Begin Again: "Forgiveness - Pt 3" (2 Samuel 21:10-14)

10Then Rizpah, the mother of two of the men, spread sackcloth on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented vultures from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night. 11 When David learned what Rizpah, Saul's concubine, had done, 12 he went to the people of Jabesh-gilead and asked for the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. (When Saul and Jonathan had died in a battle with the Philistines, it was the people of Jabesh-gilead who had retrieved their bodies from the public square of the Philistine city of Beth-shan.) 13 So David brought the bones of Saul and Jonathan, as well as the bones of the men the Gibeonites had executed. 14 He buried them all in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land of Israel.  - 2 Samuel 21:10-14

Rizpah set up camp, next to the dead men, throughout the entire harvest season. She did nothing, for months, except ward off the predators that threatened to tear the carcasses of her two sons and five step-sons to shreds. It's interesting that Rizpah never confronted King David, or asked him for help. Perhaps she was so shocked by the suddenness of the losses that she did the only thing that she could think to do, to keep the situation from being any worst than it already was. Or, perhaps she refused to seek help from the king because she was infuriated by his decision? Scripture is silent about the rationale for Rizpah's actions.


Loss of any kind can send the best of us reeling beneath its weight. What do you do when something senseless and/or tragic happens in your life? Scripture tells us that, as children of God, we are not to grieve as others grieve. But, it can be so difficult to let go of an injustice that will affect us throughout our entire lives. At times, though we may not want to admit it to ourselves, or others, we may be angry with God for allowing such calamity to befall us.


There are times when the best thing that any one of us can do when the unthinkable happens: when the divorce papers are filed, when the job is lost, when the house is foreclosed on, when the doctors deliver their prognosis... is to grieve. But, whatever you do, don't allow bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, or negativity (of any kind) to paralyze you, because it will ultimately contaminate you. 


Tell the Lord exactly how you feel. Be truthful! If you're angry with Him for allowing the situation to happen, tell Him that too, He already knows it anyway. Then allow our Great God and King to heal your heart. Let Him do what you cannot do; let Him put the dead situation to rest, so that you may move forward in your Christian journey. 




For an Inductive Bible Study of Genesis 21:1-14), please visit the Bible Study for Busy People blog.
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