¹ David and his men tore their clothes in sorrow when they heard the news. ¹² They mourned and wept and fasted all day for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the Lord’s army and the nation of Israel, because they had died by the sword that day.

2 Samuel 1:11-12

Dear God, I’ve spent a lot of time with this story in the past, but these two verses caught my attention this morning. It wasn’t just David who mourned. His men mourned too. Considering the news of Saul’s death meant a possible promotion for them–from outlaws to the new king’s personal army–and the likelihood they could not stop living among the Philistines and hiding from Israel’s army, I would think they would have thrown a party that night. I can see where they would have lost their pride in Israel while still maintaining their love for their people. Right now, there are people who would celebrate if our current president were killed. Two years go, there would have been a different set of people who would have celebrated if the previous president had been killed. Our hatred, selfishness, and small-mindedness is dreadful. I want to give it to these men for mourning Saul and his sons. For mourning the defeat of Israel’s army.

But, at the same time, I’m sure it was David who set the tone for this. If he would have celebrated and started laying out his plans for taking over Israel, they would have too. But that’s not what he did. He mourned. He wept. He fasted. He ultimately killed the guy who brought him the news because part of his testimony was that he had polished Saul off when he was suffering. I’m not sure I’ve noticed this before, but the fact that they had just gotten back from killing a bunch of Amalekites for stealing their wives and children and this guy happened to be an Amalekite is a weird coincidence. Did David wonder about the veracity of this story? Did he wonder if he had simply killed Saul in battle and brought him the crown to ingratiate himself to David? But back to David’s overall response to this situation. He was setting all kinds of precedents here. He was teaching the men that you respect whomever you have anointed as king. He taught them to never kill your anointed. He taught them that there are things to respect that are higher than your own personal comfort or goals.

Father, help me to live my life this way, and help me to lead others to live this way. Oh, Lord, hear my cry. I need your help to lead. At work. At home. Even in a small way in the community. There are people who look to me for direction. It seems silly to me, but it’s true. Help me to always be an arrow pointing to you. I have the image of Rich Mullins in a photo shoot in Ireland for one of his albums, and he was standing straight up on a hill with his arms out to his side but slightly raised. They said he looked like an arrow pointing to you. Help me to live a like that is like that, and help others to be inspired to walk through the narrow gate when their life touches mine in some way.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen