Another Reason To Pray For Those Who Are In Authority

648 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 21:7 But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the LORD'S oath that was between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. 8 So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he delivered them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the hill before the LORD. So they fell, all seven together, and were put to death in the days of harvest, in the first days, in the beginning of barley harvest. (2 Sam 21:7-9) Again, it's important to remember this is a civil matter, (albeit, not being handled in a very civil way) nonetheless the government has not been given the sword by God in vain and it is used to punish evil. First of all, put yourself in David's shoes here. He has to decide which 7 of Saul's descendants must die at the hands of the Gibeonites. He spares Mephibosheth, the crippled son of his beloved and dearly departed friend Jonathan, but another young man named Mephibosheth and his brother, who were sons of one of Saul's concubines, (Rizpah) were handed over to the Gibeonites. along with five other young men who were the sons of Merab, whom Michal had raised for her sister. So two of Saul's sons and 5 of his grandsons would die for the evil that had been done to the Gibeonites by Saul. We are not told of the angst that David must've felt as he had to decide who would live and who would die. These boys all had a mother. These boys were members of families that cared about them, and now they must be marched off to the gallows. These kinds of life and death decisions are made by heads of state all the time. Whether it's a declaration of war, in which many sons and grandsons will be lost, or a raid to release hostages, or even the matter of granting clemency to someone who is on death row. All the more reason for us to pray for our leaders as the Bible directs us to do in 1Ti 2:1,2 “Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, 2 for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.”