A mother’s love

5. March 2010 by Bernice Davis.

Hello Everyone: 

In our text today, we pick up with what the mother of the two of the seven sons of Saul does when she finds out her children were killed.

Here is the story:

II Samuel 21:  10 Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. 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. 11 When David was told what Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, Saul’s concubine, had done, 12 he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had taken them secretly from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.) 13 David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up. 14 They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.

Rizpah was one of the concubines of Saul.  If you are familiar with Pastor Jackie McCullough, who is a phenomenal woman of God has a ministry called “daughters of Rizpah” and this is the story that it was taken from.

We don’t know much about this woman Rizpah.   Her name means “coal or hot stone.”   After the death of Saul, Abner took her as his wife and this led to a quarrel between him and Saul’s son and successor Ishbosheth.  The quarrel caused Abner to flee to the side of David who was currently ruling the kingdom of Judah.    The incident actually led to the downfall of Ishbosheth and the rise of David’s reign over both Israel and Judah.

We do not hear of Rizpah again until this incident with famine in the land and her sons being killed to compensate for Saul’s bloody destruction of the Gibeonites during his reign.

Rizpah stayed with the dead bodies of her sons to make sure that the birds and wild animals would not desecrate them and did it during the rainy season.   “From the beginning of the harvest until the rains poured down from heavens” indicates that she watched over her son’s bodies for almost five months.    Typically in Israel there was a five month period from the beginning of harvest until the rainy season poured in.    

She was determined to make sure that her sons had an honorable burial.  When David heard of the love and determination of this mother to guard the dead bodies of her children, he not only gathered their bodies but also went and got the bones of Saul and Jonathan and gave them a proper burial in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish.

Have a great weekend everyone.  It’s going to be a beautiful weekend here in Atlanta and I am so grateful for beautiful weather again.   Think I’ll spend some time outside this weekend.  Can’t wait for spring. 

Stay encouraged everyone and don’t forget to pray and read God’s word daily.

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