Famine

TEXT:

‘There was a famine during David’s reign that lasted year after year for three years, and David spent much time in prayer about it. Then the Lord said, “The famine is because of the guilt of Saul and his family, for they murdered the Gibeonites.”’ – 2 Samuel 21:1 The Living Bible

THOUGHT:

This is the second teaching in the King David trilogy taken from 2 Samuel 21:1-14. It studies how David reacted when famine hit the nation. Although we may not personally face anything as severe as that, there are principles to understand that will help us to overcome when trouble comes knocking on our door.

• Do not leave trouble to sort itself out – David spent much time in prayer about it

We are not to be like an ostrich burying its head in the sand, thinking that if we ignore trouble it will go away. One year the harvest was reaped, the next year it failed. Then the next year too! Surely it will not happen a third year in a row, but it did. David sprang into action and asked God why. When Christians, who have the promise of God’s blessing, experience trouble, it is not wrong to ask God why. It’s not a case of Que sera sera, whatever will be, will be! Where we lived in Exeter there was a plum tree that produced fruit in cycles. One year would be a bumper crop, next year good to average, and the third year poor. Then it would be a bumper crop again. Each year we knew what would happen. However, when we experience the opposite to what God’s Word says should happen, it’s time to seek the Lord and the answer may surprise us.

• Not every problem today is a result of yesterday’s mistakes

The Bible says, ‘Don’t worry when someone curses you for no reason. Nothing bad will happen. Such words are like birds that fly past and never stop’ – Proverbs 26:2 ERV. Sometimes things happen for no real reason, but when there is a cause the curse can and will come. The cause of the famine had happened years earlier but only then did it affect the nation of Israel. We do not need to try to find a cause for every trouble we face for God will show us if there is one when we seek Him in prayer.

• Promises are important to God

The Bible says, ‘When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him.⁵ It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it’ – Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 NLT. When we make promises, we must do everything we can to keep them. Our example is God Himself. ‘God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?’ – Numbers 23:19 NLT. When King Saul murdered the Gibeonites, he broke the promise that the Children of Israel had made to them of not harming them.

• Be willing to do whatever it takes to turn the curse into a blessing – ‘David asked them, “What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the Lord’s people again?”’ – 2 Samuel 21:3 NLT.

David was willing to do anything and everything in order to bring about a change for the better. How many failed marriages would have survived if both partners had been willing to do just that? How many disputes would have been solved long ago if both sides would have done anything to bring about reconciliation?

• Do not break another promise when trying to correct a broken one – ‘The king spared Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth, who was Saul’s grandson, because of the oath David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord’ – 2 Samuel 21:3 NLT

Two wrongs never make a right. In responding to the Gibeonites demands for justice, David remembered the promise he had made to Jonathan and protected Mephibosheth. Just because someone else breaks another of their promises, does not give us the right to do the same.

• Keep doing what is right until God answers – ‘Then the king ordered that they bury the bones in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father, at the town of Zela in the land of Benjamin. After that, God ended the famine in the land’ – 2 Samuel 21:14 NLT

Having placated the Gibeonites, David sought to honour the memory of Saul and Jonathan by reburying their bones, together with those who had been hanged, in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father. It was only after this that God heeded their prayers and the famine ended. When trying to resolve a grievance, do not just do the minimum, but be willing to go beyond that. This will give the injured party the reason to bless you and God will too.

Is there unfinished business that you need to attend to? You may not have been the cause but are having to pick up the pieces. The Bible encourages both the injured and guilty parties to work towards reconciliation. If you know someone has something against you, or you have something against someone else, go to them to try to resolve it. Turn the curse into a blessing by going about it in the right way!