After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.
If David had a dating profile, this would go under the hobbies. He already had several wives, so he probably didn’t need a dating profile.
2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
This man is in traditional mourning. He knows what’s up. David hasn’t heard yet, and this guy has the unfortunate task of telling this professional killer some bad news. I wonder how he felt?
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.
He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”
“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
That’s a rough place to be.
10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
Different culture.
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
17 David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
19 “A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel.
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 be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
21 “Mountains of Gilboa,
may you have neither dew nor rain,
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
22 “From the blood of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24 “Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”
One of David’s tallents was writing songs. There is an entire book of Psalms later on in the traditional order of Bible books that records how David, and others who also wrote Psalms, felt during times. We will get to that book earlier than you think because we are trying to do a chronological order so we can keep up with the story. Remember when I stuck the entire book of Job in with all the posts about Genesis, because that’s where it fits? It’s another deal like that. You might say: “But, Brian, some of those Psalms would have been written during the times in 1 Samuel that you already went through. You’re skipping over chronological story!” Yes, you’re right. In those cases, I’ll provide hyperlinks to go back to the parts the specific Psalms would have come from. We’ll get to Psalms earlier than the traditional order, but I’m going to do them all in one block of posts so we can save our brains. I don’t want to miss anything by accident. For now we will stick with 2 Samuel. I’m just giving you warning so nobody gets more confused than they have to be. Especially me. Normally I’d do a pause post for something like this, but it seemed to link well enough.
Scripture Discussed: 2 Samuel 1
IIWAC: Death And All His Friends
If David had a dating profile, this would go under the hobbies. He already had several wives, so he probably didn’t need a dating profile.
2 On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor.
This man is in traditional mourning. He knows what’s up. David hasn’t heard yet, and this guy has the unfortunate task of telling this professional killer some bad news. I wonder how he felt?
3 “Where have you come from?” David asked him.
He answered, “I have escaped from the Israelite camp.”
4 “What happened?” David asked. “Tell me.”
“The men fled from the battle,” he replied. “Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.”
5 Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”
6 “I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,” the young man said, “and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. 7 When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, ‘What can I do?’
8 “He asked me, ‘Who are you?’
“‘An Amalekite,’ I answered.
9 “Then he said to me, ‘Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.’
That’s a rough place to be.
10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.”
11 Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. 12 They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
13 David said to the young man who brought him the report, “Where are you from?”
“I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,” he answered.
14 David asked him, “Why weren’t you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
Different culture.
15 Then David called one of his men and said, “Go, strike him down!” So he struck him down, and he died. 16 For David had said to him, “Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”
17 David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, 18 and he ordered that the people of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar):
19 “A gazelle[a] lies slain on your heights, Israel.
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 be glad,
lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice.
21 “Mountains of Gilboa,
may you have neither dew nor rain,
may no showers fall on your terraced fields.[b]
For there the shield of the mighty was despised,
the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil.
22 “From the blood of the slain,
from the flesh of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied.
23 Saul and Jonathan—
in life they were loved and admired,
and in death they were not parted.
They were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24 “Daughters of Israel,
weep for Saul,
who clothed you in scarlet and finery,
who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold.
25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle!
Jonathan lies slain on your heights.
26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother;
you were very dear to me.
Your love for me was wonderful,
more wonderful than that of women.
27 “How the mighty have fallen!
The weapons of war have perished!”
One of David’s tallents was writing songs. There is an entire book of Psalms later on in the traditional order of Bible books that records how David, and others who also wrote Psalms, felt during times. We will get to that book earlier than you think because we are trying to do a chronological order so we can keep up with the story. Remember when I stuck the entire book of Job in with all the posts about Genesis, because that’s where it fits? It’s another deal like that. You might say: “But, Brian, some of those Psalms would have been written during the times in 1 Samuel that you already went through. You’re skipping over chronological story!” Yes, you’re right. In those cases, I’ll provide hyperlinks to go back to the parts the specific Psalms would have come from. We’ll get to Psalms earlier than the traditional order, but I’m going to do them all in one block of posts so we can save our brains. I don’t want to miss anything by accident. For now we will stick with 2 Samuel. I’m just giving you warning so nobody gets more confused than they have to be. Especially me. Normally I’d do a pause post for something like this, but it seemed to link well enough.
Scripture Discussed: 2 Samuel 1