2 Samuel
Today we
begin 2 Samuel. This is the book that
primarily focuses on David’s reign as king over Israel. In general, we’re talking about the timeframe
of circa 1000 BC. David reigned for 40
years, most scholars place his reign between 1010 BC – 970 BC. In this book we will experience much of the
same kind of struggle with life we saw with Saul as a leader. The difference between David and Saul is that
David will be repentant repeatedly.
David should not be lifted up higher than any other human as he is just
as sinful as any other human. But we can
look to him as a model of repentance and humbleness before God.
Amalekite
We begin 2
Samuel with a story of mourning. David
hears about Saul’s death and Jonathon’s death through an Amalekite. Notice that the Amalekite is later
killed. Whether this Amalekite is killed
because he lied about killing Saul (since 1 Samuel 31 indicates that Saul took
his own life) or whether he died because he had actually killed the “Lord’s
anointed” we really cannot be sure. We
can be sure, however, that the Amelkite did something wrong for which he was
not repentant and he found judgment for it.
Mourning
Then David
does something that is out of character for a human being. David mourns the death of his adversary. Quite simply put, David does not see the
death of Saul as a cause for celebration.
Yes, he will become king and yes, he will enjoy being king. But David does not celebrate the arrival of
his kingship because it means the death of Saul.
How many
of us would mourn the death of a rival?
How many of us would cheer the death of someone who has tried to kill us
multiple times? How many of us would
feel an instant sadness when someone who has sought to destroy us is found to
be dead? Or, how many of us would feel
relief? Would we feel justified? Would we feel as though God has finally
proven our case? The godly man mourns
all loss of life – even the enemy and especially those who die in circumstances
where God’s favor is in question.
A part of
David’s mourning is for Jonathon. Jonathon
seems to die a senseless death. Jonathon
dies at his father’s side, fighting in his father’s fight. Or so it seems. Jonathon dies trying to protect his homeland
– God’s people – from the Philistines.
Jonathon dies in service to God’s people. Yes, he dies in a battle that his father was
commanding; but more importantly he dies in a battle for his Father’s people.
I can only
imagine David’s pain here. David longed
for Jonathon as a true close friend.
Jonathon was a loyal servant and friend to David. Jonathon revealed so much of God’s character
to David. David mourns that such an
important and loyal figure in his life is leaving. That mourning is understood and useful.
The Lord’s Anointed
Finally,
we see that one of the most important aspects of this passage is the mourning
for the Lord’s Anointed. Yes, David
mourns Saul and he mourns Jonathon. But
he also mourns the loss of the “position.”
Someone who had been anointed under the service of God has died. The moment is historic, and David pauses to
recognize this moment. For David it
doesn’t matter that Saul had abandoned God’s ways and had lived in complete
selfish pursuit of his own goals. The
Lord’s Anointed was dead.
There is
profound wisdom here, wisdom that I know I can learn today. God does not choose his servants
nonchalantly. God does not desire any of
his chosen to fall away. Some of them
will, and this is painful.
But I
think there is more than the pain of Saul’s departure from God’s ways. David mourns the loss of the Lord’s Anointed
– flaws and all. The wisdom in David’s
mourning is a wisdom that comes from the knowledge that none of us are
perfect. All have fallen short of the
glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Every single one of us deserves
condemnation. Sure, Saul fell away from
God. But he deserves condemnation no more than any of the rest of us has earned
our own condemnation.
Grace
This is a
great point to talk about the doctrine of justification by grace. All of us sin. Every last one of us – even the idols and
role-models we establish in our lives.
Every single one of us deserves condemnation. Anyone who is saved can only claim salvation
through the grace of God that comes to us through the death of Jesus Christ upon
the cross. There was only one perfect
man, and He (Jesus) was fully human and fully divine. Everyone else who has picked up the mantle of
God’s ways and who has found salvation is a fallen person, ultimately deserving
condemnation but finding salvation through grace. Every human being who is anointed by God is
actually no better than Saul on their own merits - although the grace of God
makes them different! David is right to
mourn the loss of the Lord’s Anointed, even if the Lord’s Anointed in question
is Saul – a fallen human.
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