All About Love - Relating with Women of the Bible – Part 2Намуна

RIZPAH – A MOTHER’S LOVE

No parent should outlive and bury their children. Yet it seems the most heart-wrenching experience already as I am separated from them.

Rizpah, a royal concubine of Saul, must have been a ‘hot babe’ as her name denotes a ‘hot stone.’ The king usually desires a concubine because of her physical beauty, while the wife is usually a physical token of alliance by the king with another kingdom. Having two sons with King Saul established Rizpah’s desirability. Her beauty must have been so appealing that one of Saul’s sons accused Saul’s cousin and army general of having sex with Rizpah, for fear of laying claim to the throne.

But Rizpah was more than a beautiful trophy to be acquired. She exemplifies a mother’s pure love for her children. She may or may not have known the reason for the famine in the land was because of Saul’s sins, but she didn’t want her sons to die as sacrifice, and more so, not to have a proper burial. Certainly, she would not allow their bodies to be feasted on by vultures and wild beasts. So she watched day and night, fighting off the birds and beasts to lay off their bodies.

And she did that tirelessly to months end, from harvest until rain time, from corpses until bones. She suffered because her sons suffered. She endured the humiliation, as her sons were humiliated. She spread on sackcloth on a rock, whether for mourning and repentance, or for her to lie on, is self-sacrificing as her sons’ sacrifices. Instead of going back to the palace, she stayed. She would rather die out there on the hill than not stand-up for her sons’ justice.

Her conviction for their proper burial happened when David heard of what she had done. She only wanted a proper burial, but her sons got a royal burial. Rizpah’s tremendous love for her sons and dedication until she got the interment they deserved is extraordinary. But is there any mother who won’t suffer or die for her children?

Unfaltering devotion has its rewards. Do not worry, dear one, if you have to sacrifice for your children. Our Father’s sacrifice surpasses all sacrifices when He gave us His Son. And He will give you the oil of gladness and turn your mourning into dancing, give you beauty for ashes and give you a mantle of praise. Praise the Lord!