RIZPAH Mother's Day 2016

RIZPAH

Mother’s Day 2016

INTRO: On this Mother’s Day I want to encourage you ladies, and those who love you, with an obscure, yet amazing story of a mother’s love for her children that inspired a king, moved God’s heart, and saved a nation.

2 Samuel 21:10 (NLT) Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah, the mother of two of the men, spread burlap on a rock and stayed there the entire harvest season. She prevented the scavenger birds from tearing at their bodies during the day and stopped wild animals from eating them at night.

PRAYER

Let me give you the back story.

Joshua made a covenant with the Gibeonites. Saul broke the covenant and murdered them. Because of this, famine broke out during David’s time. David went to make amends and Gibeonites ask for seven sons of Saul. David granted their request.

2 Samuel 21:8 (NLT) But David gave them Saul’s two sons Armoni and Mephibosheth, whose mother was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. He also gave them the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab, the wife of Adriel son of Barzillai from Meholah.

Rizpah was Saul’s concubine and mother to two of his sons. A concubine was not a common prostitute, but a kind of second wife with some but very limited rights.

1. Rizpah was powerless in the eyes of the world.

She has been with the king, money, fame, pleasure. Now she had nothing!

   A. She was marginalized.

   B. Her husband was dead.

   C. Her sons were dead.

She could have said, "Woe is me. What can I do under such cruelty?" No! She did what she could with what she had! She had the power to mourn her sons and to protect their memory and integrity!

Just because you have been victimized, you don't have to live as a victim. That does not determine your identity! In no way am I demolishing your pain. It is real and must be ministered to. I am saying that it does not control you. You can overcome by the incredible power of God!

Five long months, day and night, she protected the honor and integrity of her sons. They were killed for no fault of their own; they were hung in effigy to shame their heritage; they were denied the dignity of a proper burial. But this mama did what she could with what she had.

The Bible is full of stories about women who did what they could with what they had.

Rahab gave her roof and escaped Jericho. 

Another gave a room and got her child back alive.

Another gave some oil and paid her debts. 

Another some meal and survived a famine.

A widow gave her living and taught all a lesson.

Mary Magdelene gave a costly bottle of ointment and became an eternal remembrance before God.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, gave all she had, her body. *’Let it be to me according to your Word. I am your handmaiden.’* and gave birth to the Son of God, the Savior of the world, Jesus!

Even men got into the act.

The boy gave his lunch and fed a multitude.

The disciples gave up their professions and found new ones.

Peter and John gave what they had and a lame man walked.

What did Rizpah have? Sackcloth, burlap, that rough garment of mourning so common in Israel. I remember tow-sacks full of potatoes growing up. That was her garment. She took that tow-sack and made it a garment of praise. She laid it out for all to see, sat on it, and kept vigil over her slain boys for five long months, day and night, all kinds of weather, all kinds of pests, birds, predators, and scavengers. She stood guard over her boys!  She had lost them in life but she would not lose them in death.

I'm sure people made fun of her. There’s crazy old Rizpah down there shooing the bugs away from her boys’ bodies. When is she gonna quit crying and get on with her life?

This was her life! Legacy, remembrance, dignity, mourning, these are terms of endearment.

Mother’s Day is not always a happy occasion. Many of you here have lost mothers this year; many of you have lost children. You do all you can do to keep their legacy alive. To protect their integrity in death as you did in life. Watching over them less some evil one comes to steal the memories, savage the legacy, and damage the reputation.

Ladies, you have the power to do something!

MADD, Foundations, Blu52, Kimara

2. Rizpah becomes an inspiration.

After a while people quit making fun and talking. They tell David what she is doing and he is inspired, and maybe convicted. He goes and gets the bones of Saul and Jonathan and the 5 sons and buries them in their grandfathers tomb.

Because she did what she did with what she has, they got what they deserved: dignity, legacy, honor, remembrance!

3. Rizpah moves God’s heart!

Sackcloth was used for something else: repentance. A person demonstrated repentance with sackcloth and ashes. Although not mentioned directly, I believe there was repentance going on! Now let me state clearly that God does not do things to your children to punish you!

I do believe that Rizpah did some praying like this, "God, I've made wrong choices. I've done many sinful things. Now my husband is dead, my sons are dead, I need your help. I want to do good by my boys. Forgive me, Lord, and make me clean!"

I believe that Rizpah may have been repenting of the sins of her husband and her nation!  National repentance is practiced all through the Scriptures.  What if we did that today?

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Five months she prayed.  Would our country, our family, our life, our church, our city be different if all we did was pray for five months?

Psalms 34:18 (NKJV) The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit.

We see that because of what she did, the famine stopped. God was moved and a nation was spared from famine.

You may think today that you cannot make a difference, but if you will "do what you can with what you have", it will make a difference. In you and in others!

Think about these heros:

Harriet Tubman

Rosa Parks

We can all make a difference is we will "do all we can with what we have"!