Why was there a three-year famine in David’s days?

The famine lasted three years because God was dealing with a hidden sin in Israel’s past. Saul had tried to wipe out the Gibeonites, even though Israel had made a sworn agreement to protect them long before. That broken oath and the bloodshed brought God’s judgment on the land. When David finally asked the Lord about it, God showed him that the famine was “for Saul, and for his bloody house.” The famine was not random; it was discipline meant to expose the injustice and lead to repentance and restitution.

Who were the Gibeonites, and why did Saul’s sin against them matter so much?

The Gibeonites were a group from the remnant of the Amorites who had once tricked Israel into making a peace agreement with them. Even though the treaty came through deceit, Israel swore by the Lord to let them live and protect them. Saul later tried to kill them off in his zeal for Israel and Judah, which broke that sworn promise and shed innocent blood. God took this very seriously. Their mistreatment meant Israel had broken a covenant made in God’s name, so justice had to be done before the land could be blessed again.

Why did the Gibeonites ask for seven of Saul’s sons to be handed over?

The Gibeonites said they did not want silver, gold, or more Israelites killed for them. Instead, they asked that seven of Saul’s male descendants be given to them to be hanged “unto the Lord” in Saul’s hometown. In their view, justice had to come from Saul’s own house, since he was the one who had ordered their destruction. This matched the idea that bloodshed calls for a serious response and that a wrongdoer’s family could share in the consequences of his acts. It was a hard request, but David agreed in order to deal with the guilt on the land.

Why did David spare Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, when others were given up?

David spared Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son, because of an oath he had made earlier with Jonathan. The two had promised kindness and faithfulness to each other and to each other’s families in the Lord’s name. So while David agreed that justice had to be done toward Saul’s house, he would not break another sworn promise to do it. Instead, he chose other descendants of Saul. This shows that David tried to honor both justice and mercy, and that he took his own promises before God very seriously, even in a painful situation.

What is the significance of Rizpah’s long mourning over the bodies?

Rizpah, one of Saul’s concubines and the mother of two of the executed men, spread sackcloth on a rock and stayed there from the beginning of harvest until rain finally fell. She kept birds and wild animals from the bodies day and night. Her vigil shows deep grief and a desire to honor her sons even in death. When David heard what she had done, he was moved to gather the bones of Saul, Jonathan, and the seven who were hanged and bury them properly. Her sorrow helped bring about dignity for the dead and came right before God lifted the famine.

What does it mean that the seven were hanged “before the LORD”?

The phrase “before the LORD” shows that this was not just personal revenge, but a public act carried out with God’s justice in view. The Gibeonites said they would hang the men “unto the LORD” in Saul’s town, and David allowed it. In that time, such a public execution signaled that the community was dealing with serious guilt. It does not mean God took pleasure in their death, but that their punishment acknowledged his holiness, the broken oath, and the spilled blood. Afterward, God was “intreated for the land” and the famine ended.

Why does this passage talk about the burial of Saul, Jonathan, and the others?

After hearing of Rizpah’s vigil, David took action. He retrieved the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabesh-gilead, where they had been kept since the Philistines killed them, and gathered the bones of those who had been hanged by the Gibeonites. He then buried them all together in the family tomb of Saul’s father, Kish, in Benjamin. This careful burial shows respect for the dead, even those under judgment. It also seems to complete the process of dealing with Saul’s troubled legacy. Only after this respectful act does the text say God answered prayer for the land.

What does this passage teach about God’s justice and mercy?

This passage shows that God does not ignore broken promises or innocent blood. The famine reveals that he remembers old wrongs, even when people have forgotten them, and will bring them to light. At the same time, God also responds when sin is faced honestly and wrongs are addressed. David seeks God, talks with the Gibeonites, acts to make atonement, and later honors the dead. When justice and respect are shown, God is “intreated for the land.” So we see both his firm justice against sin and his mercy in restoring blessing after repentance and restitution.

Why are the stories of the giants and Philistine battles included at the end?

After the famine and atonement story, the passage shifts to several short accounts of battles with the Philistines. In these fights, David grows weak, and his men step in to protect him and kill powerful warriors, including descendants of the giant from Gath, related to Goliath. These stories remind readers that God’s people still faced outside enemies even while dealing with their own past sins. They also show that God continued to give victory, not just through David, but through the brave warriors who served with him, as they guarded “the light of Israel.”

2Sam.21.1

2 Samuel 21:1

KJV GOD

Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

David Avenges the Gibeonites

1 Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David enquired of the Lord. And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.

2 And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites 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.)

3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

4 And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.

5 And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

6 Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the Lord’S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.

8 But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:

9 And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the Lord: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.

10 ¶ And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

12 ¶ And David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh-gilead, which had stolen them from the street of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul in Gilboa:

13 And he brought up from thence the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them that were hanged.

14 And the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son buried they in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the sepulchre of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was intreated for the land.

Four Battles against the Philistines

15 ¶ Moreover the Philistines had yet war again with Israel; and David went down, and his servants with him, and fought against the Philistines: and David waxed faint.

16 And Ishbi-benob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.

17 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah succoured him, and smote the Philistine, and killed him. Then the men of David sware unto him, saying, Thou shalt go no more out with us to battle, that thou quench not the light of Israel.

18 And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant.

19 And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, a Beth-lehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

20 And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant.

21 And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him.

22 These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.