Have you had to pay the cost of something that you did not enjoy? How was the experience? I don't think it would be fun to go and sit in a restaurant and without enjoying any meal, be handed the bill of the most exquisite buffet. Our attitude towards that would be to protest and refuse to pay if possible. However, if you are handed a fifteen year jail sentence for that offense, you might want to find someone to pay the cost of the buffet rather than wasting fifteen years of your life for something you didn't do. When God cautioned the people of Israel on idolatry, He said, "You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments." (Deuteronomy 5:9-10). The implications of this is that even if the parents commit idolatry, their descendants up to the third and fourth generations would be punished for this. It doesn't sound fair right? The descendants of Saul, king of Israel had to pay for Saul’s evil the very hard way.
But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. (2 Samuel 21:8)
The Gibeonites signed a treaty with Joshua and the people of Israel (Joshua 9:15, 19-21). The terms of the treaty was to let the Gibeonites live. But, king Saul had a different plan: "Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them" (2 Samuel 21:2). The nation of Israel suffered three years of famine because of Saul’s actions. Saul himself was dead but the nation had to pay for his evil against the Gibeonites. The Gibeonites told king David that the only to be appeased was to have seven of Saul’s male descendants be given to them to be killed and their bodies exposed before the Lord at Gibeah of Saul. King David agreed to their request (see 2 Samuel 21:6). The son of Jonathan, Mephibosheth was spared because of David's oath to the Lord. The major victims of this massacre were two women who lost their children. Rizpa was Saul’s concubine and Merab was Saul’s first daughter. Their seven sons were killed for the evil of Saul. 2 Samuel 21: 8-9 states it this way: "But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He handed them over to the Gibeonites, who killed them and exposed their bodies on a hill before the Lord. All seven of them fell together; they were put to death during the first days of the harvest, just as the barley harvest was beginning."
Rizpa and Merab did not attack the Gibeonites, and neither were their sons. The main culprit was Saul. But, these two women and their children paid for a crime they did not commit. The sin of Saul was laid on them. Just like the allusion to the person who sat in the restaurant and was charged for food they did not eat, Rizpa and Merab association to Saul (concubine and daughter) was enough to be charged for the crimes of Saul. Imagine the pain, the hurt, the brokenness, the disappointment and the bitterness. Rizpa and Merab never had the opportunity to see their children again. All that was left was their dead bodies. After the death of Saul’s descendants, Rizpa refused to leave the dead bodies alone. She took a 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 touch them by day or the wild animals by night (2 Samuel 21:10). This might be a very painful sight to behold.
The day and night vigil of Rizpah was reported to David. The king was moved and he went ahead and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up and all buried (2 Samuel 21:11-13a). 2 Samuel 21:14 states this: After that, God answered prayer on behalf of the land.
Rizpa and Merab went through a difficult experience. They lost all their sons so as to pay for Saul’s evil schemes. May we not leave behind evil debt to be paid by our descendants. If anyone is currently experiencing the side effects of a generational evil, pray with Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Christ has paid all debt on the cross, so we need to acknowledge that and use that to deliver ourselves from generational curses and evil pacts.
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