“And the Gibeonites said unto David, We will not eat of any dead body in Israel: but the men of Saul’s house shall give us that which the LORD hath required.”
In this verse, we find an account from the time of King David in the Old Testament. To understand the context of this verse, we need to look at the preceding verses. In 2 Samuel 21, we learn about a severe famine that had come upon the land of Israel for three successive years. David inquired of the Lord to find out the cause of the famine.
In response to David’s inquiry, the Lord revealed that the famine was a result of the bloodguilt of Saul and his house. It was because Saul had previously broken a covenant with the Gibeonites, a group of people whom the Israelites had made a treaty with during the time of Joshua (Joshua 9). Saul had sought to destroy the Gibeonites, which violated the covenant, and the Lord held him accountable for it.
So, in verse 6, the Gibeonites demanded justice for the wrong done to them. They asked for seven men from the descendants of Saul to be delivered to them so that they could be hanged or executed as a form of retribution. The Gibeonites wanted to hang these men “unto the Lord” in Gibeah of Saul, which means the punishment was to be carried out as an act of justice before God.
When the Gibeonites made this request, King David agreed to their demand and said, “I will give them.” David acknowledged the justice in their request and sought to make amends for the sins of Saul and his house. However, he spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul, due to the oath he had made with Jonathan (2 Samuel 21:7).
It is important to note that this verse reflects the cultural and legal practices of that time and does not necessarily prescribe or condone such actions in our present day. It serves as a historical account of the events that occurred during that period.
Overall, this verse highlights the consequences of Saul’s violation of a covenant with the Gibeonites and David’s willingness to make amends for the sins of the previous king. It reminds us of the importance of honoring agreements and seeking reconciliation when injustices have been committed.
