Repentance And Restoration

Repentance and restoration.  In today’s reading we see that there was a famine for three successive years during David’s reign (2 Samuel 21:1). When David inquires of the Lord, it is revealed that the reason for the famine was due to Saul and his family who had killed the Gibeonites, despite Israel taking an oath concerning them (v.1-2).  Just in these first two verses we can learn a great deal.  First, there are consequences for doing wrong.  Those consequences do not always come right away, and other people can be affected greatly.  In this case, because Saul was king at the time when then occurred, as a leader of the nation, the consequences fall on the entire nation.  Second, when the famine occurred, they sought the Lord.  They weren’t trying to figure out how to manipulate the famine or counteract it, they immediately thought spiritually and sought the Lord.  This matter is resolved by David going to the Gibeonites and acknowledging the wrong, and asking for a way to make it right.  The Gibeonites asked for seven male descendants of Saul’s be handed over to them to hang (v.5-6).  David had the bones of Saul and Jonathan brought back, and then took the bones of the seven men who had been hanged, and buried them in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish (v.13-14).  After that, God was receptive to prayer for the land (v.14).  Repentance can come at a great cost, but true repentance leads to restoration.