2 Samuel 21:1

2 Samuel 21:1 says, Then there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.  After David was returned as king, there was a drought in the land.  David asked God why, or prayed about.  God answered him that it was because of Saul's having slain the Gibeonites.   When we have concerns, we should take them to God in prayer, and He will answer if we are listening.  Verse two adds, And the king called the Gibeonites, and said unto them; (now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; and the children of Israel had sworn unto them: and Saul sought to slay them in his zeal to the children of Israel and Judah.)  David called out to the Gibeonites, who were not Israelites, but were the descendants of the Amorites, whom the people of Israel had made an agreement with to not harm them, and Saul had broken that agreement.  We as Christians come from different backgrounds, but we need to support one another instead of trying to destroy one another, and w are not called on to destroy others in order to keep Christianity pure.  Verse three continues, Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the LORD?  David asked the Gibeonites what he could do for them to make atonement for Saul’s actions.  If we as followers of Christ have harmed others, we need to be the ones to ask what we can do for them to make atonement.  Of course, our atonement with God can only come from putting our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord.  Verse four states, And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do for you.  The Gibeonites told David that they didn't want silver or gold, nor did they want David to kill any Israelites to avenge what Saul had done.  As Christians, we should never look for material reward if someone has harmed us, nor should we want them to suffer.  We should reach out to them with the love of Christ instead.  Verse five adds, And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,  Verse slx continues, Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will hang them up unto the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, whom the LORD did choose. And the king said, I will give them.  Though they said they didn't want David to kill any man of Israel because of them, they then told Dato send them seven sons of Saul and they would hang them in Gibeah, Saul’s home.  They said they would do this to the Lord.  We cannot seek vengeance against others and claim it is being done for God.  David agreed with their request.  Verse seven says, But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the LORD’s oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul.  David spared Mephibosheth because of his covenant with Jonathan, just as God will spare Christians because of their covenant with Jesus Christ.  Verse eight adds, But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:  Matthew Henry says these were the sons Michal had when Saul had given her as a wife to another man.  Verse nine continues, And he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them in the hill before the LORD: and they fell all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest.  David delivered seven of Saul's sons, two from one of his concubines and five of his grandsons from Michal, to the Gibeonites and they were hanged.  These seven may have had nothing to do with Saul's mistreatment of the Gibeonites, but they paid the price.  Jesus has nothing to do with our sinful actions, but He willingly paid the price for them, and if we put our faith in Him as our personal Savior and Lord, then we are forever restored to God.