Explanation: 2 Samuel 21 contains the accounts of a famine, an execution, and 4 battles with the Philistines. The famine narrative features Rizpah who guarded the bodies of those of the house of Saul who were executed for their sins against the Gibeonites.
      Israel suffered a three year famine. When David asked the LORD about it, the LORD said that it was for Saul and his bloody house because he slew the Gibeonites. So David asked the Gibeonites how he could rectify the wrong done to them. They asked that seven men of Saul's sons be given to them (1-6).
     David spared Mephibosheth who was the son of Jonathan, with whom he had an oath. But he delivered two sons of Saul's concubine, Rizpah. These were Armoni and Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth, Rizpah's son, was the son of Saul, and is not to be confused with Jonathan's son who bore the same name and was the grandson of Saul. David also delivered five unnamed sons of Michal or, in the opinion of some commentators, Merab. The various Hebrew texts consistently name Michal as the mother; but Merab (her sister) was the wife of Adriel, who is called the father of the five. The simplest explanation seems to be that Michal raised the boys on behalf of Merab, possibly because Merab was unwilling, unable, or dead -- the latter being the more common supposition. The seven were hanged on a hill near the beginning of the barley harvest (7-9).
     Rizpah stayed at the spot and drove away the birds and the animals form the bodies until the rains returned -- perhaps six months. When David learned what Rizpah did he gathered the bones of Saul and Jonathan from Jabeshgilead, gathered the bones of the seven who were hanged, and buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father. Afterward God had mercy on the land (10-14).
     The Philistines again went to war with Israel. Four battles are recorded. In the first battle, David became faint and was delivered from one of the giant Philistines by Abishai. David's soldiers then demanded that David stay hone in future battles lest he bring trouble upon Israel (15-17).
     The next two battles were in Gob. The fourth was in Gath. Giants fell in all of these battles (18-22).
     [ Sermons: William Still. Phil Newton. Various. ]
     [ Illustration: The painting above symbolizes the desolation that came to the house of Saul. At the execution site, while the bodies stayed exposed, Rizpah drove away birds (like those pictured) and animals from the remains -- perhaps for six months. ]

     ¹⁸ And it came to pass after this, that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob: then Sibbechai the Hushathite slew Saph, which was of the sons of the giant. ¹⁹ And there was again a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. ²⁰ And there was yet a battle in Gath, where was a man of great stature, that had on every hand six fingers, and on every foot six toes, four and twenty in number; and he also was born to the giant. ²¹ And when he defied Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea the brother of David slew him. ²² These four were born to the giant in Gath, and fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.

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