The Fruits of a Broken Vow

Now Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until the late rains poured on them from heaven. And she did not allow the birds of the air to rest on them by day nor the beasts of the field by night.  2 Samuel 21:10

Obviously Rizpah had to contend with cats, because laying out a cloth is just a cat invitation as all cats know. However, other than that, this verse cries out for the rest of the story. As harvest takes some days to complete, it would seem that this is some sort of vigil, but what? 

I think that I would rather not have read the rest of the story. The sackcloth was for mourning and something was missing from it. The bones of Rizpah's two sons were missing from it. Two kings were involved and a broken vow from the first. A famine for three years came from that broken vow and atonement was needed. Rizpah was a concubine of Saul and her two sons by him were part of the atonement agreement. They were hung with five others. The atonement offering was accepted though, and God healed the land. 

God gave us a good ending from a tough story. 

Bucky