Who is Rizpah?
The story of Rizpah, which took place thousands of years ago, is one of the greatest acts of devotion in the Bible. Found in II Samuel, her story is not very well known, but the inspired author considered it important enough to be included in the narrative about King David. The RIZPAH sisters are so thankful that the Holy Spirit has preserved this narrative. It has inspired us in a way that no other has.
Meet Rizpah – “Fiery Coal”
Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 2Samuel 21:10 (ESV)
You’re walking along a hillside in Israel. The heat is unbearable. The earth under your feet is dusty, and the grass has withered to nothing. This once lush Mediterranean land lies in the grip of a terrible drought, resulting in a famine that has lasted three years. Coming around the side of the hill, you are smitten with a suffocating stench and an unforgettable sight. Before your eyes are the impaled carcasses of seven men, each dreadfully decomposed. These corpses were the sacrifices intended to end the famine.
Surprisingly, these dead men are not alone. A woman sits nearby on a piece of cloth laid out on a rock. She is dozing, her chin drooping further down on her chest as the seconds pass. Out of the corner of your eye, you see other forms circle into view. Vultures. Quickly the woman rouses and lets out a blood-curdling scream, frantically waving her arms and throwing stones to ward off the predators. A fierce battle ensues, neither side wanting to give up his purpose in being there. Finally the woman prevails. For several minutes she remains near the feet of the bodies. Shielding her eyes with her hand, she carefully surveys the sky, making sure no more of the enemy lingers.
The woman’s garments are unkempt and you wonder how long she has been there. As she turns back to her rock, her face becomes visible. She looks to be in her sixties and her face is worn and tired. Your eyes meet. Hers are ablaze with a fire that burns deep within her: a fire that drives her to do battle with any creature that would dare desecrate the bodies of these dead men—a fire that keeps her vigilant day and night—a fire that defies sleep and hunger.
What would cause a woman to leave her home and camp on a barren hillside smothered with death? Passion—a passion fueled by a mother’s love, the love of a mother grieving over dead sons. Meet Rizpah, “fiery coal”, my heroine.
We may journey on, but Rizpah will not join us. Her post is here, hovering near her boys, always her babies. She will stay by them for six long months.
II Samuel 21:1-14 shows a woman of valor; a mother, relentless against the enemy. Her cause was her sons; impaled in judgment against Israel because of the sins that had been committed against the Gibeonites. Her fight was for their eternal souls. When everyone else walked away, Rizpah stayed. She refused to give up in the darkest hour of her life. Imagine the stink of rotting bodies that surrounded her; the smell of decay that drew the animals to the hillside. Rizpah rose to the challenge; she stood her ground and defied any creature to further defile the bodies. The men who hung there were defenseless, unable to fight, unable even to see the enemy because they were dead. If she didn’t fight for them, the animals would devour them, sentencing them to punishment in the afterlife.
When King David heard about the faithfulness of Rizpah he had compassion on her and did for her what she could not do for herself. He buried her sons. She could rest, knowing that Armoni and Mephibosheth were now safe from the birds of the air and the beasts of the field. NHJ
Dr. Gordon Hugenberger, Ph.D., Pastor of Park Street Church, Boston MA. and professor of Old Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary wrote in an unpublished email regarding why Rizpah fought so desperately:
“I like using the Egyptian cultural data where we are able, especially if it is confirmed by evidence from elsewhere in the ANE, to open up our eyes to what were often widely disseminated cultural assumptions. The land of Canaan was well within the sphere of cultural influence by Egypt, so parallels should not surprise us… In the case of Rizpah, I would just leave it at widely disseminated cultural ideas, especially given the evidence within the Old Testament of the view that the devouring of a corpse by birds and wild animals is a curse in passages such as Genesis 15; 1 Kings 21:24; Ezekiel 39:4, etc. Since the individual (or animal, symbolizing the threatened fate to an individual) is already dead, this clearly refers to punishment related to the afterlife. So, yes, I think Rizpah was motivated not just by a sentimental concern for the dignified treatment of the corpses of loved ones, but by theological concerns – not just the concern about the implication of punishment in the afterlife, but also the concern not to desecrate the land (as would happen by an exposed corpse, according to Deut 21:23).”