Verses 1 to 9 - David turns over seven of Saul’s gradnsons to the Gibeonites
This is a controversial passage because it seems to condone punishing children for the sins of their father’s. God’s approval is implicit in the fact that the passage says that God sent the famine as a result of the injustice done by Saul and the fact that the famine resoved once the punishment was carried out. However, one mus note that God never actually condoned the killing of Saul’s grandchildren, nor was He consulted. Never the less, it is noteworthy that they ask specifically for seven sons. It is not directly stated that they asked for these particular sons, but that is a reasonable conclusion. It is possible that these seven sons were somehow directly involved in the slaughter of the Gibeonites. Saul would not have carried out such a slaughter unaided, and it was customary for him to place his family members in positions of authority in the military.
The text states that David actively spared Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son. This may be mentioned in order to distinguish him from Mephibosheth the son of Rizpah and king Saul. However, it also shows that David was not simply trying to wipe out any competition to the throne, since Mephibosheth and his son’s had the strongest claim to the throne. Jonathan was Saul’s eldest son and Mephibosheth was his only son.
