2 Samuel 21:3 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? And wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?
The Lord had sent a famine, and David inquired of the Lord. He answered, “It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he slew the Gibeonites.” They were Amorites who avoided war with Joshua by deceiving him into making a peace treaty. Israel signed the pact and was bound to it. But Saul broke the treaty; therefore the Lord sent this punishment. In response, David called the Gibeonites to a meeting to work something out. He sought to make atonement with the Gibeonites, that they might dwell together peacefully and become a blessing.
Jesus, God Himself, has come to make atonement between God and people, healing the rift that was caused by our sin. And now that we are reconciled to God we are given the ministry of reconciliation with others. “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation [2 Corinthians 5:19].”
Atonement pleases the offended party and reconciles the separation. This is what Christ did for us, bringing us back together with God; and now we have this message of reconciliation to bring us all together with God and one another. So we pray: “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.” Atonement = Reconciliation = the Gospel, which is the strongest force in the universe.