By THE SPIRIT it is written in 2 Samuel chapter 21:
1 Now there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.”
2 So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
A famine is a time of suffering through hunger which is left unsatisfied. It can be a famine of the land or famine of The Word. In either case, there is suffering. King Saul had broken the oath given to the Gibeonites and his actions had never been reconciled thus FATHER permitted the lack of fruitfulness to come forth in the land of Israel. In Amos chapter 8 FATHER spoke:
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But of hearing the words of the LORD.
When we realize that we are in a famine we must repent or change. David realized he had a problem so he inquired of FATHER and was finally given the resolution to the problem. In this case it took three years to receive the answer. If we see some aspect of our life severely lacking we must press in and wait upon FATHER to show us the issue. Typically it is because we have not submitted to HIS Word in some area of our lives and are suffering the judgment associated with some particular aspect of our walk. When we are void of HIS Word in an area no associated fruit will be produced. Without this fruit, we suffer a “famine” in that area of life.
Walking in Love fulfills the Law thus if we focus on Love we should expect to end the famine. Why? Because when we fulfill the intent of the Law FATHER is able to restore us.
In Joshua chapter 9 the Gibeonites tricked Joshua into making a covenant with them. Since Joshua did not inquire of FATHER but relied on what he saw and reasoned, the covenant was enforceable. We should be careful of our words and be quick to hear by THE SPIRIT before we commit to others. If we commit to a mortgage even though the other party may not be upright, we should fulfill our commitment. In recent times there has been much written about why the current system’s method of lending in not lawful thus providing justification for not keeping our written covenant to pay. Clearly that did not move FATHER when the Gibeonites made a covenant under false pretenses. HE is more concerned about the purity in our commitment even when the agreement is tainted.
The vessels of honor are to be a standard to the world and the words we speak must align with FATHER’S Word. We must be careful to enter into covenant with those who have selfish motives and are willing to exploit us. It is better to do nothing than to enter into a one-sided agreement.
When we find that we are in the midst of a famine, we must take action to severe ties with what is causing the famine. David had to conclude the issue by dealing with the Gibeonites who were the source of the famine. The scales had to be balanced by ending the reign of Saul once and for all. This was done by the removal of his inheritors which represented the future and path of his motives.
The end result of famine is death in some form. We must die to the flesh and no longer walk apart from FATHER’S Perfect Will. Love is not self-serving and thus we must assess our motives when we are suffering in order that we may set ourselves willing to hear FATHER in an area which has been “off limits” in the past. We must be still and hear FATHER just as three years of famine required David to be still. We must remove ourselves from the noise of the world and our own thoughts in order to hear. Our goal must be to end the famine so that good fruit can and will be produced in our lives.