Rizpah: A Mother's Day Requiem
Her story is one of the saddest in the Bible.
The story of Rizpah is told in 2 Samuel 3:6-11; 21:1-14. Though only mentioned twice in the Bible, Rizpah demonstrates that the faithful devotion of a single individual can move the heart of a king. When her two sons are surrendered to the Gibeonites and subsequently executed, Rizpah can do nothing to help them; all she can do is preserve their dignity in death. She abandons everyone and everything in her life, devoting herself to keeping a lonely vigil and protecting her loved ones in the only manner left to her.
Rizpah goes to the site of the execution and spreads sackcloth out for herself on a bare rock. Refusing to leave the bodies of her sons, she stubbornly protects the corpses from molestation by wild animals by night and carrion-eating birds by day “from the beginning of the harvest till the rain poured down from the heavens on the bodies” (2 Samuel 21:10).
After months of horror, grief, and deprivation, word of Rizpah’s long vigil reaches King David. The king’s heart is touched by her devotion and commitment. Though she is a woman with few rights and little power, Rizpah displays a courage and loyalty after the death of her sons that captures the attention of the king of Israel. Rizpah stands out as a woman of faithfulness in a story dominated by men who are not always faithful. Her heart-moving example of fidelity, even under hopeless and desperate conditions, influences the king. When David learns of her courage, he orders that the remains Rizpah has protected be gathered up and gives them an honorable burial.
Rizpah’s tenacity and faithful devotion provide an example for all who are inclined to give up when the going gets tough. Out of loving concern she tolerates bad weather, cold, fatigue, and wild animals to protect the bodies of her dead sons. She withstands the unthinkable. Her story is tragic, her response memorable.
Rizpah’s story speaks to parents who have lost children, acknowledging the reality of their indescribable pain. Rizpah’s months of mourning are significant and necessary, and finally lead to a time when she leaves her place of bereavement and returns to life at home.
Leaders can learn something from Rizpah: Faithfulness is not conditioned by circumstances or fortunes. Faithfulness is an unconditional commitment to do what is right regardless of the cost or the circumstances. Faithfulness can be evidenced best in the tragic circumstances of our lives.
Rizpah is never mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, and we do not hear of her again. However, her story remains an example of love, and of loyalty and faithfulness being rewarded. Her unfailing love inspires compassion in the heart of a king. And her example of devotion is still worth following.
Excerpt taken from Who’s By Your Side? More Leadership Lessons from the Life of King David (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 2016).
