The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 139: Reparation to the Gibeonites (2025)
Mon, 19 May 2025
In today's readings, Fr. Mike highlights David's humility in two instances: when David asked the Gibeonites how he could repair their relationship after they had been mistreated by Saul, and when David takes a step back from battle. He also explains the role of the gatekeepers as people who would be responsible for guarding the doors to the Temple. The readings are 2 Samuel 21, 1 Chronicles 26, and Psalm 40. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Chapter 1: What is the purpose of the Bible in a Year podcast?
Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of Scripture. The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
Chapter 2: What passages are covered on Day 139?
Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 139. We are reading from 2 Samuel 21, 1 Chronicles 26. We're praying Psalm 40. As always, the translation of the Bible that I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, the Second Catholic Edition.
And I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a Year. And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, just click over to subscribe and subscribe. That would be phenomenal and amazing. And you would be phenomenal and amazing. If you don't, you're probably still phenomenal.
and amazing. As I said, today's day 139. We're reading 2 Samuel chapter 21, 1 Chronicles 26, and we are praying Psalm 40. The second book of Samuel chapter 21, David avenges the Gibeonites. 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, There is blood guilt on Saul and on his house, because he put the Gibeonites to death. So the king called the Gibeonites. Now the Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel, but the remnants of the Amorites. Although the sons of Israel had sworn to spare them, Saul had sought to slay them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah."
And David said to the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you, and how shall I make expiation that you may bless the heritage of the Lord? The Gibeonites said to him, It is not a matter of silver or gold between us and Saul or his house, neither is it for us to put any man to death in Israel. And he said, What do you say that I shall do for you? They said to the king,
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Chapter 3: How did David seek to make amends with the Gibeonites?
the man who consumed us and planned to destroy us, so that we should have no place in all the territory of Israel, let seven of his sons be given to us, that we may hang them up before the Lord at Gibeon on the mountain of the Lord. And the king said, I will give them.
But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Saul's son Jonathan, because of the oath of the Lord, which was between them, between David and Jonathan, the son of Saul.
the king took the two sons of rizpah the daughter of aya whom she bore to saul armoni and mephibosheth and the five sons of merab the daughter of saul whom she bore to adriel the son of barzillai the meholathite and he gave them into the hands of the gibeonites and they hanged them on the mountain before the lord and the seven of them perished together.
Chapter 4: What sacrifices did David make to restore the Gibeonites' honor?
They were put to death in the first days of the harvest, at the beginning of the barley harvest. Then Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock from the beginning of the harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens, and she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day or the beasts of the field by night.
When David was told what Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Bet-Shan, where the Philistines had hanged them on the day when the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa.
And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan, and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that, God heeded supplications for the land.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of Rizpah's actions?
Wars with the Philistines The Philistines had war again with Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary. And Ishbi Benab, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, fought to kill David.
But Abishai, the son of Zeruiah, came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David's men adjured him, You shall no more go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel. After this, there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibachai, the Hushethite, slew Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants.
and there was again war with the philistines at gob and elhanan the son of jaare oregim the bethlehemite slew goliath the gittite the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam and there was again war at gath where there was a man of great stature who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot twenty-four in number and he also was descendant from the giants
Chapter 6: What battles did David face against the Philistines?
And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan, the son of Shimei, David's brother, slew him. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.
The first book of Chronicles chapter 26, the divisions of the gatekeepers.
As for the divisions of the gatekeepers of the Korahites, Meshulamaiah, the son of Koreh, of the sons of Asaph, and Meshulamaiah had sons, Zechariah the firstborn, Jediah El the second, Zebediah the third, Jothni El the fourth, Elam, the fifth. Jehochanan, the sixth. Elihoanai, the seventh. And Obed-Edom had sons. Shemaiah, the firstborn. Jehozabad, the second. Jehoah, the third.
Sakar, the fourth. Nethanel, the fifth. Amiel, the sixth. Issachar, the seventh. the eighth for god blessed him also to his son shemaiah were sons born who were rulers in their fathers houses for they were men of great ability the sons of shemaiah othni rephial obed elzabad whose brethren were able men elihu and
all these were of the sons of obed-edam with their sons and brethren able men qualified for the service sixty two of obed-edam and mishalamiah had sons and brethren able men eighteen and hossa of the sons of merari had sons shimri the chief for though he was not the firstborn his father made him chief
Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth, all the sons and brethren of Hosah were 13. These divisions of the gatekeepers corresponding to their chief men had duties just as their brethren did ministering in the house of the Lord. And they cast lots by father's houses, small and great alike, for the gates. The lot for the east fell to Shalamiah.
They cast lots also for his son Zechariah, a shrewd counselor, and his lot came out for the north. Obed-Edoms came out for the south, and to his sons was allotted the storehouse. For Shupim and Hossa it came out for the west, at the gate of Sheliketh, on the road that goes up. Watch corresponded to watch.
On the east there were six each day, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, as well as two and two at the storehouse. And for the Parbar on the west there were four at the road and two at the Parbar. These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the Korahites and the sons of Merari. the treasurers, officers, and judges.
And of the Levites, Ahijah had charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated gifts, the sons of Ladan, the sons of the Gershonites belonging to Ladan, the heads of the fathers' houses belonging to Ladan the Gershonite, Jehieli. The sons of Jehali, Zetham, and Joel his brother, were in charge of the treasuries of the house of the Lord.
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Chapter 7: What roles do the gatekeepers play in the Temple?
Psalm chapter 40, thanksgiving for deliverance and prayer for help.
To the choir master, a psalm of David. I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit out of the miry bog and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us. None can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be numbered. Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, behold, I come. in the role of the book it is written of me i delight to do your will o my god your law is within my heart i have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation behold i have not restrained my lips as you know o lord I have not hidden your saving help within my heart.
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation. I have not concealed your mercy and your faithfulness from the great congregation. Do not, O Lord, withhold your compassion from me. Let your mercy and your faithfulness ever preserve me. For evils have encompassed me without number. My iniquities have overtaken me till I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head. My heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether who seek to snatch away my life. Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt. Let them be appalled because of their shame who say to me, aha, aha. But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who love your salvation say continually, great is the Lord. As for me, I am poor. But the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer. Do not delay, O my God.
Father in heaven, we thank you and give you praise.
And it is true that sacrifice and offering, you do not desire. You've given an open ear, an open heart. What you desire is obedience. What you desire is for us to have a heart like yours. What you desire is mercy, not sacrifice, obedience, not sacrifice in so many ways. That when we do offer you sacrifice, it is only out of obedience.
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Chapter 8: What themes does Psalm 40 address?
even though the Gibeonites had entered into that agreement, entered into that promise through trickery, if you remember that back in the day. Now, what did the king do? He says, okay, he calls the Gibeonites, and basically, this is so wise of him. He says, yeah, we realize this has happened. I realize this has happened. What do you want me to do for you?
He doesn't just say, here's what I'm going to do. Saul had killed all these people of yours, so I offer you this. He asked a
them so here's the king approaching them not as the king but as someone who wants to serve and this is just a great moment where i go once again king david with all his flaws does highlight and express that he is in many ways the foreshadowing of jesus the jesus who said i did not come to be served but to serve so david goes to the gibeonites and says how can I serve you?
And they basically, you know, they say silver or gold from Saul or from his house, that's not going to help anything. And you don't need to kill any men in Israel for us. That's not going to help anything. That's not bringing anyone back. But they do ask for seven members of Saul's descendants, seven members of Saul's family be delivered to them and they'll execute them. And so that's what happens.
Again, we look at that and think, That's strange, but there's an element of justice to this and also an element of restraint to this. Now, it's not just in the sense that these are Saul's descendants, they're not Saul, but one of the things we remembered yesterday, that how others suffer because of our sins. And here's another example where how others are suffering because of Saul's sins.
Last little note, it says that David is entering more and more into battle, or just it talks about the defeat of the Philistines at the last part of 2 Samuel chapter 21. And in the midst of this, not only are there a number of giants that David's mighty men are facing, but also talks about how David is growing weary in battle, that David's getting old.
And there's something so powerful about David still willing to go into battle. Remember, but way back in 1 Samuel, we have David avoiding the battle. Sorry, in 2 Samuel, the beginning of 2 Samuel chapter 11, David avoiding battle. He was avoiding doing what he was called to do.
but now even in his old age david is going into battle because that's what he ought to be doing so once again david can repent right david can learn his lesson and can go back out into battle but here is another case where human weakness just is on display and david is not the man he used to be he used to be a mighty man right he's be a mighty warrior from his youth i mean to realize this
And he has to come face to face with the fact that he's not the man he was. He doesn't have the strength he had. He doesn't have the ability to fight that he had. He doesn't have the ability to sustain his fighting in battle that he once had. And that is something so powerful for so many of us as we continue to grow, as we continue to move forward.
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