Sermon Tone Analysis

*34*

*Afflicted by Famine*

2 Samuel 21:1–14

 

The last three chapters of 2 Samuel form an instructive and interesting appendage to the book.

They contain additional information regarding David’s life with the order of the information being recorded without regard to chronology.

There are six distinct parts to this appendage.

Two parts have to do with Divine judgment, two parts with David’s psalms, and two parts with dedicated soldiers.

These six parts are recorded in a most symmetrical way.

They are in a 1,2,3,3,2,1 literary pattern in regards to subject matter.

The first and last parts (1 and 1) are a record of Divine judgment (2 Samuel 21:1–14), the second and fifth parts (2 and 2) are a record of dedicated soldiers (2 Samuel 21:15–22; 23:8–39), and the two middle parts (3 and 3) are a recording of David’s psalms (2 Samuel 22–23:7).

This neat, symmetrical, literary pattern is not uncommon in the Old Testament writings.

As an example, Psalm 119:73–80 is also organized this way.

It has eight parts (corresponding to the eight verses in the section) and is organized in a 1,2,3,4,4,3,2,1 pattern.

The character of the Psalmist is the subject of the first and last verses of the section (parts 1 and 1), the companions of the Psalmist are the subject of the second and seventh verses (parts 2 and 2), the conflicts of the Psalmist are the subject of the third and sixth verses (parts 3 and 3), and the comforts of the Psalmist are the subject of the middle two verses—the fourth and fifth verses (parts 4 and 4).

We point out this intriguing literary pattern to emphasize that the Bible does not have to take a back seat to any literature in beauty and genius of style.

The Bible is not a hodgepodge of meaningless writings put together in a haphazard way.

Rather, it is a Divine selection of historical events and writings put together in the finest of literary styles.

When you have the Bible in your hand, you have in your hand the greatest piece of literature ever given to mankind!

Of the six parts of this last section of 2 Samuel, we will deal with two of them in our book.

They concern the Divine judgments which came upon Israel during David’s reign.

In this study we will look at the first judgment which was a three year famine (the other judgment was a pestilence).

This event came at an undetermined time in David’s monarchy as “in the days of David” (v. 1) indicate.

“Then” in verse 1 in the KJV does not alter the fact of the undetermined time, for the Hebrew will not substantiate the “Then” translation as a reference to a specific time.

Rather, the Hebrew at the beginning of this chapter is simply an introductory clause for the last section of the book, not a reference to a particular time.

“And” is a preferable translation.

The affliction of the three year famine upon Israel during David’s reign was a trying time for David and Israel.

While David’s reign was a very prosperous one for Israel, it was also beset with many severe problems as we have seen in a number of the past chapters of our study.

Here we will study about the problem of the three year famine.

In the study of this famine, we will consider the cause of the famine (2 Samuel 21:1,2) and the cure for the famine (2 Samuel 21:3–14).

*A.

THE CAUSE OF THE FAMINE*

 

“There was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the Lord.

And the Lord answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites” (v. 1).

We note two things from this verse regarding the cause of the famine.

They are the inquiring about the cause and the informing about the cause.

*1.

The Inquiring About the Cause*

 “David inquired of the Lord” (v. 1).

This inquiry by David to learn the cause of the famine was a necessary inquiry and a noble inquiry, but it was also a neglected inquiry.

/The inquiry was necessary/.

When trials come upon us, we need to inquire about the cause of the trial in order to profit the most we can from the trial.

If we do not seek out the cause, we will not know, as an example, if God is chastening us.

To not know that God is chastening us is ignorance that can really hurt us, for we will fail to learn our lessons about some wrong we have done.

However, if we know that God is chastening us, we can correct our ways and prevent many trials in the future.

Remaining ignorant about your trials, especially if they are chastisements for some sins, can cause repeated trials to come upon you unnecessarily.

We all have plenty of trials without adding to them unnecessarily.

There are, of course, times when we may not always know exactly why some trial has come upon us.

But when inquiry fails to come up with a specific answer, then the inquiry will at least help us to strengthen our faith in God’s wisdom for a good purpose for the trial even if we do not know the purpose yet.

Sometimes we have to trust God in the dark—times when the cause of a trial is not known for some time or not even until eternity.

But inquiry concerning our trials is necessary to even discover this fact.

Inquiry about our trials is always necessary if we are to learn the lessons God intends the trial to teach us.

Therefore, when trial comes, do not neglect seeking God about the cause of the trial.

It is a very necessary inquiry.

/The inquiry was noble/.

The nobleness of the inquiry is seen in who David sought out in the inquiry.

He sought God for the answer.

“By inquiring of the Lord in the time of trouble, David left us an example which we do well to follow.

The Sender of trouble is the only One who can remove it; and if it be not His pleasure to remove it, He is the One who can show us how best to meet it” (Pink).

If anyone can give us an answer about our trials, it is the Lord.

You make a great mistake going to the counsellors of this world to seek an answer for your trials.

The counsellors of this world seldom have a clue as to what is the cause.

All they do is trouble your pocketbook with high sounding words which answer no questions but only add to the unsettling perplexity.

Get into the Word of God, and you will learn more about your trials than from anywhere else.

 

/The inquiry was neglected./

The famine lasted three years before David inquired of God as to the cause of the famine.

This neglect is not commendable.

It is, however, typical of man unfortunately.

Man seldom seeks out a cause of his trials unless they become very grievous.

Too often “it is only when the little trial swells into a large one, or the brief trouble into a long-continued affliction, that we begin to inquire why it was sent” (Blaikie).

The three year famine could have been shortened considerably had David not neglected for so long to inquire of God about the trial.

As we noted a bit earlier, failure to inquire about our trials can add to our trials.

“If small trials were more regarded, heavy trials would be less needed.

The horse that springs forward at the slightest touch of the whip or prick of the spur needs no heavy lash; it is only when the lighter stimulus fails that the heavier has to be applied” (Ibid.).

The song writer spoke of this problem when he said, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer” (Joseph Scriven from “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”).

*2.

The Informing About the Cause*

When David inquired of God as to the cause of the famine, God answered David and said the famine “is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites” (v. 1).

This evil deed of Saul is not recorded in earlier Scripture, for this is the first time in the Bible we read of it.

God keeps good records, however; and the day will come when many evil deeds of men will be exposed to the surprise of these men who thought their deeds were unknown or long since forgotten.

The offended Gibeonites were the people who over four centuries earlier had deceived Joshua and the elders of Israel into making a treaty with them to not destroy them as Israel was doing to the other peoples of Canaan.

The Gibeonites gave the appearance and testimony that they were from a land far from Canaan.

But shortly after the treaty of protection was made with them, Joshua found out that the Gibeonites were a people who lived near, not far away.

But though the Gibeonites had tricked Israel into a treaty, Israel could not break the treaty because “we have sworn unto them by the Lord God of Israel; now therefore we may not touch them” (Joshua 9:19).

To break the treaty would dishonor God because they had promised in His name to keep the treaty.

Saul, however, broke the treaty and killed many Gibeonites.

This dishonored God, and so the famine was God’s affliction upon Israel for this dishonoring of God.

To further examine this crime of killing multitudes of Gibeonites, we note from our text the source of the crime, the stimulation for the crime, the severity of the crime, and the silence about the crime.

/The source of the crime/.

“It is for Saul” (v. 1) that the judgment of the famine came.

This was a disobedient source, a distant source, and a disregarded source.

First, a/ disobedient/ source.

We are not surprised to read that Saul is the culprit in the killing of the Gibeonites, for his life was characterized by disobedience.

He would not slay whom God told him to slay (the Amalekites’ animals) but would slay those God forbid to be slain (the Gibeonites).

Disobedient people are like that.

They will not do what they are told to do but will do what they are forbidden to do.

Disobedience against God is to go contrary to whatever God says.

Disobedience to God is to play the fool.

Samuel told Saul this fact when he said, “Thou hast done foolishly; thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord thy God” (1 Samuel 13:13).

Disobedience to God is akin to worshipping false gods.

Samuel told Saul, “Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23).

And disobedience to God will be judged by God.

“The wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience” (Colossians 3:6) and “Every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward [judgment]” (Hebrews 2:2)—hence, the famine.

Second, a/ distant/ source.