2 Samuel 21:10-14

2 Samuel 21:10-14

[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  and took  the bones  of Saul  and the bones  of Jonathan  his son  from the men  of Jabeshgilead,  which had stolen  them from the street  of Bethshan,  where the Philistines  them, when  the Philistines  had slain  Saul  in Gilboa:  [13] And he brought up  from thence the bones  of Saul  and the bones  of Jonathan  his son;  and they gathered  the bones  of them that were hanged.  [14] And the bones  of Saul  and Jonathan  his son  buried  they in the country  of Benjamin  in Zelah,  in the sepulchre  of Kish  his father:  and they performed  all that the king  commanded.  And after  that God  was intreated  for the land. 

What does 2 Samuel 21:10-14 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The writer did not mention how much time elapsed between the execution of Saul"s descendants and the coming of rain.
"Leaving corpses without burial, to be consumed by birds of prey and wild beasts, was regarded as the greatest ignominy that could befall the dead ..." [1]
David"s action ended the famine, and God again blessed Israel with rain and fertility. David also proceeded to give Saul and Jonathan honorable burials. [2]
Because Saul had been unfaithful to Israel"s covenant with the Gibeonites, God punished the nation with famine (lack of fertility). When David, who followed the Mosaic Law, righted this wrong, God restored fertility to the land. God reduced Saul"s line from one of the most powerful-looking men in Israel, Saul, to one of the weakest-looking, Mephibosheth. David"s faithfulness to his covenant with Jonathan shows he was a covenant-keeping king like Yahweh. Saul, on the other hand, broke Israel"s covenant with the Gibeonites.