During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.” – 2 Samuel 21:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 20, 2019): 2 Samuel 21

One of the dangers of a democratic society is that there is a tendency for leadership to change frequently. And one question that is often brought to the forefront of the changing administrations is what is that we do with the promises of the past governments? Does a Democratic government in the United States have a responsibility to at least attempt to follow through on the obligations of the past, or can they say that they didn’t make the promise, so they feel no compulsion keep it? In recent years, it seems that the political commitments of one government tend to be revoked by the next administration. It doesn’t matter if it is a climate accord or a trade agreement, the new leader has a different set of priorities and, therefore, leans on the idea that it was not me who made that promise, so I am under no obligation to continue on a path that I was not party to in the beginning.

And that is a problem, at least for those who believe in God. God seems to want to view us according to how we keep our promises; even promises to which we were not a party. Fair? Sometimes we might not think so, but that does not seem to influence God.

The current story highlights this principle. The story of the Gibeonites begins in the days of Joshua. The Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a treaty with them. Now, there is no doubt that the Gibeonites lied to Joshua. They portrayed themselves as a distant people and not a neighboring town. And Joshua had made a treaty with them, a promise for the future. The Gibeonites would be protected by Israel. We might argue that the lie invalidated the agreement. But that is not the verdict of Joshua. Joshua stood by the promise that he made to this Canaanite people.

Fast forward four centuries, and Saul becomes King over Israel. We don’t know the circumstances, the event is not recorded in 1 Samuel, but instead of keeping the promise that Joshua made to Gibeon, Saul violated the obligation and massacred a people that Joshua had promised to protect. I can almost hear the excuse of Saul. I have listened to it from our current political leaders. “That was one of the worst treaties the nation has ever made. As long as I am king, we will not keep bad promises.

But God seemed to have a different answer. Joshua made the promise. Whether it was good or bad didn’t matter. Saul was expected to keep the promise that Joshua had made for the nation. And if we believe that we serve an unchanging God, I am afraid that we have some broken national promises for which God is going to hold us responsible.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 22