II Samuel 21:7 “But the king spared Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, because of the oath of the Lord which was between them, between David and Saul’s son Jonathan.”

How many times have you heard your children making promises to their friends? Remember the pinkie swear? Kids promise things all the time. They promise to never stop being someone’s friend (until a better friend comes along). They promise to clean their room (until they get busy outside playing). They promise to do their homework (but fall asleep before it is finished).

Promises are meant to be kept, not broken. David had promised Jonathan that he would protect his family. And here in this passage he had to choose which descendants of Saul to turn over to the Gibeonites for them to kill in order to stop the famine going on in Israel. Tough choice, but he kept his promise to protect Jonathan’s son.

How about you, Mom and Dad? Have you made promises to your children that you have not kept? Have you promised to take them to the ballpark, but haven’t? Have you promised to go with them to the movies, but just haven’t gotten around to it? They are watching and will model your promise keeping skills.

Our Father in heaven will always keep His promises. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. He promised to send us His Holy Spirit, and He did. He promises to love us with an everlasting love. Aren’t you glad that He is a promise keeper?