Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year, and David sought the face of the LORD — And the LORD said, It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he put the Gibeonites to death — A three-year famine afflicts Israel, and David seeks the LORD for explanation. The divine response reveals the cause: Saul's slaughter of the Gibeonites has incurred blood-guilt (*damim*) on the house. The Gibeonites, who had made a covenant with Israel (Joshua 9), were protected under that covenant; Saul's violation of the covenant brings judgment.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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