OK, let's turn to 2 Samuel 1. 2 Samuel 1.
Introduction
Our focus this evening is David's lamentation in verses 17 to 27. After hearing the news of Saul's death, Saul and Jonathan, David and his men grieve in verses 11 and 12. But David then gives expression to that grief in this lamentation. in verses 17 to 27. When we first meet David back in 1 Samuel 16, we know that he's a musician.
When we read the Psalms, we certainly know that he's a poet. And as we read this particular lamentation, we see the that the heart of David and this expression of grief that he has for the death of Saul and Jonathan. I do want to read the whole chapter, and as I said, our focus will be verses 17 to 27. Beginning in verse 1 of 2 Samuel 1,
Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 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, 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.
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. 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.
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, 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. And 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. 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.
Oh, 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. Amen.
Context and Background
So as we saw last week, after the death of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa, the narrative picks up in 2 Samuel chapter 1. David comes back from slaughtering the Amalekites. He's in Ziklag. Of course, as we just read, this man comes to Ziklag to report the death of Saul.
And this man claims responsibility. He thinks, or he's trying to curry favor with David. He knows that David and Saul are enemies, and if Saul is taken out of the way, then David's accession to the throne is going to be facilitated. So this young Amalekite, or this man, thinks that by doing this, he is going to receive favor from David, but what he receives is David's sword of judgment. and he is executed.
So I said, if you notice specifically in verses 11 and 12, 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." We looked at that last week, obviously, and we noted how David, when we consider everything, it was an extraordinary thing for David to express grief in light of the fact that Saul persecuted him Saul hunted him, Saul ultimately wanted to destroy him. But David was able to recognize the good gifts of God that had even come through a wicked man. And we also noted that Saul didn't do everything wrong.
Initially when Saul was put on the throne, his first victory was to kill the Ammonites who were plaguing the the Jabesh Gileadites, as well in 1 Samuel 14, at the end of the chapter there's a summary there of Saul's reign and it reads very well. And even in this particular song of lamentation that David sings, he tells the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. That indicates that under Saul's reign there was economic stability, there was prosperity, There was good that happened in the land. So David is able to parse out the good things that Saul had done, express grief for the death of Saul as God's anointed, without of course having forgotten the fact that David had been plagued by Saul and that Saul was a hunter of David. and wanted to persecute him.
Introduction to the Lamentation
Now David goes into, as I've said, the song of lamentation. I want to look at it under two broad considerations. First, the introduction to the lamentation, and then secondly, the contents of the lamentation. But in the first place, notice the introduction proper in verse 17. then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son.
I mentioned this on Sunday night in the scripture reading. Hopefully you remember, after the book of Jeremiah comes a book called Lamentations. And Lamentations is just that. It's a written record of Jeremiah's sorrows over the fall of Jerusalem.
And so this is a literary convention that the Bible employs, and it's not strictly biblical, certainly outside of the Bible. Pagans, unbelievers as well can compose songs of lament, but it is something that features often in the Bible itself. As I said, the entire book of Lamentations, There are several psalms of lament, both individual and community. I have a whole list of them.
If you're interested in that, let me know and I'll send you the notes. But as well, the significance of such a thing ought to be appreciated. The Bible does not minimize the reality that there are pain and grief in this world. The Bible never tells us that, you know, life is just going to be rosy and filled with happy thoughts and with birds and songs and feasting and delight.
No, the moment you open the book of Genesis, when Adam and Eve plunge into sin, we see from thence on this is a world filled with misery. There is pain, there is grief, there is sin, there is distress, there is confusion. And lament, or these songs of lamentation, are a wonderful vehicle by which we can express this lament unto our Lord God. The practice of lamentation is a helpful response to such grief and pain.
We are told in the Bible we are to weep with those who weep. And certainly there's the verses 11 and 12 sort of weeping. We get some particular news and we immediately grieve on behalf of the parties involved. But then there is this written form that David engages in in this particular place.
And this is a poetic masterpiece. It really is a beautiful piece of literature. As well as I mentioned on Sunday night, the Book of Lamentations. It's five chapters.
The first two are 22 verses and they form an acrostic with the Hebrew alphabet. So each verse begins with a letter of the alphabet. So it would be A, and then B, and if it was in an English alphabet, it would go C, D, E, F, G. There's 22 consonants, so there's 22 verses.
So the first two chapters are 22, and they're acrostic. The third chapter is 66, so the first three verses would all be A verses. The next three would all be B. And it's an impressive thing just to look at on the written page.
The fourth goes back to 22 verses, so the 22 consonants, so it's again an A through Z sort of a motif. And then in chapter five, there's no acrostic. And I think there's a reason for that, as I intimated on Sunday night, we'll deal with that when we get there. The point is, it is a It is a work of literary art.
And I like what Davis has to say with reference to this particular aspect. of this poem or of this song. He says a lament, treating the written form that we find here, a lament differs from the informal, spontaneous, immediate outbursts of grief like those of chapter 1, verses 11 and 12. He says a lament is no less sorrowful or sincere, but it is a vehicle for the mind as well as for the emotions. He says a lament is an expression of thoughtful grief.
In a written lament then words cannot simply be dumped or gushed or mushed as in initial grief. Here one cannot simply vomit out feelings but must choose words. Not that the lament is cold, objective, and detached. Rather, the intensity of one's emotions unite with the discipline of one's mind to produce structured sorrow, a sort of authorized version of distress, a kind of coherent agony.
In a lament, therefore, words are carefully selected, crafted, honed to express loss as closely yet fully as possible. And that's what we're dealing with here in verses 19 to 27. Specifically, it is a piece of art, a piece of work, a piece of literature that is carefully selected, crafted, honed to express loss as closely yet fully as possible. And then notice as well what verse 18 indicates.
And he, David, told them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow. Indeed, it is written in the book of Jasher. There's some variance, there's some differing understandings about what's going on here. He told them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow.
Some suggest that what it means is that he instructed them to teach the sons of Judah on the art of the bow, or how to fight war, how to engage in battle. But this isn't necessarily a song that provides military strategy. It's probably called the song of the bow because the bow was Jonathan's choice of weapon. Notice specifically in verse 22, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back.
So it's probably named after that aspect, and so David wants them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow. In other words, Judahites are supposed to know this song of lamentation. They're supposed to have it in their minds. They're supposed to have it in their hearts as well.
And there's probably a variety of reasons for this, not least of which is to imitate David in expressing grief for the death of God's anointed and of his sons. Again, this is something that fared well in the life of David. He didn't want to kill Saul. Even though Saul was a wretched man and Saul was trying to kill David, David spared his life on several occasions. and David had respect for him because he was Yahweh's anointed.
So certainly he wants the Judahites to understand that and express the same sort of grief over Saul and his sons. We'll see some other reasons why as we move on in this particular passage. Now there's a reference here to the book of Jasher. That book is also referenced in Joshua chapter 10 and verse 30.
It's a lost piece of work. We do not have it. It is most likely an anthology or is probably an anthology of war songs, hero tales, different things to fire up the troops in Israel to go out to battle against their enemies.
Contents of the Lamentation
Now let's look specifically at the contents of the Lamentation. And sometimes in poetry, at least for me it is, sometimes difficult to know how to carve it up. Sure, there's a whole lot of ways that persons could approach this in terms of the structure, but I think there's three main thoughts going on here. First, the disgrace associated with the defeat in verses 19 to 21.
Secondly, the appreciation expressed for the warriors in verses 22 to 24. And then thirdly, the distress experienced because of loss.
Disgrace Associated with Defeat
Note first the disgrace associated with defeat. Verse 19, the beauty of Israel is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen. That's the refrain three times, how the mighty have fallen.
Who's the mighty in view? It's Saul and his sons. When he says the beauty of Israel, Kyle and Dalich render it as the ornaments of Israel. Either way, it probably refers to Saul and his sons, the leaders of Israel are slain on your high places how the mighty have fallen." And then notice, he moves from this statement concerning the lament to a particular petition in verse 20.
Now David knows he can't stop things from being said in Philistia. David can't actually go and post guards and make sure no one in Philistia ever talks about this event. But this is his petition. This is the yearning of his heart.
This is the longing of his heart. Now I'm not suggesting we pray for things that we know we'll never get. But when we do petition God in this manner, it indicates something about what's going on in our heart and what is a concern to us. Notice in verse 20 he says, Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon.
These were chief cities in Philistia.
Concern for the Glory of God
David does not want this report of the mighty who have fallen on Mount Gilboa to circulate among the Philistines. Why doesn't David want them to know that? Notice what he says in verse 20, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. We have seen this convention when David comes back from battle in the Valley of Elah.
The women dance, and they sing, and they pray. Saul is killed as thousands, but David is 10,000. We see this also in Gath when David visits there in 1 Samuel chapter 21. They report to Achish, isn't this the one of whom they say he has killed as 10,000?
You see a similar convention in Judges 11 as well. And David does not want these Philistine women to be able to rejoice at the thought that the mighty of Israel have fallen. So in other words, David is concerned first and foremost, I think here, with the glory of God. Because when these daughters of Philistia rejoice, when these uncircumcised triumph, yes, it's going to be in the case that Saul and his sons are dead, but it's going to be a reflection upon the impotence of Yahweh as far as these uncircumcised Philistines are concerned.
Remember, we saw that when Saul was dead, they cut off his head and they put his head in the temple of Dagon. They took his armor and put it in the temple of Asherah. This was a means by which they indicated that Dagon and Asherah were victorious over the death of Saul and his sons. Even though the chronicler tells us that it was God who killed Saul.
So what this means is that David in this particular lament is genuinely and earnestly and in the first place concerned with the glory and the majesty and the excellence of Israel's God. He doesn't want these Philistine girls dancing and praising and celebrating because it won't take long for them to say, now that Saul and his sons are dead, to the point where they say Yahweh is impotent, He is not the God of heaven and earth, He could not keep and He could not protect Saul and his sons. For David, Hallowed be thy name starts in the first place, just as David's greater son, teaches us later in Matthew's Gospel. So he states the fact concerning the death of Saul and his sons, how the mighty have fallen and his heart immediately soars to the honor and the glory of God most high.
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. Nothing could be more heartbreaking to David than to know that pagans, wicked, Dagon-worshipping wretches, were casting aspersion upon the name of our great and glorious God. I think we ought to learn from David and we ought to learn from our Lord Jesus. that when we go to prayer, the very first emphasis that we ought to bring to the throne of grace is not for my happiness, not for my wholeness, not for my benefit, but for the glory and the excellency and the majesty of God. You see, that's where Jesus starts when he teaches us to pray.
Hallowed be thy name. Before we get to, God please give us food, and please give us forgiveness, and God please give us protection, we start specifically with the name of God, we move to the kingdom of God, and then we move to the will of God. The Lord's Prayer is structured with a theological priority, and that's what we need to be about in our prayer lives. Again, if you fall down a well and you're hanging there, you can say, God, save me.
But as a matter of course, when you pray, You ought to follow the priority that our Lord Jesus Christ establishes, and we ought to appreciate that that's where David's heart soars when he goes to prayer with reference to this song of lamentation over Saul and his sons. Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. This is consistent Davidic theology. Remember when he comes on the scene at the Valley of Elah, His father, Jesse, sends him to take wheels of cheese to his brothers and to ascertain their particular status.
When David gets there and he hears the taunt of the uncircumcised Philistine, this is the first thing he says, recorded in the Bible. Who is this uncircumcised Philistine who taunts the armies of the living God? For David, we serve a living God. And if that's the case, then big-headed beasts like that ought not to be able to inhabit this earth.
And that's what sends him out to battle in the Valley of Elah. It is theological to the core, and when David is reflecting upon the death of Saul and his sons, yes, he's lost a great friend and brother in Jonathan. Yes, the Lord's anointed has been slain by Philistine Pagans, but the name and the glory of God Most High is at stake, and that's where David begins when he comes to pray. Davis says concerning this particular petition as well.
It would be a helpful instructor to the sons of Judah. Remember I said there were various reasons for verse 18. He told them to teach the children of Judah the song of the bow. And then verse 20. something that the sons of Judah would need to learn from this song of the bow.
Davis says, this disgrace is useful. Now he's not saying it's good and it's righteous, but this is what does seem to be the theme in this brief section, is the disgrace that has befallen Israel. Because the beauty of Israel is slain on your high places, how the mighty have fallen. Disgrace has come. to Israel.
So David says that yet such disgrace is useful. At least David intends to use it. He says, remember the preface to David's lament. And he ordered them to teach the sons of Judah the bow.
The bow is the title for David's dirge of verses 19 to 27. David wanted the fighting men of his own tribe to know this sad song, to know it by heart, to have it crammed into their pores. This is legit. This is what he says.
David doesn't just say, teach it to the sons of Judah like we say it. We don't really actually care if people take in the Bible or not. David is the king elect in Israel. When he says, I want the sons of Judah to memorize this song, they would memorize this song.
Now he goes on. Why? Why should troops learn poetry? Why should the army of Judah always have the lyrics of defeat ringing in their ears?
Because David intends it as part of their motivational military training. Gilboa was not the last time Israel would fight Philistines. And David wanted his men to remember Gilboa. Remember the tragedy.
Remember the pagan arrogance. He wanted them deeply stirred and moved for the next time. Remember the Song of the Bow the next time you face these Philistines and the disgrace they cast on the name of the living God. Hopefully that would put some steel in their bones and they would go into battle with an earnest desire to loose the heads of Philistines on the battlefield.
The Imprecation Regarding Gilboa
Notice as well, under this whole idea of the disgrace associated with defeat, the imprecation regarding Gilboa. An imprecation is when we call down God's curse on something. And that's essentially what David is doing in verse 21. Now it's a symbolic imprecation.
I don't think David is anti-environment. I don't think David wants to ruin the lives of anybody that lives near Gilboa. It's a symbolic act to highlight the notoriousness of this place. Oh, 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.
That means that his shield is essentially useless. Because a shield, a leather shield, would be anointed with oil. Literally, it would be messiahed with oil. Robert Alter said this is probably indicative of the fact that Saul has been un-messiahed.
He is no longer the anointed, no longer the king over Israel. But the shield with the oil, it would be helpful in battle. But in this particular instance, the shield of the mighty is cast away there, the shield of Saul not anointed with oil. So essentially he is saying, because of that, oh hills of Gilboa, let nothing grow upon you anymore.
This is lament. This is grief, this is sorrow, this is ache, this is pain, and this is David giving vent to it.
Appreciation for the Warriors
Now notice in the second place the appreciation expressed for the warriors in verses 22 to 24. He says, for 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." Those were their weapons of choice, and David says in battle these men were excellent. In battle, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back and the sword of Saul did not return empty. That's that language that you find in the scriptures.
In Deuteronomy 32, you find it in the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah. The sword goes and gets blood. The idea is that it's victorious. Those wielding it are successful in the way that they bring that to bear upon those that they are at war with.
And then notice as well their character and life. So he highlights their ability in battle in verse 22, and then their character and life at verse 23.
Character of Saul and Jonathan
So Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. Now in this I think we see what we saw in chapter 31 of 1 Samuel. Jonathan was faithful, wasn't he? Jonathan was a faithful man.
You all know the story. We go back in 1 Samuel. Saul is anointed as the king. That means there's going to be a dynasty in his home.
There's going to be a dynastic reign. It's a dynastic monarchy. So when Saul dies, his son Jonathan is going to be the king. Well, of course, God punishes Saul and his household as a result of Saul's sin.
So God, in chapter 13, announces that it's not going to be a Saul-eyed dynasty. He makes it clear later that it's going to be David. And when David comes on the scene, what does Jonathan do? Jonathan takes off his royal robes and hands them to David.
Now, that's very untypical of man by nature. We want to cleave to those roads. We don't want anybody to take what's ours. If we have the least bit of right to a particular benefit, we're not going to part with that.
But yet David comes back from battle victorious, and Jonathan's taking his robes off and handing them to him. Jonathan is truly a man of God, as evidenced throughout all the chapters that he makes appearances in. Now we know that Saul was not the best character, of course, to David, but also to Jonathan. At one point, Saul takes the spear that he tried to launch at David, and he throws it at his own son, Jonathan.
But at the end, when we get to 1 Samuel 31, where is Jonathan? He's right next to Saul on the field of battle in the mountains of Gilboa, and he dies there. He's a faithful man. He's a consistent man.
He's a steadfast man. Now having pointed that out, where there was this sort of difficulty or tension between Saul and Jonathan, notice is David just whitewashing all that. Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. That's not untrue.
That's not incorrect. I mean, he did leave some things out, but I think we ought to take from this that at a funeral or in a song of lamentation, we don't need to necessarily celebrate every evil and despicable act someone ever did. You see, David is showing something here of an unbitter heart and a non-vindictive spirit. He is highlighting those things about Saul that he can legitimately and honestly speak well concerning.
There's nothing incorrect here. There's nothing untrue here. Now, having come out of 1 Samuel, we might be inclined to say, but David, did you forget when he threw those spears at you? David, did you forget when he hunted you like you were a dog?
David, did you forget all those times that he wanted to take you off the face of the earth? No, David didn't forget that, but David is a vindictive, vengeful, bitter little man. David is a righteous and a godly man who typifies his greater son, who, though opposed and who is looked at as an enemy by many, nevertheless prays, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. Nevertheless, God demonstrates his own love toward us.
In that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So David is typifying David's greater son in his attitude in this particular instance. I think we can pull out a practical lesson here. Funerals are not the best time to highlight the wickedness of the one buried.
I'm sure we've been at those funerals where we've heard the minister, we heard the eulogizers, and we thought, who are they describing? Because that didn't sound like anybody that I know, certainly not that wretch that's in that box. We are not to lie at funerals, but we are discouraged, at least by example, from bringing up every single detail in a man's life that is untoward. You know, there's this sort of an approach to funerals in our own day.
It's called a celebration of life. I don't know what to think about that. I haven't thought a whole lot about that. I like to think we're celebrating the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and rejoicing. that this person in his death is now gone to be with Jesus, but that's pretty common today, a celebration of life.
Whether that's legit or not, I know that, at least as I understand David here, a celebration of the deceased's sins and evil deeds and notorious acts isn't necessarily called for either. You know, there's got to be a godly restraint that we exercise. And we don't lie and say, you know, this person was of a sterling character when he was nothing but an ungodly wretch. But David is able to pull out those pieces of Saul's life that were genuinely admirable.
He is able to eulogize in a way that is respectful, that shows or depicts that he's not a vindictive little man, but rather he is a large-hearted Christian brother who isn't going to engage in that sort of thing. Calvin, reflecting on the problems between Saul and Jonathan, he says, but David here paid no attention to that, for he buried Saul's offenses and recognized him as the one whom God had ordained as head over his people. So the point is, if somebody drops dead, they don't need you at their funeral to tell everybody about every bad thing they ever did in their life. That is not the purpose for a funeral.
Again, I'm not saying lie. Maybe you practice the old maxim, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. What happened to that maxim? It's gone, isn't it?
That's what they used to teach us when we were little. If you don't have something nice to say, now it's blog about it, Facebook about it, tweet about it, yell at people, scream at them, and say everything that is in your heart. Well, you don't need to do that. You don't need to do it in life.
You don't necessarily, you don't need to do it in death either.
Weeping Over Saul
Notice, David goes on then and compares them to animals, eagles and lions. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. It's true. In battle, ferocity, swords and spears, they were men of proven ability on the battlefield.
Now notice, he encourages the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul. I love this because not only does David not degenerate into a petty, vindictive spirit, he doesn't get into this attitude, well Saul's gone now, I can tell everybody what he was really like. I can tell everybody what a wretch he was. We don't know how widespread the knowledge of Saul and David was.
When David comes to Nob in 1 Samuel 21, the priest there seems to have some inkling that something isn't good between Saul and David. So we move through the narrative, we see that in various persons. There's this understanding that things aren't great between Saul and David. But we don't know how widespread that was.
Do the daughters of Israel necessarily know of the problems between David and Saul? Well, David doesn't want them to. David doesn't express it. David's memoirs aren't, let me tell you about what a wretched man Saul was.
That's typical today, too. Men write their memoirs, and they say, oh, you should have known so-and-so like I knew so-and-so. He was this sort of... David doesn't do that.
You see, you have two options in your life. You can be a little pathetic whiner or you can man up and be a David and just deal with some of the problems and some of the issues and some of the hardships you face without necessarily telling everybody everything all the time. David not only did not degenerate into this littleness, but he discouraged Israel from falling into such a thing as well. Essentially, David is saying, think fondly of your king.
Think fondly of Saul. Think fondly of the Lord's anointed. But David, didn't he do this to you? David says, oh daughters of Israel, weep over Saul.
We ask the question, why should we weep over Saul? He clothed you in scarlet with luxury. It was pretty good, wasn't it, when Saul was on the throne? I mean, yeah, there was that internal skirmish between David and Saul, but insofar as Saul was able, he maintained a faithful and a diligent rule over Israel, at least for a portion of time.
If you disagree, turn with me to 1 Samuel 14. I've already alluded to this. We read it last week. It bears reading again.
Just so we can see that David here is capitalizing on the strengths of Saul, and he is encouraging others to do so as well. 1 Samuel 14, 47. This is after his decline. This is after the reader, we the happy reader, knows that Saul has messed up. Saul is not going to be the dynasty.
It's not going to be Saul's family. It is going to move to someone else. But nevertheless, verse 47, Saul established his sovereignty over Israel and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them.
And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of those who blundered them. That's pretty good, isn't it? You should remember that. You should think fondly of that.
And here in verse 24, O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. I mean, it wasn't as bad as we made it out to be, was it? It wasn't as miserable. I think there's a lesson here, too.
It can always be worse than what it is. It can always be a whole lot worse than what it is. And I think we're good in North America for complaining when then we read something about women in Uganda that are being beaten to almost death by their parents. kind of puts the long line at the gas station in a different perspective. Kind of puts the sale is over at Superstore in a bit of a different perspective.
It can always be a whole lot worse. And David exhorts the daughters of Israel. Notice the contrast. The daughters of the Philistines are going to go and triumph.
These uncircumcised are going to triumph. David says to the daughters of Israel on this occasion, weep over Saul. Why? because you had economic prosperity under his reign.
Distress over Jonathan's Death
And that brings us to the final section, the distress experienced because of loss, verses 25 to 27. You should notice the contrast here. David speaks well of Saul and Jonathan throughout this entire song. But note specifically, verse 24, he commands the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul.
In verse 25, he weeps over Jonathan. Yeah, he respects Saul. Saul was the Lord's anointed. David has indeed said good things about Saul, but his heart was knit to Jonathan.
David says if verses 22 and 23 hold the central position in David's dirge, verses 25 to 26 hold the climactic position. David assigns the women of Israel the task of weeping for Saul, but he turns away to mourn alone for Jonathan. Saul may have decked Israel's women in crimson, but Saul's son had extended a love to David that surpassed the love of women. How the mighty have fallen, he says in verse 25.
In the midst of the battle, Jonathan was slain in your high places. And notice the transfer now. He moves from the third person to the second person. He says, 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." These brothers had an amazing relationship together. Davis says, it is utterly wrong-headed to read the idea of homosexuality into this text. I hate to have to even deal with this, but because we live in a wicked, godless, God-hating, pagan world that despises the Bible and tries to capitalize on things like this and say, Well, his love was more than the love of women, so therefore David must have been a homosexual.
And that's the only kind of an interpretation that a debauched generation can put on a beautiful text. But he says it is utterly wrong-headed to read the idea of homosexuality into this text. He says the comparison between Jonathan's love and a wife's love is not at the point of sexuality, but at the point of fidelity. It's a faithful love, it's a covenant love, it's that one flesh love.
That's what Jonathan and David had by covenant under Yahweh toward one another. Matthew Henry said he had reason to say that Jonathan's love to him was wonderful. Surely never was the like. For a man to love one who he knew was to take the crown over his head and to be so faithful to his rival.
This far surpassed the highest degree of conjugal affection and constancy. You see what Matthew Henry says, for Jonathan to hand David the crown is something you seldom see even in a marriage relationship. That's how unified these two men were. It's not at the point of sexuality, it's at the point of fidelity, and that, a covenant fidelity, that's why David is struck with this song of lament for Saul, of course, but it sort of apexes or climaxes in this expression of his love, his grief and his love for Jonathan at the news of his death.
And then he ends with the refrain again in verse 27, how the mighty have fallen and the weapons of war perished. It truly is a beautiful, beautiful song.
Application
Well, a couple of thoughts before we close. in the first place, the place of lamentation in the Christian life. I got to tell you today, going through this, I thought, you know, I need to learn better on lamentation. People go through hardships and they go through troubles and they go through trials and they go through travail. And, you know, typically we say, yeah, brother, I'm praying for you.
And that's good. I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for them, but, you know, might not hurt to compose a song if you're so inclined to help them when in their grief. No, I can't compose songs, so I'll point them to the songs in the scripture. But the point is, is that sometimes that's part of the process for persons, is that they express that grief.
I like what Davis, again, I thought his chapter, I almost just brought it and read his chapter for the study tonight, because I thought he really nailed it in many ways. But with reference to, you know, what does this mean to us? And we always do that, right? Well, what can I do with this passage?
Or how can I use this text? What does it mean to me? Or how does it affect the way that I live? Davis says we are far removed from Gilboa.
No doubt, right? We're not even near Gilboa. That's just not, you know, on our way to work or on our way to school. He says we are not biding our time until we strike the Philistines.
That doesn't fit us either. But David's charge to remember Gilboa still places its claim upon us. David knew that sadness packs a punch that frivolity can never muster. And he cites Ecclesiastes 7 here.
You all know Ecclesiastes 7. It's better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting. Why? Because the living learn lessons.
Funerals are more instructive than birthday parties. It's just the nature of the case. God made us that way. He says, David knew that sadness packs a punch that frivolity can never muster.
He says, and so a principle remains even after the Philistines have disappeared. Somehow brooding over the tragic state of the covenant people stirs us to seek their restoration. Is this not what drives Christians to intercessory prayer? When we carry with us the afflictions of the people of God, we are moved to cry out to the Father on their behalf.
Isn't that the case? I hope when you get these emails, prayer update or prayer request, you can say, wow, that's a horrible tragedy in that person's life. And that grief and that sadness and that pain drives you to the throne of grace on their behalf. at the point, right? We don't just say, hey, guess what's happening over at the Smith's home.
And then after considering several different things that do plague the people of God, cancer, the loss of children, the loss of spouses, illness, financial problems, He says, is it not that to some small degree we enter into their sadness and disgrace and allow it to drive us to seek heaven's help for them? Don't hesitate to carry on your mind the sufferings of God's people. That's one of the points of the Song of the Bow here. It's to instill in the sons of Judah that grief, that tragedy, that disgrace.
So yes, they'll go out and kill Philistines, but that tragedy, that grief, that disgrace should hopefully send us to the throne of grace and fetch help for these people that are in great need. As well, we learn from this the heart of David. One commentator, a guy named Gerlach, I'd never seen this name before. Kyle and Dalich referred to him.
I thought what he said here was beautiful. He says, the only deep mourning for Saul, with the exception of the Jabashites, that's what he calls the men of Jabash Gilead, proceeded from the man whom he had hated and persecuted for so many years, even to the time of his death. He says, just as David's successor wept over the fall of Jerusalem, even when it was about to destroy him. So he sees that typical significance as well between David and Jesus.
But what do we learn about David? He is concerned that Israel know the song of the bow. Verse 18, teach them this. Let them know something of this grief, let them know something of this misery, and the fact that the name of Yahweh has been, you know, been sullied by these wretched Philistines so that when they go into battle they'll destroy him.
As well, he was very generous to Saul, his sworn enemy. Who was he? Would you do this? Would this be your song of lamentation if you were David and Saul was Saul?
I have to tell you, knowing myself, I probably wouldn't have done this. I would be more inclined to do a blog post at what a wretched specimen of a human being That Saul was. That's the inclination. It's to fight back.
It's to vindicate self. It's to show just how bad that person really is. But not so with David. Matthew Henry says, charity teaches us to make the best we can of everybody and to say nothing of those of whom we can say no good, especially when they are gone.
They can't defend themselves then. He says, we ought to deny ourselves the satisfaction of making personal reflections upon those who have been injurious to us. We ought to deny ourselves of the satisfaction of blog posting about what an evil specimen that person was. Deny yourself that satisfaction.
Because at a certain base level, it is satisfying, isn't it? If you were David, wouldn't it be just wonderful for everybody to know how wretched Saul was and what you had been put to over the past several years? Wouldn't there be an air of, But David doesn't do that. David does not capitalize on this.
David does not dig in his heels and say, I'm going to let you have it, Saul, now that you're out of the picture. So Matthew Henry goes on. Let me just read that statement again. We ought to deny ourselves the satisfaction of making personal reflections upon those who have been injurious to us, much more drawing their character thence, as if every man must of necessity be a bad man that is done ill by us.
I love this. Let the corrupt part of the memory be buried with the corrupt part of the man, earth to earth, ashes to ashes. Let the blemish be hidden in a veil drawn over the deformity." And then he goes on to say, he celebrates, with reference to David on Saul, he celebrates that which was praiseworthy in him. He does not commend him for that which he was not.
He says nothing of his piety or fidelity. You see, David doesn't do that. He doesn't lie. He doesn't say, wow, Saul was the godliest man.
He had such a respect for the scriptures and he always listened to the Bible. He doesn't do that. There's nothing untrue in what he says. But he doesn't make sure that everybody knows all the bad that was associated with Saul.
Now, if that holds true at the death of somebody, it certainly must hold true when they're alive. We don't need to make sure everybody knows how everybody always wronged us. Now, there's a sense where if you are the victim of a crime, tell the police. And if it needs to go on a blog, by all means.
But the day in, day out affairs of Christians, we're going to wrong each other. We are going to sin against each other. I always tell people that are going to get married, the issue is not if you sin against each other. The issue is when you sin against each other, how do you deal with it?
And the same is true in the church. I'm always amazed when I hear complaints about the church. They're such sinners. Yeah, that's why we're in church.
They're such hypocrites. What better place for hypocrites to be? I don't go into the cancer ward and say, they've got cancer. Well, of course, they should be in the cancer ward because that's where healing comes.
Hypocrites need to be in the church because the gospel is preached. Now, by saying that, I'm not saying go and be a hypocrite. Do the opposite of what you know to do. But there are complaints about the church.
They were mean. You know what? Sometimes we're just terrible people. Hopefully we confess it, we forsake it, we repent of it, and we deal properly.
But knowing all that, let's not speak ill of people dead or living. We ought to be careful with our tongues. As well, David was very grateful for his friendship with Jonathan. David was deeply concerned for the honor of God most high.
That's where it began. And David was deeply concerned for the good of all Israel. I think what we see in this section, you know, the last few chapters in Samuel, 1 Samuel and here, you really see David's shepherd's heart, don't you? I mean, David's going to have some problems as we move through 2 Samuel.
I'm not going to lie to you. There are some issues with David in 2 Samuel. But he has the heart of a shepherd, doesn't he? He's tied to the people of God.
He wants the best for these people. He wants the glory of God. And certainly, he is the man after God's own heart. And in that, he is typical of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Jesus forgives even His enemies by God's grace. Now let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father, we thank You for this lament, this song. I pray that You'd help us to see the proper place of grief and sorrow in our Christian lives. God, help us to sympathize and empathize and enter in with others so that we will go to the throne of grace on their behalf. Help us as well, not only in our own local church, but to be concerned for the needs of the greater kingdom and the people of God in countries where they suffer great persecution.
Help us to think in these ways and help us to glorify you and help us to be a faithful people, genuinely seeking for your honor and your glory. And we pray that you would go with us now, bring us together again on the Sabbath day, that we may worship you in spirit and truth. We ask through Christ our Lord. Amen.