There was a famine, probably caused by drought, in the land of Israel, David enquired of the Lord as to why, and the Lord revealed to him that it was a judgement because of Saul's massacre of the Gibeonites 40 years previously. In the days of Joshua Israel had made a covenant with the Gibeonites not to wipe them out as they were going through Canaan, and the Lord expected Israel to keep this promise. So David met with the Gibeonites and asked them how this could be put right, the Gibeonites asked for 7 men from the house of Saul that they might execute them. David agreed and delivered to them 7 men whom the Gibeonites hung together to show they were accursed of God. But the mother of 2 of the men would not allow their bodies to be desecrated by being eaten by the wild animals, so she kept a vigil over them until the rains came and she knew that their deaths had not been in vain.
