"After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land." - 2 Samuel 21:14b
During the reign of David, there was a famine in the land for three
successive years. So David sought the Lord regarding this famine, "Why
is there famine on this land?" The Lord answered David, "It is on
account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the
Gibeonites to death" (2 Sam. 21:1b).
Years earlier, Joshua made a peace treaty with the Gibeonites.
This, too, was an act of disobedience. When God called Israel to come
into the Promised Land, they were to destroy all the enemies of God.
Joshua failed to see through the ruse of deception when the Gibeonites
portrayed themselves as travelers. The Israelites signed a peace treaty
only to discover who the Gibeonites were after the fact. Now, they had
to honor the treaty. However, this led to intermarriages and much sorrow
for Israel. Years later, Saul made a decision to kill the Gibeonites.
The nation was now receiving the punishment for their sin of
disobedience through a famine. David knew that famines could have a
spiritual source, so he inquired of God and God answered. The source was
Saul's murder of the Gibeonites. Once David knew the source of the
problem, he took action. He repented on behalf of the nation and made
restitution. The famine was then lifted.
Do you have a problem that seems to be a continually unresolved issue?
Have you asked God to tell you the reason for the problem? It may have a
spiritual root that is still unresolved with God. He may be allowing
this pressure to bring attention to an issue He wants you to take care
of. Ask the Lord today to give you revelation on your problem. As a
loving Father, He desires to make known anything that stands in the way
of fellowship between you and Him. However, His righteousness must
always be upheld.
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