II Samuel 21:1-13
A Mother Of Example
A young preacher was preparing to preach his very first
sermon. Knowing that it was his first sermon, he wanted it to hit a home run and wanted to have a smashing introduction to set it off. He went to an older pastor, and asked him if he had a great introduction guaranteed to grab everyone’s attention.
The pastor did, and said, "Son, I have an illustration that works every single time. I have used it for years, and it is guaranteed to work. When you get into the pulpit, make this statement, ‘Some of the greatest days of my life I spent in the arms of another man’s wife.’ Then, wait a moment, and say, ‘My mother!’" He went on to say, "Remember, don’t forget to pause for a moment, and whatever you do, don’t forget to say, ‘My mother!’"
Finally, the Sunday came that the young man was to preach. He walked into the pulpit with two problems; one, he was scared to ; and, two, he had forgot to tell his wife what he was going to open his sermon with. So, the young preacher cleared his throat, confident of his smashing introduction and said, "Some of the greatest days of my life I spent in the arms of another man’s wife." He waited for a moment; but about that time, his wife, who was a hot-tempered lady, got up out of her seat and headed toward the pulpit.
Alarmed by the fact that his wife was walking toward the platform, he forgot the words he was told not to forget. So he said it again hoping this time he could remember the punch line. "Some of the greatest days of my life I have spent in the arms of another man’s wife." He paused and panic-stricken said, "And, for the life of me, I can’t remember who that woman was!"
Well, I trust that on Mother’s Day or any day, you have
no problem remembering and recognizing your mother.
In an article in the Detroit Free Press, Bob Greene cited a study on the monetary value of a mother’s services in the home. First, he listed the various duties she performs: chauffeur, gardener, family counselor, maintenance worker, cleaning woman, housekeeper, cook, errand runner, bookkeeper, budget manager, interior decorator, caterer, dietician, secretary, public relations person and hostess.
Using this impressive list of household duties, he figured the dollar value of a mother’s work in today’s (2007) labor market. He came up with an amount of $915.07 a week, or $47,583.64 a year. I’m sure that many of you mothers feel extremely underpaid.
Abraham Lincoln once said: "Behind every great man, is a great mother!"
A little boy who was once told by his mother that it was God who makes people good, replied, "Yes I know it is God, but mothers help a lot."
I want to preach about one of the great texts of a mother that is often forgotten in the Scripture. Most of us have never heard of her. We know of Mary, Elizabeth, Rachel, Rebekah, Hannah, Ruth, and Naomi; however, our text gives us another mother worthy of our examination.
Her name is Rizpah.
We find her II Samuel 21.
Famine had come to the land of Israel and David inquired of the Lord for the reason. The Lord revealed the actions of Saul toward the Gibeonites was the cause of the famine.
Israel had made a covenant with the Gibeonites years before but Saul breaks the covenant. As a result, God is displeased with Israel.
David approaches the Gibeonites to find out how he can make things right. The Gibeonites request that seven sons of Saul be hanged.
The seven men slain for Saul’s offence against the Gibeonites included the two sons of Rizpah, the concubine of Saul and the five sons of Merab, Saul’s eldest daughter.
In verse 10 we are confronted with one of the most affecting narratives in the Bible. It is the solitary vigil that Rizpah keeps as she watches with a mother’s love over the bodies of her two sons.
The of Rizpah’s two sons left her a childless widow, a terribly vulnerable position for some women in ancient times. Yet, rather than mourn for herself, she set out to guard the remains of her two sons.
Rizpah could do nothing to save them, but she was determined to do what little she could to save them from the ultimate disgrace - with no burial. Her actions won for her sons an honorable burial.
It was the law, of that day, that anyone put to , under these circumstances could not be buried. They had to hang there until the vultures picked them clean, or the beasts tore them down; HOWEVER, Rizpah was determined her sons were going to have an honorable burial.
There is a message here brighter than the gloom of this tragedy. The great theme underlying this story is the depth of a mother’s love.
She was not allowed to move the bodies of her sons, but she could keep the buzzards and jackals away.
She watched her sons under the scorching sun by day and watched her sons among the sounds of the night protecting them until they could have decent burial. These were not the actions of a demented maniac. They were the actions of a devoted mother. So let us look at this tragic story and find the precious truths that God has for us today.
I. A Mother Of Example Through Her PREFERENCE - v. 10
Rizpah loved her sons and her devotion to them is an example for us. She preferred them above the comforts of her home. Her children were a top priority to her.
She would rather die here before she would let some wild beast have the corpses of her sons. I think she was also demonstrating that she would make any personal sacrifice necessary in order to gain a burial place for her children.
Her love for her sons caused her to identify with the suffering and embarrassment of these boys. She did not shun them in their time of need. She was there by her sons. Her love caused her to stay with them during the months of their shame.
Though her boys were grown and , though their bodies were left hanging as a sign of contempt and condemnation, she still loved them. This is the way it is with love. When you love someone, distance is no barrier; time is no deterrent. Even cannot dampen the flame of love.
Many years ago, a survey was made of a town. At a certain door, the surveyor asked the woman who answered the door, if she had any children.
Suddenly, she began to say, "Well, there’s Willie, Horace, Orace, Grace, and Ethel." The surveyor interrupted and said, "Never mind names, I just want numbers." The mother replied, "They haven’t got numbers, every one of them has a name!" To this mother, her children weren’t known by a number, they were known by a name. So it was with Rizpah. Her two sons were more than just a number. They were important to her.
The latter part of verse 10 tells her activity during these months of agony. She kept the birds of prey and the wild beasts from devouring the bodies of her sons. It was the intent of the Gibeonites to have these sons of Saul ripped apart by the vultures and wild beasts.
Rizpah wanted a burial for her sons. She stood by doing her best to keep the vultures away. Why? Her love to her sons was so great.
Rizpah is an example because she was devoted to the
children. She saw her children as a blessing and not as a burden.
A. Some mothers favor comfort over children
Rizpah did not consider her comforts; she was devoted to her sons. She did not leave them. She was not self centered. She was child-centered.
The quarreling between her two sons prompted one young mother to rush to the kitchen. Eight year old Bobby and four year old Jackie were having a tug of war with the cookie jar. Only once cookie remained in the jar, and each boy thought it was his. Taking the cookie jar from the two youngsters, their mother calmly announced. "I’ll solve the problem for you. I’ll eat the last cookie myself." The boys looked up at their mother in unbelief. Then the four year old, with a mischievous grin on his face said, "Oh, no you won’t, Mom. Whoever heard of a selfish mother?"
B. Some mothers favor career over children
A seminary student in Ft. Worth, Texas, was visiting a cemetery. He noticed a woman alone. She was weeping bitterly. He went over to her and learned she was the mother of Oswald, the accused assassin of John F. Kenned. She asked, "Does anybody care that my son is ?"
No one else was there but his mother, but just like Rizpah, she was there demonstrating her devotion. Some mothers don’t want to pay the price to be a good mother.
In an old Peanuts strip, Peppermint Patty and Violet are reflecting on being a grandmother. After Patty declares that she would like to be a grandmother, Violet agrees and says, “It would be nice because all they have to do is sit and rock.” The s then decide that the trouble with being a grandmother is that first you have to be a wife and then a mother, and Violet sighs, "I know it. It’s all those
preliminaries that get me!"
II. A Mother Of Example By Her PRESENCE
Imagine the beast of the field she would have to fight
of. David had to fight off a lion and a bear to protect his sheep.
She had the courage to stand her ground.
She willingly put her life on the line for her boys.
She had courage to fight against those that wanted her sons.
Should we not stand against the world, the flesh, and the devil that want to devour our children?
Should we not bravely contend with the foes of our children as Rizpah did with the beast of the night and the day?
I read this week about three loaded camels that fell down a precipice and were killed on the spot. What is very remarkable is that in less than thirty hours after their loads were taken of, there was not left a piece of flesh, but all was devoured by the vultures in the day and the beast of prey mostly jackals in the night.
I can only imagine the courage it took Rizpah to fight against those that wanted to devour her sons.
"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother" (John 19:25). Mary recognized the need of the hour and we find her standing by her son. She was loyal to her son even to the point of . She was as near to Him as she was allowed to go. It was dangerous for Mary to be there, but she forgot all personal danger and comfort. She stands watching and hearing it all that day. Oh how her heart must have hurt, but she stayed by him.
We need mothers who are loyal to their children. Now this does not mean that we should approve of their sins. However, we should be loyal to our children wherever they are and whatever they are doing. Are you committed to your children? Are you there when they need you?
Being a mother is a lifetime job.
Motherhood is not for Wimps
A mother was concerned about her only son going off to college. She wrote the following letter to the college president: "Dear Sir: My son has been accepted for admission to your college and soon he will be leaving me. I am writing to ask that you give your personal attention to the selection of his roommate. I want to be sure that his roommate is not the kind of person who uses foul language, or tells off-color jokes, smokes, drinks, or chases after s. I hope you will understand why I am appealing to you directly. You see, this is the first time my son will be away from home, except for his three years in the Marine Corps."
The easiest part of being a mother is giving birth. The hardest part is showing up for it each day.
Mother’s day is traditionally the day when children give something back to their mothers for all the spit they have produced to wash dirty faces, all the old gum they have held in their hands, all the noses they have wiped, and all the y knees they have "made well" with a kiss.
This is the day mothers are rewarded for washing all those sheets in the middle of the night, driving kids to school when they missed the bus, and enduring all the football games in the rain.
It’s appreciation day for making your children finish something they said they couldn’t do, not believing them when they said, "I you," and sharing their good times and their bad times.
The cards probably won’t reflect it, but what they are trying to say is, "Thank you for showing up." “Thanks, Mom, for being there."
The sad thing is so many Mothers today aren’t!
A. Are you there to command?
B. Are you there to correct?
C. Are you there to counsel?
D. Are you there to comfort?
III. A Mother Of Example In Her PERSEVERANCE
How long did she guard her boys. What is just a couple days and a couple of nights?
The text says, Rizpah stayed with the bodies of her sons "from beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven.” Most commentators indicate this means from April to October.
For five to six long months she stood against the wild animals that wanted to feed on the bodies of her two sons.
She did not give up. She refused to give up. This broken-hearted mother endured the fatigue of watching the bodies of her sons for more than five months.
For five to six months she stood between the birds of prey and beast of the field and her two sons.
The difference between perseverance and obstinacy is that one comes from a strong will, and the other from a strong won’t.
For five to six months she fought of those that desired to devour her two sons. Mothers, how much time are you willing to give to the responsibility of Motherhood? How diligent, persistent, and dedicated are you willing to be?
Rizpah never left their sides. She was there night and day. She couldn’t give them a decent burial but she could keep the buzzards away. She couldn’t change the situation, but she could let the passers by see her devotion to her sons.
I can’t read verse 10 without weeping. A mother gave herself to keep the bodies of her precious sons out of the clutches of the wild beasts and birds. She made her home and bed with a piece of sackcloth spread upon a rock.
Right now it may not be as you wish with your children. However, the final results are not in. Rizpah didn’t succeed in a month or two, but her perseverance led her onward. Mother, don’t give up hope; continue to be dedicated to the ongoing task of being a Mother.
A. Rizpah Preserved In the Face of Difficulties.
Rizpah stayed with it How did she do it? The bottom line is, she was dedicated to her task.
B. Rizpah Preserved in the Face of Danger.
Probably there were those who said to her, "Go home Rizpah, you must be very tired. You are sacrificing your life and your reason for those whom you can never bring back again to your bosom."
I imagine Rizpah must have replied, "How dare you tell me to go home, I am a mother. I am not tired. I cared for those boys when they lay upon my breast in infancy, and I am not going to forsake them now when they are .”
As the buzzards would perch in the trees high above the bodies, she would chase them away. As the wild beasts would come sneaking up to steal the carcasses in the night, she stood protection of those precious bodies.
IT IS EXPENSIVE TO BE EFFECTIVE, and one not willing to pay the price will be one who will not accomplish much in their service to the Lord.
Conclusion:
Years ago a young officer in the British Army, during the revolutionary way, who before leaving for battle, became engaged to a young lady in England. In one of the battles, the officer was badly wounded and lost a leg. He wrote to his fiancee telling her how he was disfigured and ed and so changed from what he had been that he felt it his duty to release her from all obligation to become his wife. However, the young lady wrote a letter back and in her letter she said, "I am willing to marry you if there is but enough body to hold your soul!"
When I read that, I thought, I can think of a day when I was depraved, destitute, and despairing. I was ed, crippled, and deformed. I was not worthy to live and not fit to kill.
But, just like Rizpah, there was one who camped out on the door of my heart, for years and years, who kept the vultures and beasts of sin from tearing me apart. Why? Because of unexplainable, unthinkable, and unconditional love. Yes, just like Jesus, Rizpah had a special love, and we see her love recorded!
But, not only do we see her love recorded, but, we see her love rewarded.
Notice verse 11. David gets the news of what Rizpah has done, and while many would have thought her to mad, and insane, he was moved by her care, concern, and compassion.
Notice verse 12,13. David goes and takes the bodies of those 7 boys, including Rizpah’s 2 boys, and prepares a proper burial for them.
Rizpah wanted a burial for her sons, but she never dreamed they would receive a royal burial. These two sons died, not because of their own doings, but because of the sins of their father, Saul. Yet their mother stands by their side until King David sends and gives them a decent burial.
May God give us mothers like Rizpah who will hazard her own life and body to care for and protect her young. She was rewarded for her precedence, presence and perseverance.
