...God told David that he had to do something about the situation. But that doesn't mean that what David did was correct or that he was carrying out God's judgment. For God didn't tell him to kill anyone. As the Gibeonites recognised (v.4), they had no right to demand the death of anyone, but David nevertheless responded to their request. And the Gibeonites had already suggested silver or gold as an alternative. Why didn't David pay them off in that way? Well, we can't understand the politics in detail, but it seems to me that David was at that time acting unrighteously, and using this as an excuse to get rid of his potential enemies. And there are rulers today, even in democratic countries, who conveniently hand over to less scrupulous foreigners their potential enemies, such as terrorist "suspects" against whom there is no evidence.
In 2Sam21, David did not recognize that Gibeonites have a right to punish
Saul's children. Indeed, Gibeonites were not bound by Hebrew commandments.
David rather recognized the merits of their vengeance. Saul, of course,
committed idolatry by sparing the animals for sacrifice, thus imagining that
sacrifices, the material, are more important than obedience.
Vadim Cherny
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Vadim,
I think you misinterpret the passage. It begins
WaY:HiY Rf(fB B.iYM"Y DfWiD . . . WaY:BaQ."$ D.fWiD )eT_P.:N"Y YHWH
and concludes
W:H"M.f HuM:TW. B.iYM"Y QfCiYR B.fRi)$ONiYM T:XiL.aT Q:CiYR #:(oRiYM
This would serve to connect it to the judgment of God as well as David's
recognition.
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