Justice?

This is one of those passages where I wonder, “Was this God’s will?”

Saul had broken the treaty the Israelites had made with the Gibeonites by murdering them. (Joshua 9:3-17)

As a result, the land was spiritually polluted, and God sent a famine on the land. (Numbers 35:30-34).

After three years of famine, David sought God to find the reason for the famine and God told him.

But here, things get somewhat spiritually muddy.

David goes to the Gibeonites to ask what reparations could be made. They asked that seven of Saul’s descendants be handed over to them to be executed, and David acquiesced.

But was he right to do so?

For one thing, God said that only the blood of the murderer himself could atone for the murder. (Numbers 35:33).

For another, God specifically commanded that children could not be punished for the sins of the father. (Deuteronomy 24:16)

Finally, while God never addressed a situation where the murderer was already dead, he did address a situation where the murderer could not be brought to justice.

In that case, atonement was made by sacrifice and prayer. (Deuteronomy 21:1-9)

Perhaps, God would have given slightly different instructions in this situation, but I would guess that his instructions would have been fairly close to what he had commanded before.

But the key point is, David never did ask God what to do.

Ironically, Joshua made the same mistake when he first dealt with the Gibeonites. (Joshua 9:14)

By his grace, God did bring an end to the famine. But is there any hint that David’s action wasn’t what God was looking for?

I think there is. The famine continued even past the execution of Saul’s descendants.

In fact, we see another violation of God’s law. A person who was executed was not to be left hanging overnight. (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)

It was only when the bodies were taken down and buried that the famine ended.

What’s my point?

How well do we know God’s word? Do we know it well enough to know what pleases and displeases God?

If we don’t, well-meaning though we may be, we can still do things displeasing to him.

So let us daily read and study his word. Only then can we find out how to truly please him.