Rizpah’s story (2 Samuel 3:7-8; 21:8, 10-14) is synonymous with turning great losses into triumph. But the journey to reach that outcome was extremely difficult for her—as it is for us. To pretend otherwise is to belie the realities of life. As stated last month, sometimes we may feel that our experiences are collateral damage in the great cosmic conflict between God and Satan, and while Psalm 37 gives us insight and comfort, the pain is very real.

We have learned that her story has much in common with Job’s season of losses because God permitted Satan to test him. It also reminds us of John the Baptist’s ultimate loss of his life because he stood for God’s righteousness (Matthew 14:1-12). 

In this segment we focus on what Rizpah did after her innocent sons were hung to satisfy the Gibeonites’ revenge for King Saul’s murder of their people (1 Samuel 10:26; 22:6; 23:19).

The Bible says that “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” (2 Samuel 21:10).

Her grief became visible; she acted it out. Can you see a picture of this in your mind? Mull over it for a moment. 

Her sorrow was so deep that all she could do was to sit on a rock covered with sackcloth, a type of cloth made of black goat's hair that was thick, rough, and coarse material. Prophets and kings often wore this uncomfortable material as an outward sign of mourning and submission (Genesis 37:34; 42:25; 2 Kings 19:1; Esther 4:1; Isaiah 15:3; Lamentations 2:10; Daniel 9:3; Jonah 3:5-8).

As discussed in the prior segments, she was powerless to stop the traumatic and tragic experiences. She and her sons truly were collateral damage. Life is not fair, but faith in God’s sovereignty allows us to have hope, peace, insight, and understanding that evil won’t last always.

The takeaway from this segment is that even when there seems to be nothing that we can do, we can still do something—hope. Paul’s comment about Abraham’s faith is a fundamental principal to help us in dark times, “Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping” (Romans 4:18).  

Put another way, “When the predicted outcome is not good, we must not give up hope.” Hope is not a magic potion guaranteeing that the outcome will change. Hope enables us to believe that good will be birthed despite evil—and that is the change. For me, hope and trust in God is the same. A study of the word hope in the Bible can be an attitude changer.

Rizpah’s determination does not waiver and still says to us "Don't Stop—Now!"  Is she whispering that to you today?  Hope in God is never misplaced.

We will continue our discussion in the next issue, but if you want to search for Bible answers now, please email JudithHawkins@GRM2.net.