2 Samuel 21

Joshua entered into a covenant agreement with the Gibeonites in the days when Israel was taking over the land of Canaan. See Joshua 9. Centuries later during the reign of David there was a famine in the land for three years that was brought about by Saul's unfaithfulness to the promises that Joshua had made so long ago. God is very serious about our duty to keep our covenant commitments.

Psalm 15:4 says that the righteous man “swears to his own hurt and does not change.” Man can always find a loophole, but God reserves the right to disagree. This severity of justice is also a part of the mind of Christ. David was willing to follow God's Word both in mercy and in judgment.

The justice of God is not irreconcilable with His great kindness. The two have met for us in the cross of Christ. Consider these amazing words from Romans 11:22, “Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.”

Israel's duty of faithfulness required the death of seven of Saul's descendants. Yet that needed to be accomplished without the violation of other promises that David had made. When justice was accomplished, the remains of the men who had died were honorably buried, and God healed the land. We place our hands over our mouths.

The removal of the plague of sin and death upon the earth required more than the death of seven men. The severity of God's eternal justice upon the elect needed to be atoned for by the precious blood of the only Son of God, Jesus. Nothing else could have ever satisfied divine justice. Now we cannot simply place our hands over our mouths. We must boast in the cross of Christ, by which we have been crucified to the world and the world crucified to us. And with thanksgiving to God, we must keep our word, even if it hurts.

David was growing old. How does anyone do that well? The answer may vary depending on the condition of the person in question. Remember that back in the days of Joshua, Caleb was able to conquer a territory in his eighties. See Joshua 14:10-11. Most of us cannot live up to that standard.

If we do not have the strength that we had forty years ago, we can ask the Lord to give us more wisdom than we had in those days. The lusts of sinful youth are very unattractive in the elderly.

David needed to stay away from the battlefield, lest others die protecting him. There were giants among the enemies of Israel. The king needed to fight and win God's battles in different ways than he had in the past.

Jesus, the Son of David, died in the prime of His sinless life. Yet even His death was more full of wisdom and power than the most valiant deeds of the mightiest warrior. Now our great Messiah lives and reigns over us forever. Old age will never be a problem for Him.

If we are willing to be conformed to Him in the wisdom and power of His death, He will keep His covenant promises to us very faithfully, and we will reign with Him in His resurrection. Then the words of Isaiah will be most delightfully fulfilled in us, and “they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.”