- DAVID MOURNS THE DEATH OF SAUL
A. David learns of Saul and Jonathan s death.
1. ( 2Sa 1:1-4) David hears the news in Ziklag.
Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. And David said to him, Where have you come from? So he said to him, I have escaped from the camp of Israel. Then David said to him, How did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
a. : King Saul and his three sons were killed in battle against the Philistines, dying on the slopes of Mount Gilboa ( 1Sa 31:1-8). It was the sad end of a tragic life, concluding the story of a man who came to the throne humble but left it hard and bitter against both God and man.
b. : Towards the end of 1 Samuel despairing David left the people of God and allied himself with the Philistines. God prevented a complete alliance, and brought David back through breaking circumstances (the stole the families and possessions of David and his men). Strengthening himself in God ( 1Sa 30:6), David defeated the and brought back everyone and everything.
i. Though David still lives among the Philistines, he is a changed man since his breaking circumstances and his strengthening himself in the Lord God.
ii. When David came back triumphantly to Ziklag, he knew that the Philistines and the Israelites just had a major battle. He must have been concerned as to the outcome of the battle.
c. : David knew this was bad news, so he immediately reacted with humility and mourning. He knew it was bad news because the messenger had the traditional expressions of mourning for the dead - .
2. ( 2Sa 1:5-10) The Amalekite s story.
So David said to the young man who told him, How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead? Then the young man who told him said, As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, Here I am. And he said to me, Who are you? So I answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said to me again, Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me. So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.
a. : Some wonder if this Amalekite is telling the truth. He says that he mercifully ended Saul s life after the king mortally wounded himself ( 1Sa 31:4). It may be that he merely was the first to come upon Saul s dead body and took the royal and to receive a reward from David.
i. The whole account which this young man gives is a fabrication: in many of the particulars it is grossly self-contradictory. There is no fact in the case but the bringing of the crown, or diadem, and bracelets of Saul; which, as he appears to have been a plunderer of the slain, he found on the field of battle; and he brought them to David, and told the lie of having dispatched Saul merely to ingratiate himself with David. (Clarke)
ii. We can gather that this was a lie because 1Sa 31:5 says that Saul s armor bearer saw that he was dead. The words of this Amalekite were likely An artificially composed speech, but scarce ever a true word. (Trapp)
b. : If we do take the Amalekite s story as true, this is a chilling statement. In a unique war of judgment, God commanded Saul to completely destroy the people of Amalek ( 1Sa 15:2-3). Saul failed to do this - and now will bring a bitter end to his tragic life.
i. Though the Bible does not specifically say it, Amalek is commonly regarded as an illustration of our fleshly, carnal nature.
·Like our fleshly nature, Amalek focuses its attack on the tired and weak ( Deu 25:17-18)
·Like our fleshly nature, Amalek does not fear God ( Deu 25:17-18)
·Like our fleshly nature, God commanded a permanent state of war against Amalek ( Exo 17:16)
·Like our fleshly nature, the battle against Amalek is only won in the context of prayer and seeking God ( Exo 17:11)
·Like our fleshly nature, God promises to one day completely blot out the remembrance of Amalek ( Exo 17:14)
·Like our fleshly nature, Joshua wins the battle against Amalek ( Exo 17:13)
·Like our fleshly nature, Amalek was once first but will one day be last ( Num 24:20)
·Like our fleshly nature, Amalek allies itself with other enemies in battle against God s people ( Jdg 3:13)
ii. Using this picture, we see that Saul s failure to deal with Amalek when God told him to ended in ruin, with an Amalekite delivering the death-blow. In the same way, when we fail to deal with the flesh as God prompts us to, we can expect that area of the flesh to come back and deliver some deadly strikes.
c. : We can easily imagine the Amalekite smiling as he says this, assuming David is delighted that his enemy and rival is dead. Now David can take the royal and and wear them himself.
3. ( 2Sa 1:11-12) David s reaction: mourning for Saul.
Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
a. : When David heard of Saul s death he mourned. We might have expected celebration at the death of this great enemy and rival, but David .
i. Out of pure jealousy, hatred, spite, and ungodliness Saul took away David s family, home, career, security, and the best years of David s life - and Saul was utterly unrepentant to the end. Yet David when he learned of Saul s death.
ii. This powerfully demonstrates that our hatred and bitterness and unforgiveness are chosen, not imposed on us. As much as Saul did against David, he chose to become better instead of bitter.
b. : These men had their own reasons to hate Saul, but they followed the example of their leader David and answered all Saul s hatred and venom with love.
c. : David s sorrow was first for Saul, but it was also for his great and close friend Jonathan. More than that, it was for the people of God as a whole, who were in a dangerous and desperate place in light of the death of the king and the defeat by the Philistines.
i. David heard this life-changing news - the throne of Israel was now vacant, and it seemed that the royal anointing he received some 20 years before might now be fulfilled with the crown set on his head. Nevertheless, David expressed little thought of himself. His generous soul, oblivious to itself, poured out a flood of the noblest tears man ever shed for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the Lord, and for the house of Israel, because they were fallen by the sword. (Meyer)
4. ( 2Sa 1:13-16) David executes the Amalekite.
Then David said to the young man who told him, Where are you from? And he answered, I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite. So David said to him, How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord s anointed? Then David called one of the young men and said, Go near, and execute him! And he struck him so that he died. So David said to him, Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, I have killed the Lord s anointed.
a. The young Amalekite probably believed that David was getting ready to reward him.
b. Despite many opportunities to legitimately defend himself, David refused to reach out and destroy Saul. David knew that since God put Saul on the throne, it was God s job to end his reign - and woe to the one who puts forth his hand to destroy a God-appointed leader.
c. : This shows that David s grief over Saul was real. He didn t put on a false display of grief and then secretly honor the man who killed Saul
d. : There were many factors that might excuse what the Amalekite did and said.
·Saul was in rebellion and hardened against God
·Saul was trying to kill David
·Saul was already dying
·Saul asked the Amalekite to kill him
·It may be that the Amalekite merely discovered Saul s dead body
i. Yet none of these excuses mattered. Except for justified killing in war, self-defense, or lawful criminal execution, it is God s job to end a life - not ours. This is true of every human life, but it is even truer of the life and ministry of - God is fully able to deal with his servants, or even those who merely claim to be His servants.
B. David s lament for Saul and Jonathan
1. ( 2Sa 1:17-18) Introduction to the .
Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:
a. : David s sorrow was sincere, and it was deeply felt. He crafted a song to express the depth of his feeling.
b. : This book is also mentioned in Jos 10:13 and it evidently contained a collection of early Hebrew poetry.
i. We shouldn t think that this is a missing book of the Bible. It is a completely unjustified leap over logic to say that if the Bible mentions an ancient writing, and if that ancient writing has any material in common with Biblical books, therefore that writing is genuinely Scripture and is a lost book of the Bible. Our Bibles are complete and completely inspired.
2. ( 2Sa 1:19-27) The .
The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
O mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is cast away there!
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.
O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.
How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!
a. : In this song, David shows the great love and generosity in his heart towards Saul. It shows that David didn t kill Saul with a sword or with in his heart.
·He saw in Saul
·He wanted no one to over the death of Saul
·He wanted everyone to mourn, even the and fields
·He praised Saul as a warrior
·He complimented the personality and loyalty of Saul ()
·He called the to mourning, and praised the good Saul did for Israel
i. All this is a powerful testimony of how David kept his heart free from bitterness, even when we was greatly wronged and sinned against. David fulfilled 1 Co 13:5: love thinks no evil. David knew the principle of 1Pe 4:8: And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.
ii. David could do this because of his great trust in God and God s power. He knew that God was in charge of his life, and that even if Saul meant it for evil, God could use it for good.
iii. Such a magnanimous attitude on the part of one who had suffered so much at Saul s hand is incomprehensible apart from a deep commitment to the Lord. (Baldwin)
b. David doesn t say it, but we understand that Saul fell long before this. He fell when he hardened his heart against God, against the word of God through the prophet, and against the man after God s own heart. Saul s death on Gilboa was the sad conclusion to his prior fall.
c. : David s mourning for Jonathan makes more sense to us. Jonathan was David s deep friend and partner in serving God.
i. : We remember that David s own experience of love with women was according to God s will. His multiple marriages kept him from God s ideal: one man and one woman in a one-flesh relationship.
ii. There is not the slightest hint that David and Jonathan expressed their love in a sexual way. They had a deep, godly love for each other - but not a sexual love. Our present world has a hard time believing that love can be deep and real without it having a sexual aspect.