A Mother’s Love

What can a mother’s love achieve? I believe there is some valuable wisdom we can gain from a mother’s outrageous love as illustrated in II Samuel 21.

King David asked the Lord why the nation was experiencing a famine. His answer had to do with Saul killing the Gibeonites, even though Israel had made a covenant not to harm them.

In order to make payment for this wrong, David asked the Gibeonites what he could for them. They requested 7 male descendents of the man who tried to wipe them out so they could be killed.

King David handed them over to the Gibeonites, who executed them on the mountain. Their bodies were left exposed to the elements which included hungry birds and animals.

Rizpah, who was a daughter of the family of these  seven dead men, did an incredibly outrageous thing. She took her cloak and stretched it out for herself on the hard rock for the entire harvest time until it rained on the dead bodies.

She made sure that no birds or wild animals would be able to come near the bodies during the night. A mother’s love.

Upon hearing what Rizpah had done, King David was spurred on to retrieve the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan. Their bones had been stolen from the public area where the Philistines had placed them the day Saul and Jonathan were killed.

Once David had recovered the bones of Saul and Jonathan, he ordered his men to bring the bones of the seven men who had been executed. They gave a proper
burial of the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Kish, Saul’s father. After all this, God heard and answered the prayers of the people for the land.

A Mother’s Love Moves Kings

This example of a mother’s love not only protected her sons’ bodies from attack, but also moved the the heart of a King to take the needed steps for restoration to the nation.

Rizpah probably counted the cost before her vigil, knowing full well what she would have to endure. She knew she would likely be facing a six month wait
with scorching heat and drought.

If the bodies were left alone, birds and beasts would consume them. Vultures  jackals, and crows each seeking its spoil. Rizpah would have to deny herself, and fight with all within her. She would need outrageous strength, only motivated by a mother’s love.

What is a mother’s love – a mother’s heart for her children who are alive? To see their destinies fulfilled.

A Mother’s Love Can Turn The Tide

So what can we gain from this amazing testimony of a mother’s love?  We can recognize that an outrageous love makes us the best warriors for our children. We will do whatever is necessary to keep the world and the enemy from our children.

We can act in faith knowing the Lord will keep what we have committed to Him, and that every promise in His Word is our weapon in the war. In places where we feel we missed it, or believe it is too late, we can recover our loses by doing whatever is necessary, even outrageous things.

We can find a way of hope no matter how helpless we feel or how bad things look!

Who knows, if we do these things, we may be surprised of the consequences. A neighbor, the mayor, the governor, or maybe even a king takes notice of our outrageous love, causing nations to change!

Charleen Ecuyer

P.S. Check out this delicious way to express A MOTHER’S LOVE.