kjv@2Samuel:1:1@ 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;
kjv@2Samuel:1:2@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:3@ And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.
kjv@2Samuel:1:4@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:5@ And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?
kjv@2Samuel:1:6@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:7@ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.
kjv@2Samuel:1:8@ And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.
kjv@2Samuel:1:9@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:10@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:11@ Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
kjv@2Samuel:1:12@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:13@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:14@ And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?
kjv@2Samuel:1:15@ And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
kjv@2Samuel:1:16@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:17@ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:
kjv@2Samuel:1:18@ (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)
kjv@2Samuel:1:19@ The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
kjv@2Samuel:1:20@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:21@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:22@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:23@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:24@ Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.
kjv@2Samuel:1:25@ How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.
kjv@2Samuel:1:26@ 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.
kjv@2Samuel:1:27@ How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
No doubt this is how David truly felt about the matter of Saul and Jonathan. He had repeatedly stated that Saul was anointed of God, we never hear him say that the anointing had been removed, we are not even sure other than by perhaps his own anointing that he even knew about the removal. If he felt this way I'd have to ask if it wouldn't have been better for him to have position himself nearby to come to Saul's defense/rescue if need be? Isn't it because of his self-preserving alliance with the Philistines that he'd become distracted and effectually eliminated from any proper service? I have often wondered whether God had moved David to where he needed to be or he had moved himself away from where God needed him to be.
We need to see that we are at the end of one period of David from young shepherd boy to middle aged exile transitioning abruptly into the first of his king periods. Reflecting back on this period we see an odd collection of stories from which we form an initial opinion of David; not every thing is as we would expect from a man after God's own heart. Isn't that more because of our lofty expectations though? Really... what does a man after God's heart look like? I suggest that he looks a lot like David; for all of his faults, all of his meanderings, all of his awkward self imposed situations and reactions, he did realize his shortcomings and frailty and sins, confessed and repented and sought after the truest image of God.
Enemies of the Lord use this occasion against us to this day. It is presented by them that Israel was apostate and rejected of God long before this event and that God's effort had long since been with them and their religion. This would mean too that the blood line to the Messiah was no longer through David which would eliminate the rightful claims of Christianity.
David's true remorse and repentance to God are evident. So is the fact that consequences were still to be had. Things were not going to be the same. We must consider our own lives in this manner as well. One does not simply get away with sin by confessing and repenting. Repentance/Confession could possibly even make matters on the ground worse on the outset. That is not why we do it though. We do it because we must and if we don't surely things will be much worse in the long run after our soul hardens. It is owed to God and to all those affected.
Absalom may have sold himself successfully to the people as a much needed judge but, he proved to be to be a poor military leader pursuing into a unfamiliar thicket of oaks. He did not have the counsel of the Lord to rely upon and thus was left to the sorted advice of diverse causes and his own brash desires.
It would again be right to mark this passage for future use regarding the coming division of Judah and Israel. When the time comes the thought should not have sneaked up on us. We are now seeing a steady rise in the animosity between the two.
An illustration of how easy it is to remove a leader on the one hand and how much house cleaning it takes to restore him back. Notice that we haven't heard the Lord's voice for some time now? There is a marked shift of storyline. David I believe is more and more a shell of his former self; probably since the time of the scandal Bathsheba. David is bringing much of this upon himself. He is like a wobbling top knocking into all the objects surrounding him. The same indecisiveness that plagued his patriarchy is affecting his monarchy.
