Where's the Highlight Reel?

February 9th, 2025

Where's the Highlight Reel?

2 Samuel 21:1-9

1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year. And David sought the face of the Lord. And the Lord said, “There is bloodguilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death.” 2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the people of Israel but of the remnant of the Amorites. Although the people of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to strike them down in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah. 3 And David said to the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? And how shall I make atonement, that you may bless the heritage of the Lord?” 4 The Gibeonites said to him, “It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house; neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel.” And he said, “What do you say that I shall do for you?” 5 They said to the king, “The man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, 6 let seven of his sons be given to us, so that we may hang them before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”

7 But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest.

The Blooper Reel

Imagine you are watching the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony. As the inductee takes the stage, a highlight video begins, summing up his career. But instead of watching game-winning hits and diving catches, you see strikeouts, errors, and base-running goofs. Somebody mixed up the highlight video with the blooper reel! How embarrassing! But that’s what seems to happen to David. He’s the most dynamic and impressive figure in the Old Testament. Yet as chapters 21–24 sum up his career, God rolls the bloopers instead of the highlights. In no chronological order, we read stories of David’s failures and inadequacy—redeemed by one story that showcases God’s mercy (ch24). This is what God wants you to know about David: he was a needy sinner, upheld by steadfast love.

The Crisis He Can’t Manage (1–3)

Israel is facing a long famine, and we know why. God told Israel in Deuteronomy that he would bless their obedience and curse their disobedience. When hard times hit, God is saying “turn to me.” So why does it take King David three years to seek God? It’s the first bad sign. When David does pray, he gets an immediate answer. Years before, Joshua got tricked into making a covenant to protect the Gibeonites (Josh 9). But then King Saul came along. He broke that covenant and killed many of the Gibeonites. Saul’s actions brought a curse of blood-guilt on Israel. Now that David knows this, the obvious move is to pray. But instead of asking God how to atone for this sin, he asks the Gibeonites! It’s odd—especially when we remember that Joshua was tricked into a bad decision by listening to the Gibeonites instead of consulting God.

The Curse He Can’t Lift (4–9)

The Gibeonites don’t want a financial payoff, and they don’t hold all of Israel responsible for Saul’s sin. So David asks, “What do you say I shall do for you?” Something is off: in this crisis, David is starting to sound like Saul, who always asked what the people want, instead of what God wants. David seems in over his head, groping in the dark for solutions. When he slides this blank check over to the Gibeonites, they fill it in with a brutal demand: “You want to make this right? Give us seven of Saul’s sons so we can hang them before Yahweh.”

We expect David to deny this request. First, God forbids executing a son for a father’s sins (Deut 24:16). Second, David promised Saul not to wipe out his family (1 Sam 24:20–22). Finally, the Gibeonites want a human sacrifice to atone for sin, which is a pagan Canaanite move—not at all how Yahweh operates (see Leviticus). David should shut this down. At least he should say, ‘I’ll have to check with the Lord on that one.” Instead, David says “Deal!” He’ll do anything to cover Saul’s sin and end this famine.

A Massive Failure

So David rounds up seven of Saul’s grandsons (he spares Mephibosheth) from their houses. He delivers them to the Gibeonites. They are put to death “before Yahweh.” The misguided Gibeonites see this as a religious ceremony, but they hang the bodies on a rock night after night, which Yahweh explicitly forbade (Deut 21:22–23). It’s horrible. David must think, “That was a steep price, but worth it to atone for Saul’s sin and stop the famine.” Only v10 does not say, “And Yahweh’s wrath was satisfied, and the land was healed.” The human sacrifice does not atone for Saul’s sin. The famine keeps raging. And now seven innocent young men are hanging in the air, killed in vain. This is a massive failure for David: he tried to lift the curse, but he just made it worse. David will keep stumbling through this crisis tomorrow, until the Lord intervenes.

FOR THE NEXT INSTALLMENT, SEE:

What David Can't Do