2 Samuel 1 - David Mourns for Saul

In the final chapter of 1 Samuel, we saw the Israelites defeated by the Philistines, Saul’s sons were killed, and he was mortally wounded. He asked his armorbearer to kill him so the Philistines wouldn’t torture him, but his armorbearer would not. So, Saul attempted to take his own life by falling on his own sword. This was all to fulfil the word of the Lord through Samuel. In 1 Chronicles it states, “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” (1 Chron 10:13-14) It was the Lord that put Saul to death, not Saul himself. Saul even tried to take his own life, but as we will see, the Lord would not allow him to do so. It would be an Amalekite that would finish him off.

As we pick up in the first part of 2 Samuel, the scene again shifts back to David at Ziklag. He and his men had been there two days, and on the third day, a man from Saul’s camp came to David mourning with his clothes torn and dust on his head. He fell on his face before David. David asked him where he came from, and the man replied he had escaped from the camp of Israel. David asked him how the battle went, and the man told him what had happened and that Saul and Jonathan were dead also. David asked him how he knew they were dead? The man replied that he had seen Saul on Mount Gilboa leaning on his own spear, and how Saul had called out to him and asked him who he was. The man replied to Saul that he was an Amalekite. I wonder if those words stung Saul more than the Philistine arrows and his own spear? The man continued that Saul requested him to kill him since he was in anguish, yet his life was still in him. The man then told David that, because he saw that Saul would not live, he killed him and brought David Saul’s crown and bracelet.

When David heard this, he and his men tore their clothes. They mourned, wept, and fasted until evening for the death of Saul and Jonathan and for the defeat that the people of the Lord and Israel had experienced at the hand of the Philistines. Probably as though to make sure he had heard correctly, David asked him “Where are you from?” The man replied that he was the son of an alien, an Amalekite. Those words probably stung David as well. He had just defeated the Amalekites who had taken all the wives and children of him and his men. David told the man, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed,” and he told one of his men to go and execute the Amalekite. Apparently, David didn’t agree with mercy killing. He said to the man, ““Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’” Even at Saul’s death, David still had a high respect for Saul and the anointing the Lord had on his life.

Next, David does something we might not expect. One might think David would have rejoiced that his enemy was dead and that he would no longer be on the run from the relentless pursuit of a man who wanted to murder him, but David did not rejoice. Instead, he mourned the death of Saul and Jonathan his son. He lamented over them, and he told his men to teach the children of Israel the song of the bow:

“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!”

Notice how David had nothing bad to say of Saul; he took the opportunity to highlight the good that Saul had done in his lifetime. Everyone knew the bad Saul had done, so there was no need to focus on that now. What is said during a time of mourning is to help and comfort those left behind in their time of grief. Despite making a wreck out of his life and his kingdom, Saul was still a man who had been chosen and called by God, and this deserved recognition. He referred to Saul and Jonathan as the beauty of Israel, for the calling of God on someone’s life is beautiful. David did not want the enemies of Israel to know lest they should glory in the tragic defeat of the people of the Lord. David prayed there would be no dew or rain on Mount Gilboa, and it is barren unto this day. When current-day Israel was reforesting this region, they left Mount Gilboa unforested because of this curse. He praised Jonathan and Saul for their military might, and grieved their falling in battle. He called them beloved and pleasant, and recognized they were united in their death. He commanded the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul who had clothed them with luxury. He addresses Jonathan directly in his lamentation by stating that Jonathan had been very pleasant to him and that his love for him was wonderful, surpassing the love of women. This was not a sexual love as some have attempted to say. No love can surpass the self-sacrificial love that believers can demonstrate to one another, just as Christ has done for us. Jonathan truly demonstrated this type of love for David.

Wow! This was quite the lamentation for someone who has been your enemy for the last decade or more. These were not mere words of flattery, but David mourned for Saul and Jonathan because he loved them. It takes a godly man who is full of the Spirit to morn someone who relentlessly sought his life for the last 10+ years. How are we doing in loving our enemies? What would we say at their death. Would we lament them? Would we praise them for the good they did in their lives, or would we still find fault? I think it is important to point out that there is a difference between love and forgiveness. Love and forgiveness are closely related, but they are not the same thing. Real agape love is given regardless of one’s actions, and truly is in spite of them just like God’s love for us is in spite of us. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is given upon repentance. Jesus told His disciples, “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” The Lord does not forgive us if we do not repent, so I do not believe He would ask us to do something that not even He would do. Not forgiving someone simply says I have something against you. If you molest my child, I can and still should love you, but I cannot allow you around my children or any other children for that matter because you have not truly repented. The challenge for us is not having hatred in our hearts for someone who has done something as heinous as this. Even if they have repented, it can still be a challenge to love and forgive people who have truly wronged us. There are certain hurts and grievances that are very difficult, if not impossible to forgive, without the Lord’s help. It is the work of the Spirit in our lives as we meditate on the word of God and what Jesus has done on the cross for us to set us free from the law of sin and death that will help us love and forgive others in these situations.

Well, this was a long and hard stent for David, and his troubles were far from over, but the man who had spearheaded his demise was gone. God had taken care of the situation; David did not have to do anything. David was just hanging out in Ziklag with his men, and did not know that Saul’s end was so close. This is often how it is: we worry, fret, and run from our troubles, but God is about to turn the tables in our favor.