Imagine: Thirty years after the tragic deaths of Saul and his sons, a devastating famine grips the land of Israel. Not just for a season, but for three long years. Year after year, the skies remained stubbornly dry. "And there was a famine in the days of David three years, year after year," as it says in 2 Samuel 21:1.
Why three years in a row? What was going on?
The text tells us that in that first year, all of Israel made their pilgrimages for the great festivals. David, a wise and concerned leader, addressed the people. He urged them to search their hearts, to look for any trace of idolatry among them. You see, there was a belief that drought was a direct consequence of straying from the path of the one God. As Deuteronomy 11:16 warns, "Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them." And what follows that warning? "And the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you, and he will shut up the heaven, that there be no rain" (Deut. 11:17). A pretty clear connection. So, the people went out and investigated. They searched high and low, looking for any signs of forbidden idols, any hint of false worship.
But they found nothing. A nation facing starvation, their king convinced the problem lies in their collective spiritual failings. The people earnestly search their souls… and come up empty. What do you do when you’ve done everything "right," and the heavens still don’t open? What happens when the obvious answer isn't the real answer at all? That, friends, is where our story really begins.