2 Samuel 1:21
Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
David's lament called for no dew or rain and no fields of offerings on the mountains of Gilboa because there Saul's shield was disgracefully thrown away as if he had never been anointed. The hills left dry and waterless picture a soul left without the refreshing of the Holy Spirit. That missing dew and rain is the missing moisture of heaven, the grace of Christ, leaving mind and heart destitute of spiritual life and energy without the quickening, softening influence of the Spirit with the Sun of Righteousness. Such barrenness comes when hurried duties crowd out secret communion with God and asking in faith for the Spirit, when people live for self and withhold themselves from winning souls, and when minds are diverted by human rules, criticism, and resistance to light so the Spirit is excluded and grieved away. It shows itself in ministers and talkers of truth whose souls are unconverted and whose discourses and prayers are dry, tame, and powerless to refresh others, and the cure is thorough conversion through faith in Christ's merits, fixing the eye on the cross, and taking time to talk with God, lest continued fruitlessness cause blessing to be withdrawn.
Lament Over Saul
The words belong to David's lament over Saul and Jonathan. In that lament he calls for the mountains of Gilboa to receive no dew or rain, and for their fields to yield no offerings. The reason given is that there the shield of Saul was disgracefully cast away, as though he had not been anointed with oil. The hills were left physically dry and without water, in a state of extreme dryness with only a remote prospect for water underground.
Dew and Rain Symbolism
The curse of barrenness on Gilboa, with no dew and no rain upon its hills, is the picture of a soul left without the refreshing of the Holy Spirit. Hearts that lack the power of the Spirit are like those hills, in a state of spiritual barrenness and absence of Christ's grace.
The missing dew and rain are the missing moisture of heaven, the grace of Christ and the dew of grace. Where that moisture is gone the mind and heart are destitute of God's grace, the soul is destitute of His grace and love, and the spiritual life is dry. That dryness is seen in those who profess godliness yet live for themselves and refuse spiritual things that require sacrifice and self-denial, whose selfish thoughts and feelings have dried up their souls. Those who devote brain, bone, and muscle to earthly, selfish, worldly purposes and withhold time and talents from winning souls become as dry as Gilboa, shriveled and dying spiritually from non-use of their talents while grand opportunities are lost.
The dryness of Gilboa means destitution of spiritual life and energy, for lack of spiritual moisture and the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit. Performing all the outward acts of service in tame, monotonous, legal religion without earnest activity and zeal leaves the heart without that moisture. Spiritual moisture is needed, with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness, to soften and subdue hearts, while staying as firm as a rock to principle and backing Bible principles with holy practice. The same lifeless dryness marks ministers who arrange every detail of their discourses with such fixed exactness that they give the Lord no room to lead and impress their minds and cannot depart from the set plan. Continuing in that course makes them narrow-minded and circumscribed in views, a barren narrow-mindedness without life and energy and without blessing to others.
Causes of Spiritual Barrenness
Neglect of secret communion with God leaves the soul as dry and empty as Gilboa without dew and rain, destitute of the Holy Spirit, of the rich treasures of heaven, and of power in work. This happens when hurrying from one thing to another and pressure of duties leave no time to talk with God and ask in faith for the unction of the Holy Spirit, so there is no reviving of life. Without that private communion the soul becomes spiritually dry and lacks power for its work.
Selfish living dries the soul like Gilboa, when selfish thoughts and feelings dry it up for lack of the moisture of heaven. Those who profess godliness yet live for themselves, devoting brain, bone, and muscle to earthly, selfish, worldly purposes and withholding time and talents from winning souls, become as dry as those hills, shriveled and dying spiritually from non-use of talents while grand opportunities are lost. Such selfish, exclusive, exacting souls shut themselves up to themselves and to narrow views and feelings, fear to help those in error as though they would become polluted, and stand in the way of erring souls instead of searching for them. They do not taste the sweets of missionary work nor feel the blessedness that fills heaven with rejoicing over one sinner reclaimed, and by shutting themselves away from bearing burdens they suffer spiritual feebleness as a strong man shut from labor becomes feeble, whereas spiritual labor, toil, and burden-bearing keeps strong and gives strength. The same barrenness is seen when each seeks only for his own work and pools to flourish while others languish, letting water run freely in his own pools while other pools go dry, forgetting that God is the source and that glory and praise belong to Him and not to human conceit, ambition, or desire for approval of one's own plans.
Being burdened with human rules and regulations diverts minds from God and leaves Him no room or chance to work for those who love Him. If followed, such imposed rules leave people completely destitute of moisture, as destitute of the Spirit of God and of His grace as Gilboa was of dew and rain.
Caviling, ridicule, criticism, and misrepresentation, especially toward God's warnings, reproofs, messages, and chosen servants, leave the soul devoid of the dew of grace like rainless Gilboa. Such weapons cheapen the mind, debase the soul, separate it from God, bring sacred things down to the level of the common, please the prince of darkness, and grieve away the Spirit of God. Therefore no confidence can be placed in the judgment of those who indulge in them and no weight attached to their advice or resolutions, until divine credentials are borne before shaping the working of God's cause.
Barrenness comes not because God has closed the windows of heaven or withheld grace and power, for He still waits to be gracious. It comes because people separate themselves from Him by looking to themselves instead of exalting Jesus and relying wholly on His merits as strength and salvation, by partiality and hypocrisy that exclude the Holy Spirit, by concentrating on the law without reaching for Christ's righteousness, and by rejecting light and sitting still when called to work and hindering and criticizing those God sends. Those who so reject light remain barren deserts like Gilboa, with dry, fruitless ministrations unclothed with divine unction, bringing no refreshing, healing waters or blessing to others. The cure is thorough conversion, fixing the eye of faith upon the cross, believing Jesus is strength and salvation, and trusting in His merits and righteousness, so that converted men can teach others how to give their hearts to God.
The barrenness of Gilboa describes people destitute of Christlike nobility, generosity, tenderness, compassion, and love. They remain unchanged despite repeated appeals and hearing the message, professing to accept it yet continuing unchanged, spiritually unresponsive and unfit for heaven. Unless they reform, heaven's blessing will be withdrawn and the candlestick removed, leaving them in danger of losing its blessing.
Barren Ministry and Worship
Like Gilboa stripped of dew and rain, flippant talkers of Bible truth speak the truth while their souls are barren of the Spirit of God. In them thorough conversion is lacking and the power of godliness has almost ceased. What is needed instead are thoroughly converted men who can teach others how to give their hearts to God.
Ministers become like those barren hills when their souls lack spiritual nourishment from Christ the Bread of Life because Christ does not abide in their hearts. They arrange every detail of their discourses with such fixed exactness that they give the Lord no room to lead and impress their minds and cannot depart from the set plan. Continuing in that course makes them narrow-minded and circumscribed in views and leaves them destitute of spiritual life and energy. Those who reject light, sit still when called to work, and hinder and criticize those God sends remain barren deserts like Gilboa. Their ministrations are dry because they are not clothed with divine unction, bringing no refreshing, healing waters and no blessing to others.
Sermons that merely repeat another person's thoughts lack the freshness and spiritual power that come from personal study, prayer, and the Holy Spirit. A discourse that lacks trust in the Lord is as dry as those hills, missing life and energy.
The same dryness exposes lifeless worship, for a church may appear active and religious yet be destitute of God's grace. Performing all the outward acts of service in tame, monotonous, legal religion without earnest activity and zeal leaves the heart without spiritual moisture. What is needed is the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit, with the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness to soften and subdue hearts, while staying as firm as a rock to principle and backing Bible principles with holy practice. Prayers without warmth, fervor, and spiritual life are likewise like the dry hills; even when they are long, prayers without the Holy Spirit are lifeless and unacceptable to God. Prayers should instead be earnest and overflow with love for God and fellow people.
Young people who flirt and misuse their powers are as destitute of the Spirit of God as those hills without dew or rain.
Remedy and Warning
The curse upon Gilboa is reversible in the soul by thorough conversion, by fixing the eye of faith upon the cross and believing that Jesus is strength and salvation. The dry hills become fruitful when men cease looking to themselves and learn to exalt Jesus, trusting wholly in His merits and righteousness rather than concentrating on the law without reaching for His righteousness. That conversion is kept alive by taking time for secret communion with God, talking with Him and asking in faith for the unction of the Holy Spirit, without which the soul hurries from one thing to another with no reviving of life and no power in the work. God has not closed the windows of heaven, for He still waits to be gracious, and the barrenness comes only from separation from Him. Thoroughly converted men can then teach others how to give their hearts to God.
To remain like Gilboa is to remain destitute of Christlike nobility, generosity, tenderness, compassion, and love. Such barrenness shows itself in selfish, exclusive souls who shut themselves up to narrow views and feelings, fear to help those in error, stand in the way of erring souls instead of searching for them, and never taste the joy of missionary work over one sinner reclaimed. By shutting themselves away from bearing burdens for others they will soon suffer spiritual feebleness, just as a strong man shut away from labor becomes feeble, while spiritual labor, toil, and burden-bearing keeps strong and gives strength. Long prayers without the Holy Spirit are likewise lifeless and unacceptable to God. God calls for repentance and reform, for repeated appeals leave the unchanged unfit for heaven, and unless they reform heaven's blessing will be withdrawn and the candlestick removed.