2 Sam. 21:1-14: The Death of King Saul’s Kin

This is one of those stories that may present difficulties for some people.  What justice can there be in the execution of these grandsons of King Saul for the king’s disobedience.  After all, children should not die for the sins of the fathers (Ex. 24:16).  Although we should also note that children bear the sins of the fathers to the third and fourth generations (Ex. 34:6-7).   How are we to understand this incident in the time of David?  Let me make a few observations.

·       First, every human bears the sin of our father Adam, and we die because of it.  But on that matter we are also aware of how Rom. 5:12 states this.  First it says sin entered the world through one man Adam, and death resulted.  But then it says, “for all sinned.”  Yes, we sinned through Adam.  But we also have perpetuated the actual sin, not eating of the tree (Rom. 5:14) but the sin by which we all fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). 

·       Second, who are the Gibeonites?  Of course, they were the protected Canaanites from the time of Joshua (Josh. 9).  When the Canaanite city-states heard of how the Israelites took Jericho and Ai and the kingdoms on the east side of the Jordan, they all took up arms to fight.  The Gibeonites heard these things and feared for their lives.  They determined to submit themselves to Israel and her God, albeit deceitfully.  They became part of the community of Israel as slaves.

·       If we take these first two points together, we can imagine that Saul was not directed by God.  Rather he had prejudice against them.  The king who would not kill all the Amalekites and thus lost the kingdom, that same king was willing to kill the Gibeonites who were protected by God.  It is quite possible, and in fact likely, that this same prejudice existed in Saul’s entire family, and thus to his grandsons in the time of David.

·       Before you wonder if I am just jumping to conclusions, let me share one other thought.  I believe this story actually occurred earlier in David’s reign, prior to the rebellion of Absalom.  Why do I think that?

o   First, 2 Sam. 20:23-26 is a dividing point between sections of 2 Samuel.  These paragraphs that catch us up to details are actually just that: paragraphs that divide 1 and 2 Samuel (the others are in 1 Sam. 7:15-17, 14:47-52 and 2 Sam. 8:15-18).  In other words, the remaining few chapters of 2 Samuel record events and a Psalm that are undated. 

o   To confirm this, look at 2 Sam. 16:8.  When running from Absalom, David is cursed by Shimei, a descendent of King Saul, who blames David’s misfortune on shedding the blood of Saul’s family.  But when did David do that?  There was none of that kind of thing until this event concerning the Gibeonites.  Shimei had this same prejudice, if you will, against the Gibeonites.  It is more evidence that it extended to Saul’s clan, and perhaps to Saul’s tribe, Benjamin, in which Gibeon was located (Josh. 18:25).

Thus, my conclusion is that Saul had tried to eliminate these people that God desired to protect.  And Saul’s animosity against Gibeon extended to his family.  God was both gaining revenge for Gibeon (“vengeance is mine says the Lord”) and fulfilling the promise of safety to the Gibeonites.