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54.
II Samuel 1: “Love for an Enemy”
Golden
Nursing Center in Mannington, NJ –Evening Service on 8/13/2015
(edited
October 2020)
Just before he became the King of a still-unified Kingdom of Ancient
Israel, David witnessed the death of his sworn enemy, King Saul of Israel. Saul
had lied to David, used him, punished him unfairly both personally and
professionally while David served him faithfully as a leader in Saul’s army. Finally,
David had to become a fugitive and run away from his king. Saul tried
over and over again to capture and kill David. So David was on the run, living
from hand to mouth and from hiding place to hiding place for years because of
this man.
Now as David, by the hand of God, is very near to ascending to
take Saul’s place as the King of Israel, word of Saul’s death comes:
Verses 1-10: “Now it came to pass after the death of Saul,
when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had
abode two days in Ziklag; It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold,
a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his
head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did
obeisance. And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto
him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, How went
the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled
from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and
Jonathan his son are dead also. And David said unto the young man that told
him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? And the young man
that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul
leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after
him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I
answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I
am an Amalekite. He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay
me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood
upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he
was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that
was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.”
How would you have reacted to the news of the death of King Saul?
If I were David, I fear that I KNOW how I would react. But look what actually
happened:
Verses 11-12: “Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent
them; and likewise all the men that were with him: And they mourned, and wept,
and fasted until even, 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.”
The Amalekite was lying. He probably wanted money or a reward from
David. We know from elsewhere that King Saul actually killed himself to avoid
capture by the Philistines. The Amalekite really misjudged the situation. David
was prone to enforcing martial law in this setting, plus he had just come from
a fierce battle against the Amalekites:
Verses 13-16: “And David said unto the young man that told
him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an
Amalekite. And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid
to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointed? And David called one of the young men, and
said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said
unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against
thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's
anointed.”
David remembers the BEST about Ancient Israel’s first bad king. This
“Song of the Bow” starts coming out of David:
Verses 17-21: “And David lamented with this lamentation over
Saul and over Jonathan his son: (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah
the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) The beauty of Israel
is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath,
publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines
rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 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.”
Should the death of the wicked ever be mourned? I would say, yes.
Who am I to judge whether a person’s life had merit? Listen a minute to
something about this topic that was recorded years later in the Book of
Ezekiel. None of us should judge a life as worthless or beyond redemption. Nor,
Ezekiel warns, should we be too quick to declare ourselves comfortably
righteous:
Ezekiel 33: 7-17
So thou, O son of man, I
have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear
the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O
wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked
from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I
require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn
from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou
hast delivered thy soul. Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of
Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and
we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith
the Lord God, I have no
pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and
live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The
righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his
transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby
in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be
able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say
to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own
righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be
remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again,
when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and
do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again
that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity;
he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed
shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he
shall surely live. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is
not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.”
We are not the judge of others. We are to serve others as much as
possible and acknowledge God as the Judge of ALL of us!
Let’s get back now to the story of David and the death of King
Saul. Saul was hard to love, but David still sincerely mourned for him. It is
God’s will for us today – I’m not saying it is easy – but it IS His will for us
to return love for hate. He’s told us that.
Our passage closes with what is sometimes called at Christian
funerals today a “Celebration of Life” for an individual. That person here is Saul’s
son, Jonathan. In stark contrast to his father, Jonathan had always been
loving, kind, and true to David. In good times or bad. How beautiful a thing
this is! Listen to how tenderly David addresses his relationship with Jonathan
in the conclusion of the “Song of the Bow”:
Verses 22-27:
“From the blood of the slain, from
the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of
Saul returned not empty. Saul and Jonathan were lovely and
pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were
swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye daughters of Israel,
weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on
ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty fallen
in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I
am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto
me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty
fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”
My personal opinion would be
that there is not to be found in the Bible a stronger sentiment of true
brotherhood until we get to Christ Himself and His disciples. Did you notice
how David’s love for Jonathan actually covered the many offences of Saul against
David? The Disciple’s shared that kind of love with the Lord. And we are meant
to experience that kind of love with Him and each other today, also. The
Apostle Peter says exactly that in the New Testament in I Peter chapter 4, at
verse 8. Check out that entire chapter sometime. That’s your homework! Let’s
pray.
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