Episode 15, "Women Who Got What They Want (Rizpah), In the Heart of God"

Hello and welcome to Episode 15 in our series, “In the Heart of God.” My name is Stephanie Wright. Today, we continue our theme, “Women Who Got What They Wanted.” When what we want is in the heart of God, we will get what we want. We will discuss a woman named Rizpah who fought valiantly for six months to protect the bodies of her sons and another woman’s sons until they could receive a proper burial. We will explore Rizpah’s history and how we can apply her challenges to our own lives. 

But, before we get started, we want to remember we are celebrating Memorial Day in the United States, a time to honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives so we could live a life of freedom. So, please remember to take a few moments out of your day to honor them and their memory.

Now, please listen to the podcast about a woman named Rizpah.

So, are you going to get what you want from God? As we end this podcast, our prayer is that you will be like Rizpah and stay focused on what you want. Trust God to protect you against your adversary Satan who wants to destroy your plans for success like the prey in Rizpah’s story. Most of all, remember that Jesus is with you, He hears you when you pray, He knows your heart’s desire, and He will give you what you need and want when it is in the heart of God. “I know the thoughts that I have toward you, thoughts of good and not of evil to give you your expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Thank you for joining us today. Now let’s go to Apostle Charles Wright as he closes us with contact information. 

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Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Episode 15 in our series, “In the Heart of God.” My name is Stephanie Wright. Today, we continue our theme, “Women Who Got What They Wanted.” When what we want is in the heart of God, we will get what we want. We will discuss a woman named Rizpah who fought valiantly for six months to protect the bodies of her sons and another woman’s sons until they could receive a proper burial. We will explore Rizpah’s history and how we can apply her challenges to our own lives. 

But, before we get started, we want to remember we are celebrating Memorial Day in the United States, a time to honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives so we could live a life of freedom. So, please remember to take a few moments out of your day to honor them and their memory.

Now let’s turn to our story about a woman named Rizpah.

Rizpah’s story reads like a soap opera, but I will try to give you the abbreviated version. Our scripture comes from 2 Samuel 21. Rizpah was the concubine of King Saul. She had two sons with King Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth (this is not the Mephisbosheth that was Jonathan’s son). In any event, Saul is killed in battle along with his son, Jonathan, so Rizpah ultimately has no one to protect her. I say ultimately because there was another suspected love interest, but he also ended up being killed. I am skipping a lot here so that we can get to the central theme of our podcast. Chapter 21 of 2nd Samuel tells us there was a famine in the land for three years. King David asks God why this is happening, and God says it was because Saul, when he was living, promised the Gibeonite people he would not kill them. He broke that promise in his lust for murder. So, the Gibeonites want revenge, and they ask for the lives of seven of Saul’s sons. King David grants their wish and turns Rizpah’s sons over to the Gibeonites and five of Saul’s grandsons. 

Rizpah’s two sons and five grandsons are hanged (some say they were impaled). Let’s read verses 9-11 and portions of verses 13 and 14:

2 Samuel 9 And he delivered them (Rizpah’s two sons plus Saul’s five grandsons) 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.

10 And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth, and spread it for her upon the rock, from the beginning of harvest until water dropped upon them out of heaven, and suffered neither the birds of the air to rest on them by day, nor the beasts of the field by night.

11 And it was told David what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done.

12 And David went and took the . . . 

13 bones of Saul and Jonathan his son; and they gathered the bones of them (Rizpah’s sons and Saul’s five grandsons) that were hanged.

Verse 14 implies that Rizpah’s sons and Saul’s five grandsons were buried with Saul and Jonathan after King David retrieved Saul’s and Jonathan’s bodies from the town of Jabeshgilead. Verse 14 also says the famine came to an end. 

So, Rizpah who bravely protected the bodies of her sons and Saul’s grandsons, eventually got what she wanted. Can you imagine the determination of this woman? It is believed that she protected their bodies for six months and fought against birds in the daytime and beasts in the nighttime. She had to take care of her own needs during this time; I am sure with the help of others bringing her food and other necessities. Her only bed was sackcloth spread on a rock. 

Nevertheless, Rizpah got what she wanted – predators did not ravage her sons’ bodies, and they ultimately received a decent burial. Now, there is some dispute as to who the mother of the five grandsons was but what is important here is that Rizpah defended their bodies as well. 

What is the takeaway for us today? Rizpah’s story is sad and tragic, but, in the end, she prevailed. We learn a lesson of determination in the face of insurmountable challenges. We learn to respect the loss of life and learn compassion for the mothers, fathers, and others who have lost loved ones. We know to honor the memory of those who willingly sacrificed their lives and some who were sacrificed without their full consent. 

But, Rizpah’s story is not our story. Rizpah was powerless to intercede for her sons. Her sons were pawns used to satisfy the revenge of the Gibeonites after Saul’s betrayal. This was not the first time Saul’s failure to obey God caused problems for others. He disobeyed God when the prophet Samuel commanded Saul in 1 Samuel 15:3 to destroy everything that belonged to the Amalekites. God meant everything, but Saul did not do that and later lied and told Samuel he had killed everyone and everything. We know Saul lied because David fights the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 27:8, and they show up in Ziklag, 1 Samuel 30. The most prominent place the Amalekites show up is in the Book of Esther when Haman the Agagite, who is a descendant of the Amalekites, tries to destroy all the Jews living in the 127 provinces of the Persian Empire. So, here is another lesson we learn from Rizpah’s story, obedience to God’s commands! 

But I do digress. As I said, Rizpah’s story is not our story. We have the power of prayer. We remember that Jesus was “hanged” on a cross, died, rose from the grave, and gave us victory over sin, sickness, and death. Rizpah could not intercede for her sons and save them from the king’s command to have them hanged. But because of Jesus Christ and His shed blood, we have the right to go directly to the throne and speak our requests to God the Father in Jesus’ name. We can intercede for the lives and souls of our sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, and others. Just as Rizpah protected Saul’s five grandsons, we can pray for children who are not our own. Indeed, many children do not have saved parents and grandparents, and we must pray for them and their children. 

So, are you going to get what you want from God? As we end this podcast, our prayer is that you will be like Rizpah and stay focused on what you want. Trust God to protect you against your adversary Satan who wants to destroy your plans for success like the prey in Rizpah’s story. Most of all, remember that Jesus is with you, He hears you when you pray, He knows your heart’s desire, and He will give you what you need and want when it is in the heart of God. “I know the thoughts that I have toward you, thoughts of good and not of evil to give you your expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11.

Thank you for joining us today. Now let’s go to Apostle Charles Wright as he closes us with contact information.