When I returned home from South Sudan this weekend (I was on a work/ministry trip), I learned that the Supreme Court decided that our government could reverse course and rescind Temporary Protected Status for thousands of refugees from Haiti and Syria. These are vulnerable people who came to the US legally. What immediately came to mind was a story from 2 Samuel 21 about the Gibeonites. The Who?? The Gibeonites were a cannanite people group who avoided annihilation when Israel took the land of Canaan. The leaders of Israel made a treaty with them, and they were granted protected status to live securely in the land among the people of Israel. They continued to live peacefully in the land until the reign of King Saul, Israel’s first king. (By the way, there’s a cautionary tale behind the the nation’s demand for a king, in 1 Samuel 8:5-20. The people were warned that this king would become oppressive and would exploit his position for personal gain. But the people basically said, “We don’t care! We want a king to be our champion so we can be like all the other nations”).
King Saul was always desperate to win approval and popularity among the people, so he launched lots of wars against Israel’s enemies. But it wasn’t enough. He decided it would be a good thing to break Israel’s promise that granted the Gibeonites protection to live and work in the land, and attack them instead. Time moved on, the nation moved on and every one forgot about this breach of good faith, except God. During the reign of king David, Second Samuel 21 tells us there was a three-year famine. The famine continues until David decides to ask God what is going on, why are the life-giving rains withheld? God’s answer:
“The Lord said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.” The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.)” 2 Samuel 21:2.
when Israel takes the land of Canaan
The Gibeonites referred to Saul as “the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel.” Saul’s intention was to deprive the Gibeonites of the rights and protections these resident aliens had been previously granted, and to turn the population against them. He probably framed it as being ‘in the national interest.’
The rest of the story gives the gruesome account of how reparations were made. But in the end, Kind David made sure that the nation of Israel kept its word to this vulnerable people group, protections were restored, and the famine-ending rains finally came.
The point of the story, and the point of this little piece, is that when a nation and its government make promises of protection to vulnerable people, God takes note. And when those promises are broken, God also takes note and negative consequences will ensue, sooner or later. I personally believe (and I say ‘personally’ because I’m not saying you have to believe it too) that one of the reasons the USA has been so abundantly blessed in the past is because of the way we – the nation and its leaders – have opened our doors to the persecuted, the vulnerable, those fleeing poverty, violence and discrimination, those looking for a better life. They were welcomed, and they have contributed so much to our communities, our cultural diversity, and yes, our economy. America has also reached a helping hand across the world with economic, agricultural, health and other programs that have built goodwill and given people hope. To withdraw, to reverse course, to close our ears to the cries of the poor, to renege on promises and protections granted, by law, to refugees who are here legally … Well, it is self-sabotage and we should not expect that such decisions will bring about blessing, but quite the opposite. May the Lord have mercy on our nation, and on all those refugees within our borders.
Know This Love 