1 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, ² 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.

³ And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”

So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴ 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.”

⁵ So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”

⁶ 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. ⁷ Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ 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.’ ¹⁰ 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.”

¹¹ Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² 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.

¹³ 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.”

¹⁴ So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” ¹⁵ Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. ¹⁶ 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.’ ”

¹⁷ Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, ¹⁸ and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:

¹⁹ “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
²⁰ 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.

²¹ “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.
²² 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.

²³ “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.

²⁴ “O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

²⁵ “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
²⁶ 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.

²⁷ “How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!”

2 Samuel 1

Dear God, I want to talk about other things from this passage, but I just noticed something about David’s psalm here. It doesn’t mention you. It’s about his lament over Saul, Jonathan, and the suffering of the Israelites, but he doesn’t invoke your name or reference you at all. Is that perhaps an acknowledgment that you had left Saul and were now with David? Did David start to understand how you were laying this out? Maybe David wrote a lot of poems/psalms/songs that didn’t mention you, but it’s interesting that this one didn’t.

Next, somehow this Amalekite knew David was next, knew where David’s home was, and went to him. Did he lie about killing Saul or did Saul’s armor bearer kill himself prematurely before Saul was actually dead? Did he think he could become someone important to David by telling him the news that he himself had finished Saul off? First, he must not have known about how David felt about Amalekites. If nothing else, it was probably very easy for David to kill another Amalekite after having just come back from getting his wives and possessions back from them. But then to be able to once again reiterate how strongly he felt about harming your anointed king. This was an important moment for David.

Another thing is his public lament put him above reproach. He will do this again one day when Joab kills Abner. He will use the opportunity of public lament for diplomacy. He will use it to communicate his noble inner feelings.

Finally, there is a real moment of mourning for Jonathan. David’s lament for Saul and the Israelites were probably real and legitimate, but he must have really mourned to learn of Jonathan’s death. “Your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.” No, they didn’t have a homosexual love, but Jonathan met David on an emotional level he had not experienced with anyone else.

Father, when it comes to lessons out of this story, I think for me the big one is that there are times of real lament and when things are going terribly wrong, but you are still using them to bring about your will. I also see that David did a lot of teaching in this chapter. He taught people how to treat your anointed. He taught people how to mourn, even those who saw you as an enemy. He taught people how to not covet what others have–in this case, David did not covet Saul’s kingship but mourned Saul’s loss of it. I don’t know how much the idea of harming your anointed comes into play for me, but certainly to mourn for others and to turn loose of coveting is a huge thing. You are my God. I am your child. Help me to experience every moment today through your eyes and with your heart.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen