between, human sin and God’s judgment. It will see that. One does not sin with impunity and get away with it. But this is the theological background when we get here to 2nd Samuel chapter 21. The famine we see has been sent by God as a punishment upon the nation. David’s response to the famine indicates that he believes that God is the ultimate cause. He seeks direction in that area, and he finds out the answer, and he realizes that there’s an angry God, and this is what needs to be addressed. And we’ll talk about the atonement and that Lord willing in a future time. If only modern Christians would be more like David. If only modern Christians would realize when troubles come, no matter what, they are, there’s the hand of God. It’s the finger of God that’s at work. We would have much more fear of the Lord God and a higher respect for him in our society if Christians would promote the true and living God as he’s revealed in Scripture. What you believe about God matters in your everyday life. And it’s dishonoring that many people have such low thoughts of God, or that God couldn’t possibly be in control of things so terrible as an earthquake. Or one of these other matters that we’ve talked about, famine, so forth. So you as a believer see God’s hand in all the troubles of this world. You as a believer may not always be aware of why God has sent trouble into your life. David here goes to the source. He wants to know why this problem exists. David inquired of the Lord, we read here in verse 1. He doesn’t lean upon his own understanding. He doesn’t try to figure out the cause of famine by his own skill and ability. Unlike the heathen kings of Babylon and Egypt, he doesn’t call for the sousayers and the magicians of the court or something of that nature. The astrologers to come in, maybe they can help us. He wisely inquires of the Lord whom he knows directs and controls the weather. Now most of the time, famine is due to drought because God has withheld the rain and then the crops don’t grow. But the scripture tells us in the book of Amos chapter 4 and verse 7, I have withheld the rain from you. I caused it to rain upon one city and caused it not to rain upon another city. peace was reigned upon and the peace were on it rained not withered. And so David here inquires of the Lord in the time of trouble. And he wants to know what the answer is. Why has this come upon me? He sets a good example for you and I when trouble comes into our life. We should be seeking from the Lord. Why has this come? The sender of trouble is the only one who can remove the trouble. And if it’s not his will to remove the trouble, he’s the only one that can enable you to endure it and triumph over it. And so this is the lesson we see when we have trouble is we should seek the Lord’s face. Now, we see that he did help David here. When David went to the Lord and sought for help, he received help from the Lord. And he was given an answer. we read Job in the book of Job this. Job asked, show me wherewith thou contend is with me. And that’s what the Christian can do in this time of difficulty. Now God shows mercy here in the midst of this dark providence because God is a good God and he reveals to David why the trouble has come upon the land. And because God reveals the reason why, there is hope for forgiveness, there is hope for a change of the situation. Our God is not cruel. Normally, he doesn’t keep you in a perpetual dither, confused about what is at the bottom of all. God reveals your guilt if you have sin, and guilt can be faced. Guilt can be atoned for, and people can be restored. In J.B. Pritchard’s book, ancient near Eastern text, there is a pathetic account of a man from the late Babylonian period. And this section was translator, called it a prayer to every God. The worship prayed to every God that he knew, and even those he didn’t know, he just prayed to them all. Some God or goddess has inflicted illness and suffering. upon him, but he doesn’t know which deity or why it has come upon him. He didn’t know what his offense was. Mankind, if he doesn’t have the scripture, is in total ignorance about God in his ways. And he has false ideas about God. The pagan gods, if you study their religions, there’s very noobulous, hopeless, cruel attitude in these gods. We don’t know much about, you know, why they get angry. They get angry on a whim for reasons that we wouldn’t consider perhaps terrible. But you’re left to the whims of these gods, and you really don’t know what’s going to stir stir up their anger. Our God is a different type of God. Our God gives us the Ten Commandments. He gives us His law. He says, this is what provokes me to anger. I want you to obey this as a rule of life, and if you do not, this provokes me in anger, and this brings my judgment upon you. So when the smile of God is withdrawn, we should suspect that something is wrong and try to address it. Now, it is true that God’s favor is not to be measured by materialistic blessings or by outward circumstances alone. Sometimes dark providences are brought into your life to expand your faith, to grow it, sometimes to develop graces in your life, to make you more reliant on the Lord. All these things could be a reason why these events occur. Nevertheless, it’s always best to inquires whether or not there is some sin that needs to be addressed in your life. And may it perhaps, this is the reason the problem has come. We as Christians believe that even when God brings trouble, It’s for a good purpose. It doesn’t bring all these catastrophic events and perhaps a devastating hurricane or something. It tears up your house and throws it and crashes it and takes away everything you have. He doesn’t do that without a good purpose. He’s not doing it without loving us as his people. And so there is mercy in God revealing you the reason. reason he contends with you. My third point tonight is this. You as a believer may be slow in seeking the reason for your trouble from the Lord. Now, it is true there was a famine, and there’s a famine for three years, it says, year after year, before David inquires of the Lord. At first, he doesn’t appear to believe there’s anything perhaps special about this. Maybe he thought it was just a one-time situation, but as the years piled up, he began to realize this is pretty serious. There’s something, you know, drastically wrong here. He doesn’t immediately think this is a divine judgment. But when it extends to the third year, which is pretty remarkable, he’s saying there’s got to be a special cause for this. Does not David act like we do it many times, you know, some trouble comes into our life and we’re not quick to go to the Lord. we’ll overcome it by our own abilities or our own skills or something of that nature. We don’t count it as significant or connect it with any lesson. It’s only when that little trial maybe grows into a larger one or things become more prolonged or extended that we all of a sudden begin to realize, hey, there’s got to be something pretty seriously wrong. I need to find out about what to do here. If we take small troubles more seriously, maybe they wouldn’t end up being as big as they become at times. Man’s tendency under God’s chastening is to ignore the source of them and not take it to heart. That’s man’s normal approach. If you read Isaiah chapter 1, he talks about the bruises and the sores on Israel from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet. you know, how many times I have to beat you for you before you recognize the problem. You know, I’ve chastened you sore and you still aren’t acknowledging the situation. You don’t realize why I’m doing this and you go on in your sinful ways. God would not have his people to be like that. We should be more like the horse that as soon as he feel the first lash of the whip, we’re ready to do what the driver come in. Kansas. Many years ago there was a young man aboard a sailing ship when a huge storm arose and tossed and rocked the ship and he thought the ship was going to sink. He was not used to such storms. He was in such a fearful state of mind. He didn’t know what did. He was totally useless. Everybody else was rushing around on board the ship, trying to do whatever they could, lighten the load or whatever they could to, you know, batting things down and tie stuff down and so forth, spared a ship. And he was just paralyzed by it. So he crept into a corner and knelt down to pray. Well, the captain of the ship came along and happened to see him kneeling in the corner praying, and he yelled at him and said, get up, you coward. Say your prayers in fine weather. In other words, get out there and help out. The young man got up saying to himself, I only hope there’s some fine weather in which I may say my prayers. When he finally landed and they survived, the storm, the words of the captain stayed in his mind. And he thought to himself, yeah, I ought to be praying in fine weather, so that I’m prepared when the storm comes up. You know, too many Christians are like the sailors on board the ship with Jonah. They try everything they can before they finally seek, you know, go to prayer and seek God’s face as a last resort. Why wait till you are in a state of desperation to seek the Lord? to start doing things before the storm comes and becomes so huge and violent, I think it would be better. Do it in the fine weather so that you’re ready when the storm comes. So as the first sign of trouble brewing inquire of the Lord, so you may be slow in seeking the reason for your trouble from the Lord. My fourth point is this. You as a believer will find some troubles are related to the sins of the past. We see that here in verses 1 and 2. When David inquires of the Lord, he finds out, it has to do with King Saul and his slaughter here of the Givianites. Now you might say to me, well, who are the Givianites? We have to go all the way back to the book of Joshua to find out about the Givianites. The Givionites were an Amarite people who lived in Cain. when Joshua went in to conquer the land. And after, remember, Jericho had fallen and they took it, and AI was taken also by the Israelites, that the Ghibionites thought, we’re going to get defeated too. So they came up with this crafty scheme in which they sent messengers to the Israelites, only they made it look like they had come from a great distance, from a far country. And they had been. you know, their wine sacks were old and dusty, and the bread was, you know, sort of moldy, crumbled and dried up and so forth. They made it look like they had come a long distance, and they secured a peace treaty with the Israelites, some type of covenant bond of friendship with the Israelites. And then a few days later, the Israelites find out, these Kimi and I, they’re right over here. They’re our neighbors. They’re next on the list to be conquered here. Now, when Israel discovered that they were pretty upset with the leadership, and they thought we should go and conquer them anyhow, but the leadership told the common people that, no, we swore to them, that we wouldn’t harm them, and so we can’t. We swore in the name of the Lord that we wouldn’t do it. And so they made them servants, and they cut their wood or draw their water, as the scripture indicates to us, but they didn’t destroy them. So the Israelites made the Ghibeianites their servants, and they remained among the people of God for generations as a peaceful and useful people, even the Eamaya. After the return, we find there’s Gibbeanites also involved in serving then. In verse 2, we read then about King Saul’s misplaced zeal. This is an ancient covenant, which Saul violates by slaughtering the Givianites. He showed an utterly utter disregard for the peace treaty or this covenant that was made with these people and sworn in the name of God, which guaranteed their security. Now, when you think about Saul here, and it says he was zealous for the people of God, and so he’s destroying these Canaanites, this is the same guy who God directly commanded to get rid of all the amlicites that killed them off and he didn’t do it. Here are people that are protected by an oath and a sworn, and a covenant that was made, and he kills them off. And so here he provokes the Lord to anger. His zeal in this matter is totally misplaced, and he creates this trouble for Israel. Now notice, he creates trouble for David, even when he’s not alive any longer. He did this years before, but it’s only now that it’s coming to light, and it’s being addressed. The lesson we have here certainly is that political leaders discarding previously negotiated treaties with other nations when it suits them is not a good. good idea. It’s not right. It’s very possible that a covetous reason lay behind Saul’s actions here. We remember when his popularity was declining, he promised fields and lands to people if they would just, you know, help him get rid of David when David was on the run. We don’t know exactly if perhaps this had something to do with it. Maybe he thought, well, if I can take their land and I can give it to the Israelites. that were helping me out. I don’t know. We don’t know the details of all this. But certainly if that was the reason, it just compounds the guilt of King Saul in this action. Scripture does not actually record Saul’s Slaughter of the Givianites. We didn’t read it earlier in the book, but it comes to light now at this point. But it’s clear it was a significant event. It had major ramifications for the nation. So we see as misplaces yield. Now, we learn something here about the sins of your past. The passage of time does not lessen or remove the guilt of sin. God never overlooks sin. He doesn’t forget when sin has occurred. That’s a popular myth to think, well, God has forgot. man often looks at it that way when he gets away with sin for a period of time. He thinks, you know, God’s not paying attention. He’s forgotten. He’s like a human being. He forgets. He doesn’t remember things. You may forget your past sins. People may have forgot all about what happened when Saul was king and how he slaughtered the Gimianites, but God has not forgotten. And he’s always concerned to vindicate a violated holy law that he sees. No injustice slips past him. What we see here that God sometimes waits until it’s the best time, the best occasion to bring judgment. And our text is a case in point. You know, with God, there’s no statute of limitations. In our laws, sometimes if you survive long enough about getting caught, the statute of limitations, runs out and they can’t hold you accountable. God doesn’t work and operate on that principle. Remember, Joseph’s brothers cruelly mistreated him, sold him into slavery to get rid of him. And the Bible tells us that they heartlessly ignored all his cries and all his tears when he was in the pit, pleading for his life. They lied to cover up their sin. They had made it appear that a wild beast had killed Joseph. They deceived their father. In years past, ass. And it seems like they’ve gotten away with it. God does not extract immediate retribution. Eventually, a famine arises, and Joseph’s brothers have to go down to Egypt to find food because it seems like the only place there is food available. And they’re treated harshly by the Egyptian ruler in charge of the grain distribution. Unknown to them, it’s Joseph. And they are called spies. And remember, they’re imprisoned. and while Simeon is kept in prison, the other nine have to go back home, and then next time they come, they have to bring Benjamin to prove that they’re not spies, because they said that they were 12 brothers. Notice what the brothers are thinking. They’re going home. One of their brothers is in prison, Simeon. They have some sacks of grain, but they know they can’t come back without bringing Benjamin and their father’s not going to like that at all, because he’s the favorite son. and I want you to look with me at Genesis chapter 42 versus 21 and 22. Notice what they’re thinking about here. Genesis 42 versus 21 and 22. And they said one to another, we are very guilty concerning our brother. And with that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us and we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us. And Rubin answered saying, Spake I not unto you saying, do not sin against the child? and you would not hear. Therefore, behold, also his blood is required. What did they think? God is punishing us for what we did to Joseph. That’s what’s happening. All those years before and now this is happening to us because of that. They’re thinking back on what they had done. The lesson is this. Divine punishment may be delayed, but it’s always certain to come. Be sure your sin will find you out, is the teaching of school. scripture. My fifth point is this. You as a believer can expect troubles when you do not honor covenant promises. We see here the promise that was made to the Givianites was not honored. A covenant is a bond of friendship. They had a bond of friendship and it was violated. Now the most common example of a covenant relationship is the marriage relationship that we have. in our day today. The Lord hath been witnessed between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously, yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy covenant, Malachi 214. You have a covenant relationship with your wife? Covenant promises are binding and breaking them as a serious matter. He might say to me, well, yeah, but that was, you know, 15 years ago, 20 years, 30 years ago I made that covenant. Yes. God counts it as still valid. And he’s still holding us accountable for those covenant vows and promises that we made. Saul did not make the covenant with the Gibianites. Joshua did, but God held Saul and Israel accountable when they violated it. Troubles which come, without reason may be traced to something that we did long ago and vows perhaps that we violated. You may forget, God doesn’t. Remember of Ecclesiastity says, when you make a vow before God, you know, be careful what you say, because he’s going to hold us accountable. God says this about the righteous man. He swear it to his own hurt, and he changes not. When a Christian makes a vow, he’s very careful, even if it goes against his best interest, He tries to fulfill the vow that he’s made, because he made an oath before God. Even when the performance that I’d oath seems detrimental to his interest, he does it anyhow. So you as a believer can expect troubles when you don’t honor covenant promises. Well, that Scottish pastor, Kenneth McRae, had to deal with a congregation, didn’t believe that some type of revival was possible because a prophecy by a leader in the church 100 years before. It’s hard to believe that something that was done 100 years before could still affect that church in that day, but it did. And here we find something that was done in the past, years ago, had repercussions on the Israelites. What it’s done in the past may have repercussions on our lives, especially when we sin. Covenant violations contain serious consequences, care. must be taken in this regard. Let us close with a word of prayer.