"Rizpah and the Rain"
2 Samuel 21:1-14
Intro:
We only have the essentials of the story. We are not given the details of Saul’s atrocities against the Gibeonites. Our only information comes from this passage. We gather that Saul imitated a zeal for God by an arrogant act of self-righteousness. The Gibeonites were surviving members of the old Amorite (or, Hivite) tribe. Joshua had sworn an oath not to annihilate them, but to allow them to remain in the land. (Josh. 9:23-27) They had lived peacefully with Israel, but Saul decided to rid the land of these non-Israeli’s.
Now, the rain refuses to fall. The crops fail. A famine is in the land. The nation is suffering from the severity of a three-year drought. Somewhere along the line David began to wonder if this famine was not the hand of God against Israel for some crime it had committed. So he prayed. As it turns out, his hunch was right. Even though Saul was dead by this time, his sins were still affecting the nation. One commentator wrote, "It was a case of national guilt and received at God’s hands a national punishment." (Gray’s, Bible CD, op)
There are some harsh lessons we glean from this touching story of Rizpah’s vigil over the bodies of her sons. But it also bears the message of hope and the power of an abiding love. This story shows the results of one person who made an impression in heaven and left her mark on the pages of God’s Word. (The story of Rizpah is A Story of Sins Remembered)
God Keeps Record of the Sins We Overlook
The story of Rizpah is evidence that God keeps record of the sins we overlook. Sins have to be punished or forgiven. Sins cannot be overlooked and forgotten. Someone has to pay for sins committed. That’s why Jesus came. A considerable portion of the Bible is dedicated to showing us that sin bears a price-tag.
Seasons have come and gone. Perhaps years have passed. But the passing of time nor the passing of Saul assuaged the anger of God against the sins he committed against a forgotten people.
I am not talking about sins for which we have been forgiven. I am talking about sins we’ve swept under the rug. We cannot sin and then go on as if we had not done anything. We can’t just hope they will go away and that no one will remember. If we’ve never apologized, never made an attempt at restitution, we can’t pretend it never happened. Maybe we’ve forgotten, but God hasn’t. Matthew Henry wrote nearly four-hundred years ago, "Time does not wear out the guilt of sin; nor can we build hopes of escape upon the delay of judgments. ... In vain do we expect mercy from God, unless we do justice upon our sins." (Bible CD, op)
We have to settle our accounts with regards to our sins. God is gracious and compassionate and forgiving. But to assume He will overlook unconfessed or unrepented sin is a grave error. Our sins will revisit us. They will find us out. There are preachers whose lives have been destroyed by a phone call, or knock at the door - some old sin catching up with them. I’m not talking about sins they had committed before they were saved, but sins of morality or integrity earlier in their ministry. It may be in the past, but it was never addressed. God brings those things off the back-burner to the front. It is clear from Scripture that we need to confess our sins and repent of them. We must settle them before the Lord if we ever hope to stop the cycle of sin.
When the story of Rizpah reached king David he went and buried their bones with those of Saul and Jonathan. The Bible says, After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land. (2 Sam. 21:14) It was only after Saul’s sins had been punished, and after the remains of these victims had been honored, that God again heard prayers for Israel.
Sins Affect More Than Those Commit Them
Rizpah’s tale reveals the sad truth that sins affect more than those who commit them. Wouldn’t it be nice if sin only affected only the one who committed it and no one else? Rizpah had done nothing wrong. Yet here she kept her vigil on a rock outside of Gibeah. Her sons had done no crime yet their bodies hung cursed, and decaying without the dignity of burial. Such an end may have been appropriate had they been guilty of the sins for which they died. But they, and the other five who died with them, were crucified for someone else’s sin. (Their father and grandfather.) Israel had not sinned directly in committing the murders of Saul against the Gibeonites. Yet a drought was imposed upon the whole nation. David had not committed these sins, but his kingdom was arrested by the consequences of his predecessor’s offenses before God. Even though the nation was ‘under new management’ it could not go forward until Saul’s sins had been dealt with.
Many people are affected by one man’s sins. Sin is not a solitary abuser. No one reaps the consequences of their sins alone. A drunkard’s family pays for their sins along with them. An addict’s lifestyle is hard on those who love them. Those who view pornography and visit strip joints finance the smut trade and keep it alive. They ensnare themselves in psychological traps that affect their families, and they make it profitable to destroy the lives of those in the business. Prostitution is harmful for those willingly involved, and it puts innocent children at risk to be kidnaped and enslaved for profit - a nightmare made possible by people willing to pay for such services. The Bible says, ...a gossip separates close friends. (Pr. 16:28) One person’s laziness hurts the whole economy. Every sin, like a pebble thrown into a pond, creates ripples that affect more than just the one who committed it.
Rizpah Stands as a Testimony to Faithful Love
Rizpah stands as a testimony to faithful and enduring love. She had been one of former king Saul’s concubines. She had borne him two sons. Her sons were now dead because of Saul and what he did. Now Rizpah was on a hillside outside of Gibeah. If the scholars have interpreted these events correctly, her watch over the bodies of her sons may have lasted six months. v:10 ... From the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies, she did not let the birds of the air touch them by day or the wild animals by night. (22:10)
There is a message here brighter than the gloom of this tragedy. Something greater than Saul’s crimes kept Rizpah staked out on this rock. The great theme underlying this story is the love that prompted her deeds. She was there as an act of love and devotion. She was not allowed to move the bodies of her dead sons, but she could keep the buzzards and jackals away.
Rizpah’s vigil reminds us that love has no limits. It reaches past the boundaries of this life and extends beyond the grave. Death could not diminish her love. Though her boys were grown and dead, 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 death cannot dampen the flame of love. We understand love reaches beyond the grave. We still love some who are no longer with us. For some it’s a parent, spouse, or sibling. For others it’s a child, or grandchild, or friend. We have learned that death does not put an end to love. What a wonderful truth - love endures all things. (1 Cor. 13:7, NKJV)
But don’t confine faithful love to the dead alone. Let’s learn to prove our devotion to those we love while we are both still alive. I know, some have not yet learned the meaning of true, devoted love. People are fickle. Loyalty among friends is rare. But that only makes Rizpah’s dedication all the more compelling. The rarity of faithful love ennobles her example. Our pursuit to love faithfully is elevated to a higher calling than most in our society experience. The Bible still declares, "love is patient. . . love always perseveres. . . love never fails." (1 Cor. 13:4-8) There are those whose love has never waned from time, or distance, or trial, or even death. That is love. And that is the example of faithful love Rizpah sets before us. Our love, for us to call it love, must be faithful through thick or thin, through chill of night or heat of day. "Love never fails." (1 Cor. 13:8)
Close:
God Keeps Record of the Sins We Overlook Are there sins you’ve tried to sweep under the rug? The Word of God is true, and it warns, ...be sure that your sin will find you out. (Num. 32:23)
God didn’t give rain to Israel until this sin had been addressed.
He won’t refresh your soul until your sin has been confessed. (GB)
Sins Affect More Than Those Who Commit Them When we are tempted to sin I hope we will remember the story of Rizpah. Who will be affected by the consequence of our sins? We have no control over that, but we do have control over our decisions.
Rizpah Stands as a Testimony to Faithful Love Is there anyone you love with the faithfulness of Rizpah? I know when we read about Rizpah we are reading about a mother’s love for her sons. But I also know that love is love regardless of kinship.
