2 Samuel 21:10
“Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sack cloth and spread it out for herself on the rock -from the beginning of harvest (in the spring) until (the autumn) the rain fell on them; she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on their bodies by day nor the beasts of the field to feed on them by night”.
There was a famine in the land during the time of King David’s reign…David asked the Lord directly why…The answer was about a senseless, cruel, desecration to the people of Gibeon by King Saul.
The solution was to publicly sacrifice 7 of Saul’s kin as payment for those lost ~in order to make right a wrong done by Saul, members of Saul’s family would need to die.
Those people were handpicked, led up a hill, and were put to death.
Some stories of the Old Testament are hard to read. They are filled with a brutality we don’t like to think about especially when we are enjoying our quiet time with the Lord while reading our Bible.
Yet, this is the passage I come across today…
Two of those chosen to die a horrible death of broken bones while being hanged were the sons of Rizpah.
Rizpah was a concubine of King Saul – she is introduced to the world in 2 Samuel 3:7.
Presumably, they (Rizpah and her sons) lived a quiet life together after the death of King Saul…I can assume that because they were still alive during the time of King David’s rule.
We know that David had spared the grandson of Saul -Jonathon’s son- Mephibosheth years prior…and when this particular time of payment for Saul’s crimes came upon the people, David again set his friend’s son aside as one not to sacrifice.
That choice, however, left Rizpah’s sons to join all five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab in death on that fateful day.
What stands out to me in this passage is that Rizpah protected her sons in their death. She sat by their bodies for months so they would not be further defiled by predators.
Rizpah sat on a sackcloth that she had placed on a rock in order to scare the birds and beasts away from the decaying bodies of her sons.
And she sat there for months.
This act of devotion and love impressed King David. It impressed him so much he gathered up the bones of these sons of Saul, King Saul himself, and Jonathon’s bones so they could all be buried together in the family grave site.
One could assume that to not be buried in the family plot was considered an insult to the family and to the honor of the deceased individual.
David’s choice, out of his response to Rizpah, brought honor back to house of Saul -Israel’s first king.
Why does this stand out to me?
All Rizpah did was sit by her sons in their death…

She was not looking for honor~ who was she after all? A concubine of a dead king…she was not even considered to be a widow. Her sons were not even recognized as “official” sons of a king (ask Google to list the names of King Saul’s sons and see for yourself that Rizpah’s boys do not get named).
She had no place in history, no prospects in the present, and had lost all chance for success in the future when King David took the throne.

She was not forgotten, though…because David knew who she and her sons were- which certainly helped him in this case with the Gideonites.
In those days, a concubine to a dead king, whose sons (those who would support her in her aging years) are now also dead, did not have much to offer the world she lived in.
So she did what she could….she sat by her boys and protected their bodies from further dishonor and harm.
An act of a mother’s unconditional love swayed the heart of a king.
Her actions spoke loudly that her sons mattered. Her sons had worth. Her sons were loved. Her sons made a difference in the world because of who they were and not because of who sired them.
Her love brought honor back to her family.
It is literally a small snipit of a story in the Bible – a small portion of chapter 21 in 2 Samuel- and she was spoken about by name.
This woman is recorded for all to read as a person who mattered and who made a difference.
We don’t know the impact we have when we make a choice to live our lives loving others.
I imagine we think we need to do large acts of kindness in order to create a ripple in our small pond…but, the reality is, even the smallest of stones can change the smoothest appearance of a lake when it is tossed into the water.

Rizpah shows us that large acts are not always necessary…She just did what came natural to her…She was a mom who loved her children even unto death.

She didn’t reach out of her comfort zone to do something out of her own personal toolbox….She just did what she knew to do.
I confess….I get lost or confused in the process of trying to be more or to do more. I sometimes think that who I am doesn’t make much of a difference because I don’t feel seen most days…I don’t feel heard.
Then I read this story…and I wonder maybe what I am doing (no matter how small it seems) does make a difference to someone somewhere.

Maybe it is in how I love my sons and would watch over them with the same intensity as Rizpah…
Maybe it is seen in how I love others…to love because God first loved me…
Maybe I am heard in the honesty of my sharing…
I pray for contentment in doing what it is that I do naturally and trust that it could make a difference in a way that Rizpah’s act of love did….either in the effect my choices have on those closest to me or, perhaps, on those taking notice…
I would say then:
Be kind.
Love sincerely.
Show mercy.

Walk humbly with the Lord.