Rizpah's Vigil — A Mother's Fierce Love

During David's reign, a three-year famine struck Israel. When David sought Yahuah, he was told it was because of Saul's bloodguilt against the Gibeonites. To make atonement, seven of Saul's descendants were handed over to the Gibeonites and executed.

Among the dead were two sons of Rizpah, Saul's concubine. In ancient Israel, leaving bodies exposed was the ultimate dishonor. But Rizpah refused to accept it.

She took sackcloth and spread it on a rock. From the beginning of harvest until the rains came — roughly five to six months — she guarded the bodies. By day she drove away the birds of prey. By night she kept the wild animals at bay. Alone. Grieving. Fierce.

Word of Rizpah's vigil reached King David. He was so moved by her devotion that he gathered the bones of Saul and Jonathan (which had been neglected) along with the seven executed men, and gave them all a proper burial in the tomb of Kish, Saul's father.

Rizpah had no power, no title, no army. She was a concubine — among the lowest-status women in Israel. But her fierce, persistent love moved a king to act justly. Her story is rarely told, but it is one of the most powerful examples of a mother's love in all of Scripture.