An Introduction to 2 Samuel
1 Samuel ends tragically. King Saul had been a virtual madman, obsessed with killing David as if he was a traitor – even though David had been a loyal servant and soldier, as well as Saul’s son-in-law. Saul spent over a year and half unsuccessfully “hunting” David and his small band of supporters from one end of Judah to the other. Along the way God taught David a number of good leadership and Spiritual life lessons. Although his reign had started well and faithfully, Saul was eventually consumed by his selfishness, stubbornness, and arrogance. He frequently failed – refused, actually – to obey God’s Word. Ultimately, that sinful independent streak led to Saul’s downfall and his rejection by God. The farther Saul sank Spiritually, the more ungodly he became. Hours from the end of his life, Saul went so far astray that he even chose to consult with a medium (the witch of Endor) regarding what the future held for him and his army against the Philistines the next day. 1 Samuel’s final chapter is the sad account of Saul’s death in battle by “assisted suicide.” Saul and his three sons all died and Israel was decisively routed by the Philistines. Sad though this was, even as David grieved over the deaths of Saul, Jonathan and his brothers, David could also finally breathe a sigh of relief, because Saul could no longer pursue him. David would begin to reign in Saul’s place….according to God’s promise and plan.
But David’s reign initially was neither an easy one, nor did it span all of Saul’s kingdom. Saul’s general (and cousin) Abner would put his youngest son, Ishbosheth on Israel’s throne first. Weak ruler though he was, Ishbosheth was “propped up” by Abner, who – in many ways – was the de facto rule of Israel. David, by contrast, was a strong and honorable leader, serving as the King of Judah for the 7 years when the nation was divided by this civil war. Eventually, with Ishbosheth’s death, David began to rule over all of Israel; he would continue to occupy that throne for 33 years….and so reigned 40 years in total. Initially David did nearly everything well, and God’s blessing was clearly on him.
Unfortunately, like us, David was still a sinner and also a leader with “feet of clay.” His flurry of sins against Bathsheba and her husband Uriah set in motion a chaotic chain reaction of disappointing events that would characterize the latter half of David’s reign. For a time David lived impenitently. Only God’s grace, and the ministry of the prophet Nathan brought David to repentance and his restored relationship with God. But even when one repents and is forgiven by the LORD, earthly consequences for our transgressions often remain. David’s kingdom and home would suffer in the years ahead. In fact, much of the chaos in David’s life centered on his own family, which became as dysfunctional as some troubled households are in our day.
For example, the child conceived through his illicit relationship with Bathsheba died in infancy. One of his sons, Ammon, raped one of David’s daughters, Tamar. Her full-brother, Absalom, vengefully murdered his rapist half-sibling, after which he fled into exile. Eventually, David forgave Absalom and allowed him to return home. But Absalom’s vanity and arrogance soon led him to covet his father’s throne. In time, he led a rebellion against David that had broad support in Israel. David was even driven from Jerusalem for a time, before Absalom’s rebellion was ended and David returned to his throne. More problems would follow in his final years as king. But through it all God continued to support and bless David, ultimately promising him that his descendants would continue to occupy Israel’s (and eventually only Judah’s) throne….until David’s Ultimate Descendant, Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, would establish His greater Kingdom of grace. And so He occupies His throne for all eternity.
Studying 2 Samuel will leave us with an appreciation for the greatness of David, but also a recognition of his (and our own) sinful human weaknesses. David needed – and received – God’s grace. So do we; and so have we.
2 Samuel Lesson One
What an Amalekite was Dying to Tell David (2 Samuel 1:1-27)
There’s a fictitious story about an American pilot, who flew from a United States aircraft carrier during World War II, and for whom everything always seemed to go wrong. One day he was sent out on a mission where everything seemed to be working out perfectly for him. He spotted and sank an enemy ship. He shot down several Japanese aircraft. Out of ammunition, and nearly out of fuel, he needed to land his plane, but he was lost and didn’t know where his carrier was. Suddenly the clouds opened up, and there below him was an aircraft carrier. For once, his landing was flawless. With the plane secured, he jumped out and rushed up to carrier’s bridge to share the results of his successful mission….but he was captured instead. Because his successful mission had ended with his flawless landing — on a Japanese aircraft carrier.
The pilot in the above story reminds me of the young Amalekite in 2 Samuel 1. He approached David with, what he thought, was the “good news” of Saul’s death….and he knew that he could verify it because he possessed Saul’s very crown and arm amulet. He had taken them after – at Saul’s direction – he personally put an already-near-death Saul to death. He was, no doubt, hoping for a commendation from David, and perhaps even a reward. The path was now clear for David to become Israel’s next king, and he had played a major role in that. But the Amalekite could never have imagined the reception that David would give him. Instead of being grateful for the news, David grieved over the deaths of Saul and his three sons. And when he learned that this Amalekite messenger had lifted his hand against Saul and had finalized his death, David had him executed as the murder of the Lord’s Anointed.
The inspired author skillfully weaves a fascinating story for us in this chapter, with an important Spiritual message for every reader. The first half of the chapter details how the Amalekite dealt with Saul. The last half shows us how David dealt with Saul’s death, and includes his Psalm of mourning for Jonathan and Saul. The central emphasis of the chapter is the contrast between the character of the Amalekite and David’s character.
One more note…..the transition from 1 Samuel to 2 Samuel is seamless, because in the original Hebrew Bible, these two books are actually one book…..Samuel. The division into two books occurred about 200 years before Jesus’ birth with the completion of a Greek translation of the Old Testament, that became known as “The Septuagint” (or “70″ – referring to its traditional…but not actual….70 translators). Subsequently, every Bible translation has followed that precedent, separating Samuel into 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel.
Some Distressing, Depressing News Reaches David (1:1-10)
David and his men were certainly grateful that the LORD had allowed them to defeat of the Amalekites and recover their families and possessions. But their victory was overshadowed by what was happening at the same time in northern Israel. The Philistines had collected a massive military force to attack Israel and defeat the Hebrews once and for all. The Israelites didn’t stand a chance, humanly-speaking. What’s more, the LORD was not going to fight for them, since Saul and many people in Israel had rejected Him. A powerful and painful lesson was going to be taught. From the time he parted paths with the Philistines, David must have been very concerned for Saul and especially his best friend Jonathan, not to mention the rest of his countrymen. During his pursuit of the Amalekite raiding party and the ensuing battle, David, no doubt, had little time to think about how things were going back in Israel. Now, for three days David and his men have been back home in Ziklag, wondering how the war was going, or perhaps, how it had already gone.
Sometime during his third day back at Ziklag, a young man rushed into David’s camp all out of breath because he had been running for several days. He must have traveled nearly 100 miles to reach David. His clothing told the story, for was torn and dust – a sign of mourning – covered his head. The news he brought was not going to be good. Reaching David, the man fell to the ground, bowing as though he was approaching royalty, which – in fact – he was, since he was in the presence of the man who was now Israel’s king.
David immediately began to question the young man, first wanting to know from where he had traveled. David probably assumed the worst, but he promptly asked a question to determine whether or not this man had any news about Saul. The young man responded that he had actually escaped from the company of Saul. That was ominous, so David asked how the battle had gone for Israel. The man’s reply was that Israel had been soundly defeated. Many men had died and the remainder fled the battlefield. Among the fallen were Saul, Jonathan and his two brothers.
David was unwilling to accept the man’s report without some verification. He presented Saul’s crown and arm amulet, and indicated that he had been with the king during his final moments. When combined with the facts of the previous chapter (1 Samuel 31), we can arrive at a fairly clear picture of what happened. The inspired writer doesn’t tell us precisely why the Amalekite was there with Saul, but it couldn’t have been to go down fighting to defend Saul from the Philistines. He was probably there to plunder the bodies of the dead Israelite soldiers, and there were plenty of them around Saul. In fact, Saul would be dead soon too. His body had been riddled with arrows, plus he was run through by his own sword….and yet Saul wasn’t dead when the man arrived. He was propping himself up by leaning on his spear, which probably relieved some pressure and pain from the wounds caused by the arrows and Saul’s sword. Saul must have noticed him and asked who he was….whether or not he was a Philistine. Informed and heartened that he was an Amalekite, Saul appealed to the young man to put him out of his misery. While Saul’s armor bearer had had enough scruples to refuse to put his king to death, an Amalekite would have no such inhibition about killing the king of Israel.
Saul had asked the young man to “Please stand beside me and put me to death. I am losing consciousness, but I am still alive.” Then the Amelakite added, “So I stood beside him and ended his life, because I knew that he could not live after being so severely wounded. I took the crown on his head and the armlet on his arm, and I brought them here to my lord.” These words indicate that the young man must have “been there and done that,” since they are such a precise description of Saul’s last few moments and death. Saul had begged the Amalekite to end his life….that surely was near its end anyway….and the young man had obliged. We aren’t told what kind of weapon he used or how he used it. The irony is that Saul would have been dead in a few moments anyway. His killing Saul (which could be considered by some to be a “mercy killing”) deprived Saul of just a few more minutes of life, but it was nonetheless an act of murder.
The Amalekite confessed to killing Saul, but rationalized what he did by saying he knew Israel’s king could not have lived much longer anyway. Besides, he did for Saul what Saul asked of him. Wasn’t that the correct, compassionate thing to do? While he doesn’t directly ask for it, it is very likely that this Amalekite expected David to generously reward him both for the news that he had brought over many hard miles, and because – in finalizing Saul’s death – he had helped facilitate David becoming Israel’s next king. He did what Saul wanted, and – he supposed – he did what David wanted. He had removed the crown from Saul’s head and the amulet from his arm to present to David. Surely that was worth something special. David definitely had a response for him, but not at all what he had anticipated.
David’s Surprising (and Shocking) Response (1:11-16)
In a way, this story bears some similarity to those “good news, bad news” jokes that we occasionally tell or hear. The Amalekite seems to have been approaching David with both “good news” and “bad news.” You can almost hear him say, “David, I’ve got some bad news, and I’ve got some good news. The bad news is that Israel has been defeated by the Philistines. Many men have been killed, and many more have fled from the battle, and even more have fled from their land and homes. But the good news is that your arch-enemy Saul is dead, and so is his heir, Jonathan. That means that you can now place this crown on your head and assume your rightful position as Israel’s next king.” But for David, that was all bad news. He was grief-stricken over the defeat of Israel’s army, about the nation’s loss of territory, and especially about the deaths of Saul and his sons…..particularly his best friend Jonathan. Any selfish thoughts of his personal gain at the expense of so many others were far from David’s mind and heart. The book of Ecclesiastes tells us that in life “there is a time to mourn” (Ecclesiastes 3:4b). That was certainly the case for David here, and for his men too (which Saul had also relentlessly pursued as traitors). David tore his clothes, as did his men. They mourned, fasted and wept until evening for all of Israel, as well as for the house of Saul.
But there was also another important matter that had to be dealt with, although it had to wait until David and his men were done grieving over Israel’s defeat and the deaths of Saul and his sons. The Amalekite had confessed to putting Saul to death. Apparently he didn’t see anything wrong with what he had done, but David was outraged. After all, David had consistently refused to attack and take the life of Saul, even though he had more than one opportunity to do si, since he knew it would be a sin to raise his hand against the Lord’s anointed. David had the faith to trust God to eventually make him king, as well as to deal with Saul in His own time and in His own way. And while God had determined that Saul would die in battle that day against the Philistines, what the Amalekite had done was not “mercifully end Saul’s life” (even though Saul asked for it)…..He murdered Saul by assisting him in his act of suicide (which is the sin of self-inflicted murder).
This Amalekite messenger had no idea of the situation into which he had put himself. He had set himself up for disaster. He had all but bragged about killing Saul. He also spoke rather callously about the death of David’s dearest friend, Jonathan. The Amalekite, figuratively-speaking, had put his own noose around his neck…and he never realized it until it was too late. No matter how he had tried to justify assisting in Saul’s death, as far as David was concerned he had stretched out his hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed. And so, David ordered the Amalekite’s immediate execution, because he was guilty of murder. (There’s an added irony here, insofar as Saul had lost his kingdom because he failed to annihilate the Amalekites. It’s ironic that God would subsequently use this Amalekite to end Saul’s life.)
The Mighty Have Fallen (1:17-27)
Many people never know quite what to say at a funeral. I’ve listened to my share of lies about the departed at funerals. Usually the lies tend to exaggerate the good things and deny the bad about the deceased. After all, so the expression and custom goes, “You’re not supposed to speak ill of the dead.” In contrast, God, of course, expects us to always tell the truth…although to tell it “in love” (Ephesians 4:15). If I had to conduct Saul’s funeral (actually, I wouldn’t because he was not a member of our church family, and because – quite clearly – he died without faith)….but if I had to do it, I wouldn’t know what to say. Another familiar expression (and a piece of good, common sense) comes to mind, “If you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything.” What would you do…..perhaps ask the assembled gathering to have a “moment” of 45 minutes of silence for Saul? David conducted Saul’s funeral, and God the Holy Spirit gave him the right words to say….difficult thought it must have been for David to find those words – for many reasons. They are written down for us in this Psalm that David spoke on the occasion of Saul’s and Jonathan’s deaths.
David’s funeral eulogy, or dirge, was a psalm…and a special expression and effort of His love and respect for Saul and Jonathan. David’s eulogy mourns the death of Jonathan and Saul, as well as the defeat of Israel, and the deaths of many of its young soldiers. He felt a deep sense of loss over their deaths and the nation’s defeat. What’s most striking to me is that he says nothing at all negative about Saul. There’s not even a hint of any about any of the evil, hateful things that Saul had done to David and others (particularly the priests at Nob that Saul had slaughtered). Had I been David, it would have been hard for me not to include some of these details, or at least imply that Saul had a very dark side to him. But David did neither. His psalm honored both Saul and Jonathan as Israel’s fallen heroes. David not only restrained himself from speaking ill of the dead, he spoke well about Saul and Jonathan as national heroes, as men worthy of everyone’s respect and honor.
David’s psalm begins by focusing on Saul and ends by putting the focus on Jonathan. While David has good things to say about his king, in this psalm David clearly expresses his love for and loyalty to Jonathan. This was a fact that the Amalekite totally missed. He assumed that Jonathan was David’s rival and enemy….not his closest friend.
He could not have been more wrong. By the way, we’re told that this Psalm eventually was recorded “in the book of Jashar” (which is also mentioned in Joshua 10:12-14). It was one of many “source books” to which certain Old Testament writers occasionally referred. While the Book of Jashar was not inspired Scripture, the information quoted here was true, and so it was used by God the Holy Spirit when the Old Testament…..in this case, the book of Psalms…..was compiled.
There is one other thing for us to note in connection with this Psalm. Especially in ancient times, individuals who rose to the top position of power in a nation normally took precautions to keep any rival from competing for, let alone, usurping their power. Often those “precautions” included executing all the members of the dynasty that had previously held power. In addition, they might rewrite history, so that the former ruling family would be disgraced and despised. David did exactly the opposite. He honored Saul and Jonathan, and was committed to maintaining their legacy, protecting and supporting their descendants. He wanted posterity to regard both men as the national heroes that they were. And so, what David says here is remarkable and done in the best Christian spirit.
In Conclusion…..
David’s response to the death of Saul is remarkable and godly. And what he wrote embodies an important principal that is too frequently violated today, namely this: Being honest and truthful does not require our telling everything that could be told, or ever sharing with others everything that we know to be true. David is honest, truthful and godly. But he doesn’t say everything that he knows to be true about Saul. That’s because David intends to keep the 8th Commandment; so should we.
A common tenet of psychology today maintains that a person should “get it all out,” that every frustration should be vented, every grievance aired, every thought expressed…no matter how painful and harmful those thoughts might be to others. The Bible simply does not teach this. The Book of Proverbs, in particular, teaches that the wise, godly man will carefully choose what he says, as well as how and when he says it to others. And there are certain things that should not be said at all. The New Testament contains a very important guiding principle that should govern what we say or do not say: We should speak only those things that edify (or builds up or benefits) others (see 1 Corinthians 14:4-5, 17, 26). Consequently, it is not wrong for us to refrain from saying things that are hurtful or discouraging to others…..even if they happen to be true. David did not say anything about Saul that was untrue. He said only what was true. He didn’t lie. But he also didn’t say everything he knew. He didn’t have to. And, more often than not, neither do we….particularly if our intent might be sinful and intentionally hurtful or embarrassing for others.
It’s also worth adding that in connection with those instances in which Saul did sin against him, David took the opportunity to speak directly with Saul, confronting him with and rebuking him for his sins (1 Samuel 24 and 26). There is a time for us to speak to those who sin against us, so that they can repent (that’s the goal of Matthew 18:15-20!). But Saul was dead. It was too late for him to repent. What’s more, David, his men and the nation of Israel were not going to benefit anyone by drawing attention to Saul’s many transgressions. If he had spoken “ill of the dead,” David would only have brought pain (and possible harm) to Saul’s descendants, which David had already promised he would bless, protect and support. Besides, most people in Israel were well aware of Saul’s sins. Instead, David wanted Saul to be remembered and honored for the positive contributions he had made to the Israelites over which he reigned. ‘
But this brings to mind two other, equally important questions: “How did David do it? How could David speak so well of Saul, considering all the suffering that he had caused David to endure?” There are several answers to this.
First, David trusted God and knew that He had always been in control of (though not the cause of) everything… including Saul’s persecution of him. David trusted that God had allowed his sufferings at the hand of Saul to work blessings for him (David). Among other things, God used the adversity that Saul put David through to develop him as a leader, thus better preparing him to assume the position of Israel’s king one day. Just as Joseph – through faith – was able to be grateful for the hand of God throughout his life, including in his times of confusion and suffering (see Genesis 50:20), even so David believed that God had done the same for him in connection with Saul’s efforts to persecute and even to kill him.
Second, David seems to have already dealt with Saul’s sins against him by forgiving him from his heart (Matthew 18:35). That was also what freed Joseph from any bitterness he might have felt toward his brothers, so that he instead could be gracious them, in spite of the life-altering evil that they had done to him. David totally forgave Saul, and so there was no bitterness, anger, resentment or vengeance toward Saul in his heart. David didn’t have to dredge up the past, because Christian love keeps no record of wrongs (I Corinthians 13:5). We also are to keep no record of the wrongs others have committed against us. As we do that (God the Holy Spirit enabling us) we’ll want to forgive and love all those who sin against us….no matter what their sins might be. And mindful of Christ’s overwhelming forgiveness of the “mountain” of our sins…..we can easily forgive the “molehill” of sins others commit against us (Matthew 18:21-35).
Third, David illustrates his faithfulness in keeping a very valuable directive of God, which is well expressed in Philippians 4:8-9: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Telling the truth is one test that should occupy our hearts and minds, and find expression through our lips. But there are others divine standards that must also be considered in connection with our actions, thoughts and words. David prepared a Psalm that would help the Israelites of his day and later generations (including us) to remember and honor Saul and Jonathan. If they remembered Saul the way David portrayed him in the last part of this chapter, then they would certainly be focusing their hearts and minds on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy.” They were supposed to “think about these things” in connection with Saul and his sons. David did not overlook Saul’s sins, but he did not dwell on them either. That’s great advice for us today, as we think and talk about those individuals who we believe have wronged us (whether their transgressions are real, or imagined).
In our current culture there seems, to me, to be an over-emphasis on remembering, ruminating over, and “somehow” rectifying the wrongs that others have committed against us….particularly those done by family and friends. We’re told we need to dredge them all up, understand them fully, and then dwell on them. God differs strongly from the advice-givers of our culture today. Our responsibility as forgiven Christians…..(and we have no hope of heaven without Christ’s forgiveness) is not to ensure that things are “made right” again for us, but that we fully, freely and forever forgive from our hearts whatever grievances we have toward others (Colossians 3:13-14). If we have not evangelically confronted others for the sins that they still might be practicing…..so that they can repent….we need to do so….but always in a Biblical manner. Still, whether or not they repent, we are called by God to fully forgive them just as He has completely forgiven us all our sins (“forgive us our trespasses, AS we forgive those trespass against us”). Let’s keep in m ind that there is no virtue for us in brooding and being bitter over past wrongs that have been committed against us. Godly, not hateful things, are what should occupy our minds. God says so! And that’s the end of this discussion……
And, finally, ourth, David thinks of Saul in terms of his office as king, and so in obedience to God’s Fourth Commandment, he honors Saul, his God-given king. That principal is taught to us in many places in Scripture: ‘
“Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:12); “Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor” (Romans 13:7.); “Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor” (1 Peter 2:17); and “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith…..Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you” (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
As we close this lesson, through portions of God’s Word, like these verses just cited, our LORD calls on us to “honor” others due to their positions of authority in which God has placed them over us….even when they aren’t perfect in carrying out their duties, or when we disagree with them. God expects us to be mindful of this Spiritual reality……that when we honor and obey the earthly authorities He has positioned over us, ultimately we are honoring and obeying our God Who put those individuals and institutions in authority over us. Why would any Christian not want to do that? In this story, and in his Psalm, David provides us with an excellent example of how we are to honor others according to God’s Fourth Commandment. Let’s all put David’s example into practice every day….for our good….for the blessing of those in authority over us….and for the glory of the God of our salvation!