A Reason for the Drought
by Paul Lawrence
David found himself in a drought. Not just any drought, but one that had been going on for three years (2 Samuel 21:1-2) and so he sought the Lord to see if there was a reason. The Lord indicated that there was reason for the current situation, and that Saul had broken an agreement that had been set up many years earlier between the Gibeonites and the Israelites when they entered the Promised Land.
The Gibeonites had deceived and tricked the Israelites to enter an agreement not to harm them. After the Israelites found out about the deception they were angry, but knew they couldn’t just break the covenant. They had to keep it, otherwise God’s anger would burn against them for breaking the oath they’d sworn (Joshua 9:1-20).
However, in generations ahead Saul hadn’t kept that covenant, and he’d murdered the Gibeonites (2 Samuel 21:1). There were consequences to the breaking of that agreement, and David was the one who was now suffering from a drought.
David was a wise man, and he went to the remaining Gibeonite leaders and asked what he could do to repair the damage, and the Gibeonites set out their terms. When these terms were met and carried out, God answered the prayers of David to break the drought on the land.
This is a very challenging section in the Bible, and the challenge today is to examine ourselves closely and see if there are any agreements we’ve broken. Perhaps we’re not honouring work agreements, our marriage vows, or agreements made with friends. Perhaps there’s a particular situation in our lives that’s not good and it’s been going on for years. It’s time to seek the Lord, and see if there’s anything that needs to be put right in our lives, so the Lord can bring healing to any land that’s stricken with ‘a drought’.
Prayer: Father, I come to You now to seek You about anything in my life that gets in the way of me receiving your full blessing or healing. Please would You reveal this to me and show me how to put things right. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Paul Lawrence is the Centre Director at Ellel Grange, UK and is married to Anne, who is the Deputy Centre Director for the Grange. He has lived in Africa for over 20 years and China for 5 years. His passion is to see the Lord do bigger and greater things in peoples lives that they cannot do on their own, not just in healings but also in the fun things of life. His belief is that nothing is ever big enough and as a team we can achieve anything if the Lord is at the centre.
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