Front matter (continued, part 46)
His reports of the raids (vv. 8–12). Achish thought that David and his band were attacking cities and towns in Judah, when in reality they were raiding the towns and camps of the allies of Achish! David was wiping out the people that Joshua and his successors failed to exterminate when they entered the land, following the orders given by Moses in Deuteronomy 20:16–18. At the same time, he was eliminating the danger of any survivors taking the word to Gath that David was a liar. David took Achish gifts from the spoils of battle and gave him false reports of their activities, and Achish believed him. When word got back to the people of Judah that David was attacking their enemies, this made him even more popular with the leaders.
Though the Lord was gracious to deliver David and his men from participating in this battle, He isn't obligated to step in and extricate His people from situations caused by their own sinful decisions. We reap what we sow, and in later years, David suffered from being deceived by members of his staff and even of his own family.
His responsibility in the battle (28:1–2; 29:1–11). This is the battle in which Saul and his sons were killed (31:1–6), and it was the providential hand of the Lord that kept David and his men from having to participate. Achish assured David that he and his men were expected to fight alongside the Philistine troops, but David's reply was evasive: "Then you will see for yourself what your servant can do" (28:2 niv). The king interpreted this to mean, "Until now, you have received only verbal reports of the prowess of me and my men, but this battle will give us opportunity to display our skills before your very eyes." But is that what David meant? Certainly he wouldn't fight against his own people, and he probably had an alternate plan in mind. But the king was so impressed that he commissioned David to be his bodyguard for life!1
Delivering the captives (30:1–20) David and his band were kept from fighting with the Philistines, but they still had a battle to fight, this time with the Amalekites, the sworn enemies of the Lord and of the Jews (Ex. 17:8–16; Deut. 25:17). Because Saul had won an incomplete victory over the Amalekites (1 Sam. 15:1–11), they were still free to attack God's people.
Distress (vv. 1–6a). Perhaps the Lord permitted this raid on Ziklag to encourage David to get out of enemy territory and go back to Judah where he belonged. The Amalekite leaders knew that David was at Gath and that all attention was focused on the confrontation between Israel and the Philistines. This was a perfect time to retaliate against David for his raids and to pick up some booty as well. Since most of the men were with David, the residents of Ziklag could put up no resistance and the invaders simply kidnapped the people and took whatever wealth they could find. They burned the city, an act of vengeance on their part but perhaps a message from the Lord that it was time for David to think about returning to Judah.
The troops assembled and paraded, the five lords of the Philistines (6:16–17) leading their companies and David and his men bringing up the rear and guarding the king. When the princes (military commanders) of the Philistines saw their king with David and his 600, they protested, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" This question must have shocked Achish because he had the utmost confidence in David. He hastened to assure his commanders that he had watched David for over a year, in fact, from the first day David left Saul (21:10–15), and he trusted him.
We can but imagine the horror and grief of David and his 600 men who had never lost a battle. Their city was burned, their wealth had been confiscated, and their wives and children had been kidnapped. It was the mercy of the Lord that the Amalekites spared the
The leaders couldn't argue with their king, but they could suggest a safety measure. They remembered that in a previous battle, some Hebrew soldiers in the
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Whenever a crisis comes, we need the courage to face it, and we must not try to blame others or pretend that nothing is wrong. The Lord also gave David wisdom to know what to do and the strength to do it. He and his men were weary, but the Lord enabled David and 400 of his men to persevere in their quest for the Amalekite invaders. The Lord also provided David with the facts he needed so he could find where the enemy was camping in that vast wilderness. When we step out by faith and trust the Lord, He will guide us when we need it. Finally, God gave David and his men the strength they needed to defeat the enemy and recover the prisoners and their wealth.
lives of the women and children, for in their raids David and his men had certainly killed their share of enemy women and children (27:11). The verb "carried them away" (30:2) is literally "drove them off" and paints the picture of animals being driven off by the herdsmen. The men wore themselves out in weeping and David was "greatly distressed," a verb that means he was pressed into a tight corner, the way a potter would press clay into a mold.
Encouragement (vv. 6b–15). Different people react in different ways to the same circumstances, because what life does to us depends on what life finds in us. Some of the people wanted to stone David, which was certainly a foolish response. They needed their leader now more than ever, and how would his death solve their problem? We don't blame the men for being grieved, but we question their allowing their hearts to run ahead of their heads. David knew that the encouragement he needed could only come from the Lord. He ordered Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and together they sought the will of the Lord. Saul had consulted the Lord but had received no answer (28:3–6), but the Lord graciously replied to David's request. David was hardly in a place of complete obedience, but God answered him just the same (Ps. 103:3–10).
"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass" (Ps. 37:5).
Dividing the spoils (30:21–31) When David said to his troops, "This is David's spoil" (v. 20), he wasn't claiming the wealth of the Amalekites for himself in a selfish way but only stating that he would see to its distribution. Each of his fighting men received their part and so did the 200 soldiers who were too weary to continue the pursuit. This generosity of David bothered some of the "evil men and troublemakers" in David's band (v. 21), but David paid them no heed. He politely laid it down as a rule in his army that all the spoils would be divided among all the men, including those who didn't actually fight the enemy. After all, it was the Lord who gave them the victory, so nobody had the right to claim the spoils for himself as if the Lord owed it to him. God was gracious and generous to deliver the enemy into their hands, and they should be gracious and generous to share the wealth with others.
Assured by the Lord that his pursuit of the enemy would meet with success, David and his men took off on their beasts and traveled sixteen miles to the brook Besor where 200 men had to stop because they were exhausted. (The Hebrew word translated "faint" means "dead tired.") That might have discouraged David, but he and his 400 men continued to travel. But where should they go? The Lord hadn't told them where the Amalekites were camped, but David trusted the Lord to guide him. It was then that they found an Egyptian slave whom his Amalekite master had abandoned because he was ill. The man could have perished in the wilderness, but the Lord had kept him alive for the sake of His servant David. The slave's master must have been an important man because his servant knew the plans of the Amalekite raiding party and could lead David to their camp. The master hoped that the man would die, but the Lord kept him alive so David could rescue the families that had been kidnapped.
David also sent presents from the spoils to the elders of the towns in southern Judah, the places where he and his men had hidden during his wanderings (23:23). The people of these towns had helped David escape Saul, and David felt they deserved some kind of payment for their kindness. After all, if Saul had heard what they did, their very lives might have been in jeopardy. But David was doing more than thank these leaders. He was also paving the way for the time when he would return to their land as Israel's king
Victory (vv. 16–20). In their exuberant false confidence, the Amalekites were celebrating their great victory when David and his men attacked and caught the camp by surprise. They killed all the Amalekites, except 400 young men who escaped, rescued all the people who had been kidnapped, and recovered all the belongings that had been taken from Ziklag. It was a total victory for David, but it was also a profitable victory, because David took the wealth and booty of the Amalekites and claimed it for himself.
Even though the town had been burned by the enemy, David returned to Ziklag to await news of the battle between Israel and the Philistines. He was sure he wouldn't have to wait there very long, and he was right, for the news came on the third day (2 Sam. 1:1–2). After he heard the report of the death of Saul and his sons, he sought the Lord's guidance and the Lord sent him to Hebron (2:1–4). David reigned over Judah for seven and a half years, and Hebron was his capital city (v. 11).
The Lord had kept His promises, and David's wilderness wanderings were now ended.
As you review what the Lord did for David in that dark hour in his life, you can better understand how He helps His people when problems and crises come into their lives. First, the Lord encouraged David so that he didn't despair but trusted the Lord to help him.
Notes 1 The phrase "keeper of my head" (kjv) means "bodyguard." Had Achish forgotten that David had cut off Goliath's head and
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through dreams, but there was no answer. He had no prophet with him, as David did (22:5), and David also had a priest with an ephod (23:6). The "Urim" mentioned in 28:6 must refer to a new ephod that somebody had made for Saul, because the ephod from the tabernacle was with David. No matter what means Saul tried, he received no answer from God.1 But during most of his life, he didn't want God's will because he wanted to do things his own way. Is it any wonder that at the end of Saul's career, God deserted him?
kept it (17:54)? Achish's leaders were worried about what David would do with their soldiers' heads (29:4). There's another interesting paradox here. David was Saul's bodyguard (22:14) and Saul didn't trust him, but David was deceiving Achish and the king made him his bodyguard! 2 David left the king as the new day dawned (29:10–11), but Saul was meeting with a witch at night (28:8) and heading for defeat and death.
CHAPTER TWELVE 1 Samuel 28:3–25; 31; 1 Chronicles 10 THE KING IS DEAD! F
"Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, they would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies" (Prov. 1:28–31 nkjv).
G.Saul's defeat and death—28;
irst Samuel opens with the birth of a gifted baby, Samuel, and closes with the death of a guilty man, King Saul. The early chapters cluster around the tabernacle where God spoke to young Samuel, and the closing chapters focus on a forsaken man to whom God refused to speak. Samuel prayed and God defeated the Philistines; Saul sought for God's help but He didn't answer, and the Philistines defeated Israel. First Samuel is the book of man's king and is a record of Saul's decline, defeat, and death. Second Samuel is the record of God's king, David, and it shows how God made a mighty monarch out of a shepherd boy. King Saul's final days are recorded in these two chapters.
Saul disobeyed God's Word (vv. 7–14). The information in verse 3 about Saul putting away the people involved in spiritistic practices prepares us for the shock of Saul seeking for a spirit medium to assist him. The law of Moses condemns all forms of spiritism (Ex. 22:18; Lev. 19:31; 20:6; Deut. 18:9–13), so Saul was right in having these people expelled, but he was wrong to seek their help. In doing so, he was both a deliberate sinner and a hypocrite. The fact that some of his servants knew where a spirit medium lived suggests that Saul's clean-up campaign wasn't too thorough and that not all of his officers agreed with him. Some of them knew a medium Saul had overlooked.
A night of deception and distress (1 Sam. 28:3–25) Of all the "night scenes" in the Bible—and there are many of them—this one is perhaps the strangest and most dramatic. The spirit of a dead man returned to announce the doom of a despairing king who can find no way of escape. Samuel and Saul met for the last time, and it was not a happy meeting.
The night before the battle (1 Sam. 28:19), Saul disguised himself by taking off every sign of royalty and dressing in common clothes. He had a ten-mile journey from Mount Gilboa to Endor and would pass very near the Philistine lines, so it wouldn't do to be recognized as the king of Israel. Furthermore, he didn't want the medium to know who he was. Saul began his reign at the dawning of the day when he was anointed king by Samuel the prophet (9:26), but he ended his reign by going out at night to visit a spirit medium. He broke the very law he attempted to enforce.
Saul didn't receive God's help (vv. 3–6). We have already learned that Samuel was dead (25:1), but the fact is repeated here for perhaps two reasons. First, Israel was in trouble and Samuel wasn't there to rescue them as he had done before (7:7–14), and second, Saul was in trouble and Samuel wasn't there to give him God's counsel. When Samuel was alive, he had told Saul and the people what they needed to do to defeat the Philistines (7:3). However, their faith in God had gradually eroded under the leadership of King Saul, who was now deliberately seeking help from the evil one. It was Israel's darkest hour, but if God had deserted them, it was only because Saul had first deserted God.
The woman was no fool. She wanted to be sure this wasn't a trap to catch her and condemn her, for spiritism was a capital crime in Israel. Saul took an oath using the name of the Lord whose law he was breaking, that she would not be prosecuted, so she agreed to cooperate. Saul not only violated the law himself, but he encouraged her to violate it! He asked her to get in contact with Samuel, the man Saul didn't want to contact when the prophet was alive.
He discovered God's plan (vv. 15–19). Taking the plain meaning of the text, it seems clear that Samuel did appear to the woman but she was shocked when it happened. Samuel didn't come up from the realm of the dead because she was a good medium but because the Lord willed it to happen. This was not a demon imitating Samuel, or the medium using clever tricks, otherwise the woman wouldn't have been shocked. Her surprised loud cry was evidence that Samuel's sudden
The Philistine army was already mobilizing, and Saul and his army weren't prepared to meet them. When he saw them assembled, he became very frightened and trembled. The Philistines first gathered at Aphek while Israel assembled at Jezreel (29:1). Then the Philistines moved to Jezreel (v. 11) and finally to Shunem (28:4), where they prepared to attack the Israelite army stationed at Mount Gilboa (v. 4; 31:1).
Saul attempted to get in touch with the Lord
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been better equipped to meet the Philistines at Jezreel. In spite of all the blessings God gave to Saul, and all the opportunities to grow spiritually, Saul was unprepared to lead, unprepared to fight, and unprepared to die.
appearing was something she didn't expect to happen. She saw the prophet but Saul didn't (vv. 13–14), but Samuel spoke directly to Saul and not through the medium. Samuel was a prophet of God and needed no "mouthpiece" to convey the Lord's message. In fact, verse 21 suggests that the woman was not close to Saul during the time Samuel delivered his message to the king.
A day of disgrace and defeat (1 Sam. 31:1–10; 1 Chron. 10) Saul's military record is summarized in 1 Samuel 14:47–48. It's a commendable record that presents Saul as a conquering general and a national hero. He began his career as a great success; after all, the people did sing, "Saul has slain his thousands." It was after his failure to destroy the Amalekites that Saul began to go downhill. When David came on the scene, Saul's envy of the young man's success so obsessed him that the king became paranoid and dangerous. Saul had many good qualities, but none of them was humble, obedient faith in God. Because of his pride and disobedience, Saul lost everything.
Saul had only one question for Samuel: "What shall I do?" The Philistines were ready to attack, Saul was a weak and worried man, and everything he did to ascertain the Lord's will didn't work. "God is departed from me." Seven times in his brief message Samuel used the word "Lord" as he reminded Saul that God had departed from him because he refused to obey God's will. God tore the kingdom from Saul because he hadn't obeyed in the matter of slaying the Amalekites (15:28), and for the first time, Samuel announced that David was the "neighbor" who would inherit the kingdom (28:17). But the direst news of all was that the next day Saul and his sons would be slain in battle and join Samuel in the realm of the dead.2
Saul lost his army (1 Sam. 31:1; 1 Chron. 10:1). Saul's soldiers were no match for the Philistine army with its large divisions and its many chariots. Some of the men deserted and many others died on the battlefield. The Philistines preferred to fight on level ground because they depended on their chariots, while Israel tried to lure them into the hill country around Mount Gilboa. Israel was outnumbered and outclassed, but even if they had boasted superior forces, they still would have been defeated. Saul's hour of judgment had come. Without Samuel's prayers and David's anointed leadership, the army of Israel was destined for defeat.
Saul despaired over his plight (vv. 20–25). The king was sitting on a couch next to the wall, and when he heard Samuel's words, he fell helpless, full length on the floor. He had wanted a message from the Lord, but when it came, it wasn't the message he wanted to hear. He was trembling with fear at hearing the announcement of his death, and he was weak from fasting. Why would a general fast before a strategic battle? Was Saul trying to buy help from the Lord as he had done once before (14:28)? Some authorities believe that mediums required people to fast before they came to a séance, so perhaps Saul had that in mind. In either case, his actions were foolish, because fasting can't earn the blessing of the Lord if the heart isn't right with God.
Saul lost his life (1 Sam. 31:2–7; 1 Chron. 10:1–6). One of the first rules of ancient warfare was, "Kill the enemy king!" (See 1 Kings 22:31.) Saul was on the field with three of his four sons; for some reason, Ishbosheth (also known as Esh-Baal) was missing (2 Sam. 2:8; 1 Chron. 8:33; 9:39). The three sons died first, and then Saul was fatally struck by an arrow and asked his armor-bearer to kill him. The Philistines were notorious for abusing and humiliating victims, especially officers and kings. Saul feared that he would be tortured to death, so when the young man failed to respond to his plea, he fell on his sword and died.3 The young man immediately took his own life, and eventually all of Saul's bodyguards and officers around him met their death. It was total victory for the Philistines.
The medium shifted into a motherly role and begged the king to eat something. He had a dangerous journey ahead of him back to his camp, and the next day he had to direct his troops in the battle against the Philistines. As he had foolishly done before, Saul tried to "play the man" and appear the hero, substituting bravado for sanity, but the pleas of the medium and Saul's men prevailed. The woman must have been fairly well to do to have a fattened calf readily available, because this was the diet of the wealthy and a rare delicacy for the common people. Indeed, it was a meal fit for a king, but it was also his "last supper" before leaving this life. Saul ate and then left the medium's house. The final statement in the chapter reminds us of Judas—"He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night" (John 13:30).
Saul's reign was a tragic one and his death seemed inevitable, but how sad that three of his sons should die with him on the battlefield. Jonathan had dreamed of being coregent with David (1 Sam. 23:16–18), but that dream was never fulfilled. How often the sins of one bring pain and even death to others. "There is a sin leading to death" (1 John 5:16 nkjv). The sins of both Saul and Eli (4:1–18) cost them their lives and the lives of their sons. God is no respecter of persons.
We can't help but feel sorry for Saul, and yet at the same time, we must admit that he brought his plight on himself. Had he obeyed the Lord he wouldn't have lost the kingdom, and had he stopped pursuing David and invested his time developing his army, he would have
Saul lost his honor (1 Sam. 31:8–10; 1 Chron. 10:8–10). Humiliating the prisoners and the dying
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The men risked their lives a second time and carried the bodies to Jabesh Gilead. There they burned the bodies to remove the mutilated and decayed flesh, and they left the bones for burial. They didn't cremate the bodies, because cremation wasn't a Jewish practice. In times of emergency, the Jews would burn corpses that were so mutilated and decayed they couldn't be properly washed and anointed for burial, and then they would give honorable burial to the bones. After the people of Jabesh Gilead buried the bones, they fasted for seven days. It was their tribute to Saul and his sons.
and stripping the dead were the chief activities of a victorious army, for the spoils of battle were a big part of their wages for risking their lives. The Philistines took great joy in abusing Saul's body. They stripped off his armor and cut off his head, and after parading both from place to place in their land (1 Chron. 10:9), they displayed them in their temples. The armor was put in the temple of their goddess Ashtareth, and the head in the temple of Dagon. Finally, they publicly displayed the mutilated corpses of Saul and his sons on the outside of the city wall of Bethshan, a Philistine controlled city in the Jezreel Valley. For a Jew not to receive proper burial was both humiliating and sacrilegious, and for the body to be mutilated and then exposed was even more scandalous. The Philistines were letting their people and their idols know that they had won a great victory over their chief enemy, the people of Israel. Dagon had triumphed over Jehovah!
Saul had often held court under a tree in Ramah (22:6), and now he was buried with three of his sons under a tree near Jabesh Gilead. Later, David disinterred the bones of Saul and Jonathan and had them buried in their family's tomb in Benjamin (2 Sam. 21:13–14).
Notes 1 There is no contradiction between 1 Samuel 28:6 ("When Saul inquired of the Lord") and 1 Chronicles 10:14, that Saul "inquired not of the Lord." Two different Hebrew words are used. In 1 Sam. 28, the word is sha'al and means "to ask, to request"; and the word in 1 Chron. 10 is daresh, which means "to seek with care." Saul did ask for help but it was not from the heart, nor did he constantly seek God's help as David and Samuel did. He was in trouble, so he called on the Lord. 2 The Hebrews used "sheol" to describe both the grave itself and the realm of the dead. The Greek equivalent is "hades." The bodies of both the saved and the lost go into the grave, but their souls have different destinies. Luke 16:19–31 indicates that sheol/hades was divided into two areas, a place of rest and blessing for the righteous and one of suffering for the wicked. When our Lord ascended to heaven, He emptied the paradise portion and took those souls to heaven. Today, when believers die, they go immediately into the presence of the Lord (2 Cor. 5:1–8). At the judgment of the great white throne, hades will be emptied of the spirits of the lost, and the grave will give up the bodies (Rev. 20:11–18). The unsaved will be found guilty and cast into hell, the lake of fire. Hades is the "jail" but hell is the penitentiary from which none escapes. 3 Saul was one of seven men in Scripture who took their own lives: Abimelech (Judg. 9:54); Samson (Judg. 16:26–30); Saul (1 Sam. 31:4); Saul's armor-bearer (1 Sam. 31:5); Ahithophel (2 Sam. 17:23); Zimri (1 Kings 16:18); and Judas (Matt. 27:6)
Saul lost his crown (2 Sam. 1:1–10). The account of Saul's death given to David by the Amalekite was primarily a lie. The man "happened" to be at the battle but was obviously there to steal loot, and he had taken the two insignias of royalty from Saul's dead body. He had not put Saul out of his misery because Saul had committed suicide and was dead when the man arrived. After removing the royal crown and bracelet, the Amalekite, (who may have been a mercenary in one of the armies) should have safely removed the body from the field and protected it until it could have proper burial. He thought that his heroic acts would win David's approval, but they only brought him death.
Because of Saul's sins, he first lost his dynasty (13:11–14) and then his kingdom (15:24–31), and finally he lost his crown. The warning of our Lord in Revelation 3:11 is applicable at this point: "Behold, I come quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown" (nkjv). "Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward" (2 John 8 nkjv).
An hour of daring and devotion (1 Sam. 31:11–13; 1 Chron. 10:11–13) While the Philistines were making merry over defeating Israel and humiliating Saul and his sons, the men of Jabesh Gilead heard about the tragedy and came to the rescue. King Saul's first great victory had been the delivering of Jabesh Gilead from the Ammonites (1 Sam. 11:1–11), so the people of the city felt an obligation to vindicate Saul's memory. All of their valiant men traveled fifteen to twenty miles at night to the city of Bethshan and took possession of the four mutilated and decaying bodies. In order to make this trip, they had to cross the Jordan River and go through enemy territory. Saul hadn't been a spiritual leader, but he was a courageous leader and the first king of Israel. Even if we can't respect the man, we must show respect for the office.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN Review of 1 Samuel FOUR SUCCESSES AND TWO FAILURES W
hen the American statesman Benjamin Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, he remarked, "We must indeed all
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4–5), or intercede with a king, as He did Esther. He simply asked her to fulfill her heart's desire and give birth to a son. "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and he shall give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4). All that Hannah wanted was to be a woman of God who obeyed the will of God. In doing this, she helped to save the nation of Israel.
hang together, or most assuredly, we shall all hang separately." The road from signing a document to achieving national unity was a long one and a costly one, but eventually the United States of America emerged on the political scene and has been there ever since. Its two mottoes summarize the miracle that was accomplished: "E pluribus unum—Out of many, one" and "In God we trust." The first tells us what happened and the second tells us how it happened.
There's so much treachery, bloodshed, and confusion recorded in 1 Samuel that it's refreshing to meet at the very beginning of the book a woman who represents the very best that God has to give. The leaders of Israel had failed, so God sought out a woman He could use to help bring truth, peace, and order to His people. She served God simply by being a woman and doing what only a woman could do—give birth to a baby and dedicate that child to the Lord.
The nation of Israel had a similar challenge. After the death of Joshua, Israel gradually became a divided nation. Instead of trusting the Lord, the Jews began to worship the gods of their pagan neighbors, and the spiritual bonds that held the tribes together began to weaken and break. Before long, people were doing what was right in their own eyes and caring little about the covenant they had made with the Lord. Then the people called for a king, for someone who could bring unity to the nation and victory to the army. God answered their request and gave them Saul, but not to solve their problems—he only made some of them worse—but to prove to the people that their greatest need was to trust in Him and obey His Word. It wasn't until David appeared on the scene that national events began to take a different turn and light appeared at the end of the tunnel.
"He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the Lord" (Ps. 113:9 niv).
Eli, a compromising priest Eli was an indulgent father who occasionally reproved his sons for their sins but took no steps to discipline the men, let alone replace them. The work at the tabernacle went on in a routine sort of way, but there was no spiritual power evident nor was there any fresh word from the Lord. The picture we get of Eli is that of a fat, old man, sitting on his special chair as he directed the affairs of the tabernacle, all the while closing his eyes to what he saw and his ears to what he heard. He was the leader of Israel's religion and desperately needed to have a fresh experience with the Lord.
David was anointed by Samuel, and Samuel was the son of Elkanah and Hannah; so the story begins with Hannah, a humble woman whose submission and faith in God are an example for all of us to follow.
Hannah, a godly woman The name Hannah means "grace," and she certainly lived up to her name. God gave her the grace she needed to suffer the insults hurled at her by Peninnah, Elkanah's second wife, and to endure the embarrassment and pain of childlessness. She received the grace she needed to speak kindly and gently when she was misunderstood and criticized (Col. 4:6). God gave her grace to conceive a son and dedicate him to the Lord—and then to sing about it! So beautiful and meaningful was Hannah's song that Mary borrowed from it when she praised the Lord for His grace to her (Luke 1:46–55).
But we can commend Eli for putting his blessing on Hannah's prayer request (1 Sam. 1:17) and for welcoming little Samuel when she brought him to be dedicated to the Lord. Samuel's sons weren't the best companions for an innocent little boy, but the Lord and Eli saw to it that Samuel wasn't defiled. Eli taught Samuel the truths of God Word and instructed him concerning the work and ways of the tabernacle. Samuel was born a priest, but God would call him to minister as a prophet and judge.
Something else is commendable in Eli: when the Lord sent His message to young Samuel, Eli counseled the boy, listened to the message, and submitted to the Lord's will. "It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him" (3:18 nkjv). Whether this statement was a confession of helpless resignation or a mark of worshipful submission isn't easy to determine, but let's give Eli the benefit of the doubt. As he saw God at work in young Samuel's life, Eli must have encouraged him and prayed for him. There's no record that he was envious of the lad because God's messages were coming through him. Blessed are those older saints who help the new generation know God and live for Him! However Eli may have failed with his own sons, he helped to point Samuel in the right direction and the whole nation benefited from it.
Hannah was a woman with "faith and patience" (Heb. 6:12) who committed herself to God, asked for a son, and waited for God to answer in His own way and time. She was patient at home as she endured the verbal attacks of Peninnah, and she was patient with Eli when he falsely accused her of being drunk. She was fortunate to have a devout husband who loved her and encouraged her to obey the Lord. There were times when life was very difficult for Hannah, but she persevered in her faith, hope, and love and eventually won the victory.
Hannah realized what too many of us forget, that God works in and through "common people" to accomplish His purposes on earth. He didn't ask Hannah to lead an army, as He did Deborah (Judg.
Eli's last day of ministry was a tough one: his two
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Nobody could buy Samuel's conscience or accuse him of putting money ahead of ministry. The only blot on his record is the covetousness of his sons who used their ministry to line their own pockets. Nothing is said in Scripture about Samuel's wife, so perhaps she died young and this deprived the boys of her godly instruction and example. Samuel was often away from home, covering his ministry circuit, and this may have left the boys too much to themselves. It's useless to second-guess history. But after seeing what Samuel did for David, we can perhaps forgive what he didn't do for his own sons.
sons died, the ark was captured by the enemy, and his daughter-in-law died giving birth to a son. "Ichabod— the glory has departed!" But God was still on the throne and young Samuel was getting ready to step into the gap and bring spiritual direction to the nation. Eli hadn't been a great spiritual leader, but he was one small link in the chain that led to the anointing of David and eventually the birth of the Redeemer.
Samuel, a faithful servant Samuel was born at a time when the nation and its religion were a stagnant pool, but he soon found himself trying to navigate on a stormy sea. Change was in the air, and priests were trained to protect tradition, not to promote alteration. The Jewish leaders wanted a king, someone who could unify the people and protect them from the surrounding nations. Samuel saw this move as an abandonment of the Kingship of Jehovah, but the Lord told him to go along with the people and anoint Saul as king. Samuel did his best to educate the people for life under a monarchy, but his words seemed to make little difference.
Saul, an unstable king Saul's chief problem seemed to be his lack of a spiritual foundation on which to build a godly life. He may have stood head and shoulders above everybody else, but he was a midget when he stood next to David or even his son Jonathan. This lack of spiritual experience resulted in a second deficiency—a lack of confidence in himself and in the Lord. This had to be covered up by a leadership style that fed his ego and kept everybody around him in fear. At the start of his reign, when he was supposed to be encouraging the people, he was hiding in the baggage! Yet during his reign, he kept his spear constantly with him, not just to protect himself but also to remind everybody who was boss. He believed any lie about David that would give him reason to rally the troops and forget the needs of the nation.
The people had voted Samuel out of his judgeship, but he was still God's priest and prophet, and he helped Saul get a good start. Samuel led the nation in renewing their covenant with the Lord, Saul rescued the people of Jabesh Gilead, and Samuel gave a moving farewell speech in which he promised to pray for the nation. But it soon became evident that Saul had very little spiritual discernment and that he was using the kingship to promote himself, not to assist the people. He lied about his willful disobedience, lost the kingdom, and sent Samuel home to Ramah with a broken heart.
When David arrived on the scene, he didn't create problems—he revealed them. An insecure man like Saul can't tolerate competition and competence, and this made David an enemy. The people loved David and honored him, and this only made Saul's paranoia grow faster. Saul became a double-minded man who was "unstable in all his ways" (James 1:8). On the one hand, he pursued David and tried to kill him, while on the other hand he wept when he saw David or heard his voice, and tried to appear apologetic and repentant. His was the shallow heart of our Lord's parable of the sower. There was no depth, the tears were temporary, and no lasting fruit ever appeared.
Real change agents don't sit around complaining and remembering the good old days. When God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint a new king, he risked his life and obeyed, and David became a part of the scene. Scripture doesn't tell us how much mentoring Samuel gave David, but the prophet recognized God's hand on the lad and surely taught him about the Lord and His people. Samuel was God's living link between Israel's past and future, and he played his part well. He befriended David when he was in danger, prayed for him, and trusted God to care for him.
Paradoxical as it seems, it was success that helped to bring about Saul's ruin. Charles de Gaulle, president of France, said, "Success contains within it the germs of failure, and the reverse is also true." Those germs of failure are planted by the hands of pride, and pride was one of Saul's besetting sins. He was suddenly forced out of the predictable work of a farmer and herdsman into the unpredictable work of a king, and he didn't have the equipment to work with. The Lord would have helped him, as he did Moses, Joshua, and Gideon, but Saul chose to go his own way. When success comes before we're ready for it, it can destroy us and rob us of the things that make for true success. Saul didn't know the difference.
Samuel is an example to all older believers who are prone to glorify the past, resist change in the present, and lose hope in the future. Without abandoning the past, Samuel accepted change, did all he could to make things work, and when they didn't work, trusted God for a brighter future. God didn't abandon the kingdom; He just chose a better man to be in charge, and Samuel helped to mentor that man. Every leader needs a Samuel, a person in touch with God, appreciative of the past but willing to follow God into a new era, a man of faith and encouragement who sees the hand of God at work where others see only confusion.
When Saul failed, he learned to substitute excuses for confessions, but his lies only entangled him
1 Samuel
because of the poor leadership displayed by his father, but God didn't want Saul's line and David's line together in the throne room.
worse. His life and royal service were part of a tragic masquerade that was applauded by his flatterers and abominated by the Lord. Saul didn't listen to Moses, Samuel, Jonathan, or David, and once he had rejected God's Word, the only voice left was that of the devil.
Jonathan leaves behind a beautiful example of what true friendship should be: honest, loving, sacrificing, seeking the welfare of others, and always bringing hope and encouragement when the situation is difficult. Jonathan never achieved a crown on earth, but he certainly received one in heaven. "Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Rev. 2:10).
"I know of no more unhappy character than Saul when God had departed from him," said Charles Haddon Spurgeon. "But, somehow, there was not the anguish in the soul of Saul that there would have been if he had ever really known the Lord. I do not think that he ever did really, in his inmost soul, know the Lord. After Samuel anointed him, he was 'turned into another man,' but he never became a new man.…"1 Campbell Morgan said, "The man in his government of Israel was a warrior and nothing more; he was never a shepherd."2 He held a spear, not a shepherd's crook.
David, a courageous shepherd The eighth son and the "baby" of the family, David should have lived and died in anonymity, but he was a man after God's own heart, and God put His hand upon him. It's too bad that when his name is mentioned, people instantly remember his sin with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband, because, as terrible as those sins were, David was a great man and served God in a great way. We ought also to remember the way he built and protected the kingdom of Israel, or the many psalms he wrote, or the sacrifices he made on the battlefield to gather wealth for the building of the temple. God forgave David and David paid dearly for his sins, but God never cast David aside or refused his dedicated service. "So then each of us shall give account of himself to God" (Rom. 14:12 nkjv).
When God calls people to serve, He knows their capacity for doing the work He wants them to do, and He will never abandon them—if they trust and obey. That's where Saul failed. When God is left out of the equation, the answer is always zero.
Centuries later, another Saul appeared on the scene—Saul of Tarsus, who quickly became known as Paul, "the small one."3 He said he was "less than the least of all saints" (Eph. 3:8), which is quite a contrast to the Old Testament Saul with his great stature and manly physique. King Saul died a suicide on the battlefield, but his namesake died a martyr outside the city of Rome. Before his death, he wrote to his beloved Timothy, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7).
David was a man athirst for God. He envied the priests because they were privileged to dwell in God's house and live close to His presence. But He saw God in the mountains and rivers as much as in the sanctuary, and he heard God's voice in the thunder. For David, the world was alive with God, and the highest honor one could have—higher than being king—was to be God's servant and accomplish His purposes on earth.
Ten seconds after he died, King Saul wished he could have said those words.
Jonathan, a generous friend British preacher and composer George Matheson was right when he called Jonathan "a rainbow in a storm."4 You don't find Jonathan speaking a pessimistic word or questioning God's ability to accomplish what had to be done. He and his armorbearer challenged the Philistine outpost and won. He openly defied his father's bizarre instructions and taught his fellow soldiers a lesson in sane military manners. Jonathan risked his life to help David escape and then went to him in his exile so he could encourage him. The natural heir to the throne, Jonathan stripped himself of his royal garments and his armor and gave them to David.
God first trained David in solitude as he cared for the flock, and when the time was right, He thrust him on the stage and trained him even more in suffering. Some of his brothers criticized him, his king tried to kill him, and the king's courtiers lied about him, but David lived his life open before the Lord and never turned back. No, he wasn't perfect, nor did he claim to be, but his heart was fixed, and his consuming desire was to glorify God and finish his work.
Though on occasion he wavered because of doubts, David believed God's promises and never turned back in unbelief. Doubt is a temporary relapse of the heart, but unbelief is a permanent rebellion of the will, and David was never guilty of that. Even during his sojourns in enemy territory, he sought ways to accomplish something that would further God's kingdom.
Jonathan didn't mind being second man. He loved David and love always puts other people first. Jonathan made a covenant with David to become coregent when David ascended the throne, a promise, alas, that David couldn't fulfill. Jonathan loved his father and his nation to the very end and died on the battlefield while trying to defend king and country. It's tragic that so noble a prince should die
David was a unique blending of soldier and shepherd, musician and military tactician, commander and commoner. In spite of his sins and failures—and we all
1 Samuel
And the Lord still says to us, "Let Jesus be king of your life. Be successful!"
have them—he was Israel's greatest king, and always will be until King Jesus reigns on David's throne as Prince of Peace. The next time we're tempted to emphasize the negative things in David's life, let's remember that Jesus wasn't ashamed to be called "the Son of David."
Notes 1 Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 48, 521. 2 The Westminster Pulpit, vol. 9, p. 17. 3 The name Paul comes from the Latin paulus, which means "little, small." 4 George Matheson, Representative Men of the Old Testament: Ishmael to Daniel (Hodder and Stoughton, 1900), 173.
Four successes: Hannah, a housewife; Samuel, a prophet and priest; Jonathan, a prince and friend; and David, a shepherd.
Two failures: Eli, a priest; and Saul, a king.
2 S A M U E L A N D 1 C H R O N I C L E S
G e n e s i s E x o d u s L e v i t i c u s N u m b e r s D e u t e r o n o m y J o s h u a J u d g e s R u t h
E s t h e r J o b P s a l m s P r o v e r b s E c c l e s i a s t e s S o n g o f
1 S a m u e l 2 S a m u e l 1 K i n g s 2 K i n g s 1 Chronicles 2 C h r o n i c l e s E z r a N e h e m i a h
J e r e m i a h L a m e n t a t i o n s E z e k i e l D a n i e l H o s e a J o e l A m o s O b a d i a h
J o n a h M i c a h N a h u m H a b a k k u k Z e p h a n i a h H a g g a i Z e c h a r i a h M a l a c h i
S o l o m o n I s a i a h
OUTLINE OF 2 SAMUEL Key theme: The restoration of the nation of Israel
OUTLINE OF 1 CHRONICLES Ancestry: genealogy of the twelve tribes—1—9 Unity: the nation brought together—10—16 Dynasty: God's covenant with David—17 Victory: the borders expanded—18—21 Efficiency: the nation organized—22—29
by God's power Key verse: 2 Samuel 22:29–31
I. DAVID UNITES THE PEOPLE (1—7)
I. The temple ministry—22—26; 28:1—29:20 II. The army—27 III. The heir to the throne—28—29
A. A new king—1:1—5:5 B. A new capital city—5:6—6:23 C. A new dynasty—7:1–29
II. DAVID EXPANDS THE BORDERS (8:1—10:19)
A. He defeats Israel's enemies—8:1–14;
2 Samuel 1:1—2:7 552 (See 1 Chronicles 10:1–12)
10:1–19 B. He organizes the kingdom—8:15–18 C. He honors Mephibosheth—9:1–13
David, King of Judah
2 Samuel 2:8—4:12 555 David Watches and Waits
III. DAVID DISOBEYS THE LORD (11:1—20:26)
A. David's sins—11:1—12:31 B. Amnon's sins—13:1–22 C. Absalom's sins—13:23—19:8 D. David's return to Jerusalem—19:9—20:26
2 Samuel 5—6 560 (See also 1 Chronicles 3:4–8;
11:1–9;13:5—16:3) David, King of Israel
2 Samuel 7—10 564 (See also 1 Chronicles 17—19)
IV. DAVID CLOSES HIS REIGN (21:1—24:25)
A. Showing respect for Saul—21:1–14 B. Defeating the Philistines—21:15–22 C. Praising the Lord—22:1—23:7 D. Honoring his mighty men—23:8–38 E. Buying a site for the temple—24:1–15
David's Dynasty, Kindness,
and Conquests
2 Samuel 11—12 570 David's Disobedience, Deception,
and Discipline1
2 Samuel 13—14 575 David's Unruly Sons
2 Samuel 15:1—16:14 580 David's Escape to the Wilderness
2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles
2 Samuel 16:15—18:33 585 David's Bittersweet Victory
2 Samuel 22 595 (See also Psalm 18)
David's Song of Victory
2 Samuel 19:1—40 589 David's Return and Renewed Problems
2 Samuel 23—24 599 (See also 1 Chronicles 11:10–41; 21:1–26)
2 Samuel 19:41—20:22 592 (See also 1 Chronicles 20:4–8)
David's Memories and Mistakes
David's New Struggles
1 Chronicles 22—29 604 David's Legacy
David's third day in Ziklag that he received the tragic news that Israel had been defeated and that Saul and three of his sons were dead.1
CHAPTER ONE 2 Samuel 1:1—2:7 (See 1 Chronicles 10:1–12) DAVID, KING OF JUDAH F
Scripture gives us three accounts of the death of Saul and his sons: 1 Samuel 31:1–13, the report of the messenger in 2 Samuel 1:1–10, and the record in 1 Chronicles 10:1–14. According to 1 Chronicles 10:4–5, Saul killed himself by falling on his sword, but the messenger said he had killed Saul to save him from experiencing further agony and humiliation. First Chronicles 10:14 informs us that it was God who killed Saul for his rebellion, especially the sin of seeking guidance from a medium. Only with great difficulty can the reports in 1 Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10 be reconciled with the report of the messenger; therefore, it's likely the man was lying.
I. David unites the people (1—7) A.A new king—1:1—5:5
or ten years David was an exile with a price on his head, fleeing from Saul and waiting for the time when God would put him on the throne of Israel. During those difficult years, David grew in faith and godly character, and God equipped him for the work He had chosen for him to do. When the day of victory did arrive, David was careful not to force himself on the people, many of whom were still loyal to the house of Saul. He took a cautious approach, and we can't help but admire David for his wisdom and patience as he won the affection and allegiance of the people and sought to unify the shattered nation. "So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands" (Ps. 78:72 nkjv).
There's no question that the man had been on the battlefield. While he was searching for spoils, he found the corpses of Saul and his sons before the Philistines had identified them, and he took Saul's insignias of kingship, his golden armband, and the gold chaplet he wore on his helmet. However, the Amalekite didn't kill Saul as he claimed, because Saul and his sons were already dead. But by claiming that he did, he lost his own life.2
Vindication (1:1–16) The Lord prevented David and his men from assisting the Philistines in their battle against Saul and Israel, so David returned to Ziklag. There he discovered that the Amalekites had invaded and taken all the people and goods and had left the town in ruins. God in His providence led David to the Amalekite camp. David routed the enemy, delivered the women and children, and reclaimed all the goods as well as the loot the Amalekites had collected in their raids. He then returned to Ziklag and awaited a report from the battlefield (1 Sam. 29–30).
One of the key words in this chapter is fallen, found in verses 4, 10, 12, 19, and 27. When Saul began his royal career, he was described as standing head and shoulders "taller than any of the people" (1 Sam. 9:2; see 1 Sam. 10:23 and 16:7), but he ended his career a fallen king. He fell on his face in fear in the house of the spirit medium (1 Sam. 28:20), and he fell on the battlefield before the enemy (1 Sam. 31:4). David humbled himself before the Lord, and the Lord lifted him up, but Saul's pride and rebellion brought him to a shameful end. "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall" (1 Cor. 10:12 nkjv).3 Saul was anointed king at the dawning of a new day (1 Sam. 9:26–27), but he chose to walk in the darkness (1 Sam. 28:8) and disobey the will of God. A grieving camp (vv. 11–12). The Amalekite messenger must have been shocked and then afraid when he saw David and his men tearing their garments and mourning the death of Saul. He thought that everybody in Ziklag would rejoice to hear the news of Saul's death, knowing that this meant the end of their dan-
A deceitful messenger (vv. 1–10). On the day that David was slaughtering the Amalekites, the Philistines were overpowering Saul and his army at Mount Gilboa, where they killed Saul and three of his sons (1 Sam. 31; 1 Chron. 10:1–12). The next day, while David was returning to Ziklag, the Philistines were humiliating Saul by desecrating his body and the bodies of his sons, and the Amalekite messenger was starting off to bring the news to David. It took him at least three days to get to Ziklag, which was about eighty miles from the scene of the battle. So it was on
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songs to help them commemorate both joyful and painful experiences. Moses taught Israel a song to warn them about apostasy (Deut. 32), and the prophets often wrote funeral dirges to announce impending judgment (Isa. 14:12ff.; Ezek. 27:lff.; 28:11–19).
gerous fugitive way of life. He probably expected to be rewarded for bringing such good news, but he obviously didn't know the heart of David. In David's eyes, Saul was never his enemy (2 Sam. 22:1), and on the two occasions when David might have slain Saul, he made it clear that he would never lay hands on the Lord's anointed (1 Sam. 24:1–7; 26:1–11).
This lament came to be known as "The Song of the Bow" (v. 18)4 and was recorded in the book of Jasher (Josh. 10:12–13), a collection of poems and songs that commemorated great events in the history of Israel. "How are the mighty fallen" is the major theme of the elegy (vv. 19, 25, 27), and the emphasis is on the greatness of Saul and Jonathan even in defeat and death. David celebrated their skill and bravery and their willingness to give their lives for their country. Like Hebrews 11, nothing is recorded in the song that speaks of any sins or mistakes in the lives of Saul and Jonathan.
The messenger claimed that he was an Amalekite, the son of a resident alien (2 Sam. 1:13). But if he had been living in the land of Israel, he surely would have known that the king of Israel was the anointed of the Lord. If a loyal Jew had found the four corpses, he would have sought to hide them and protect them from the enemy, but the Amalekites were the enemies of Israel, the very people Saul was supposed to wipe out (1 Sam. 15). It's likely that the messenger was a genuine Amalekite but not a resident alien in Israel. He was more likely a "camp follower" who made his living scavenging after the Philistine army. By claiming to be the son of a resident alien, the man was asking for certain privileges specified in the law of Moses, privileges he certainly didn't deserve (Ex. 22:21; 23:9; Lev. 19:33; 24:22; Deut. 24:17). A righteous judgment (vv. 13–16). At evening, when the time of mourning had ended, David further interrogated the messenger and concluded that the man deserved to die. If the story he told was true, then the man had murdered God's anointed king and deserved to die. If the story was not true, the fact that the Amalekite fabricated a tale about killing the king revealed the depravity of his heart. "Out of your own mouth I will judge you" (Luke 19:22 nkjv). The Jews had been commanded to annihilate the Amalekites (Ex. 17:8–16; Deut. 25:17–19), so when David ordered the messenger to be slain, he was simply obeying the Lord, something Saul had failed to do (1 Sam. 15). In slaying the messenger, David vindicated Saul and his sons and demonstrated publicly that he had not been Saul's enemy and did not rejoice at Saul's death. This was a dangerous thing to do, for David and his men were living in Philistine territory, and the Philistine king still thought David was his friend and ally. For David to take his stand with the dead king of Israel could be considered an act of treason. But the Lord had vindicated David and David had vindicated Saul, and David wasn't afraid. The conduct of David and his camp, when reported to the Jewish people, would help to convince them that David indeed was chosen by God to be their king.
He addresses the people of Israel (vv. 19–20). David calls the dead king and his army "Your glory, O Israel" and "the mighty."5 They didn't display much glory or might in the battle of Gilboa, but Saul was still God's chosen leader and his soldiers were the army of the Lord of Hosts. We're prone to forget that Saul and his army had risked their lives to fight and win many significant battles (1 Sam. 14:47–48) and that the Jewish women did sing "Saul has slain his thousands" (1 Sam. 18:7). David urged the people not to spread the bad news of Israel's defeat, for the Philistines would take care of that. Gath was the capital city of the Philistines where the leaders would rejoice at their victory, and Ashkelon was the chief religious center, where the people would give thanks to their idols for helping their army defeat Israel.
He addresses the mountains of Gilboa (v. 21). This is where the battle was fought and Saul was defeated (2 Sam. 1:6; 1 Sam. 28:4; 31:1). David prayed that God would forsake the place and not send rain or dew to the fields or give the farmers fruitful harvests, even though this meant there could be no grain offerings for the Lord. He asked that God's creation join him in mourning over the defeat of Israel and the fall of their king. When David referred to the shield, was he speaking literally or metaphorically, or both? Saul carried a shield, and Israel's king was compared to a shield (Ps. 84:9; 89:18). Warriors did anoint their leather shields to preserve them, but the king was also God's anointed leader. Saul and his three sons had lost their shields and their lives, and their shields were defiled by blood.
He praises Saul and Jonathan (vv. 22–23). This is the heart of the song, depicting Saul and Jonathan as victorious warriors. Jonathan's arrows hit their mark and Saul's sword "did not return unsatisfied."6 They were as swift as eagles (Deut. 28:49) and as strong as lions (2 Sam. 17:10). But to David, these men weren't just great soldiers; they were also gracious people who were beloved in life and in death loyal to each other and to the people. From his meeting with Samuel in the medium's house, Saul knew that he and his sons
Lamentation (1:17–27) David's grief over the death of Saul and Jonathan was sincere, and to help the people remember them, he wrote a touching elegy in their honor. He ordered this lament to be taught and sung in his ancestral tribe of Judah, and no doubt people in other tribes learned and appreciated it. The people of the East unashamedly display their emotions, and their poets frequently write
2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles
people. David was in the habit of seeking the Lord's will when he had to make decisions, either by having Abiathar the priest consult the ephod (1 Sam. 23:9–12) or by asking Gad the prophet to pray to God for a word of wisdom (1 Sam. 22:5).
would die that day in battle (1 Sam. 28:19), yet he entered the contest determined to do his best. Jonathan knew that his father had disobeyed God and sinned against David, yet he stayed at his side in the fight. Even though the army of Israel was defeated, David wanted the people to remember the greatness of their king and his sons.
David was from Judah,7 so it was logical that he go to live among his own people, but in which city should he reside? God gave him permission to return to Judah and told him to live in Hebron, which was located about twenty-five miles from Ziklag. By moving there, David was back with his own people but still under the shadow of the Philistines. Hebron was important in Jewish history, for near the city was the tomb of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. The city was in the inheritance of Caleb, a man of stature in Jewish history (Josh. 14:14). Abigail, one of David's wives, had been married to a Calebite, and David had inherited her property near the wilderness of Maon (1 Sam. 25:2). Hebron was probably the most important city in the southern part of Judah, so David moved there with his men, and they lived in the towns surrounding Hebron. For the first time in ten years, David and his men were no longer fugitives. His men had suffered with him, and now they would reign with him (see 2 Tim. 2:12).
He addresses the daughters of Jerusalem (v. 24). In spite of his faults and failures, during his reign Saul had brought stability to the nation. The tribes had abandoned selfish independence and competition and were striving to work together to better their lot, including their economic position. Saul's victories over enemy nations, greater safety in the towns and farmlands, and tribal cooperation all combined to make Israel wealthier. David seems to be describing the wealthy women and their luxuries, perhaps the wives of some of Saul's officers David had seen while he was serving in Saul's court. "Clothed … in scarlet and finery" is a familiar phrase that means "basking in wealth."
He speaks to his beloved friend Jonathan (vv. 25–26). It's common in funeral dirges to name and address the deceased. "Jonathan my brother" carries a double meaning, for they were brothers-in-law (David was married to Michal, Jonathan's sister) and also brothers in heart and spirit. David and Jonathan were beloved friends who had covenanted together to share the throne, David as king and Jonathan as second in command (1 Sam. 23:16–18). To read homosexual overtones into David's expressions of his love for Jonathan is to misinterpret his words. Solomon described the love of husband and wife as "strong as death" (Song 8:6 nkjv), and the friendship of David and Jonathan was that strong. First Samuel 18:1 NIV says, "Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself." David closed his lament by repeating the poignant refrain "How are the mighty fallen" and comparing Saul and Jonathan to weapons of war that had been lost and could never be used again.
When David settled in Hebron, his return to Judah was the signal for his people to recognize him as their leader, so the elders of Judah anointed David a second time and made him king (see 1 Sam. 16:13).8 Had Saul's captain Abner also accepted God's will and submitted to David, a costly civil war would have been averted, but loyalty to the old regime (Abner was Saul's nephew) and a desire to protect his own interests motivated Abner to fight David instead of follow him.
While David was living in Ziklag, volunteers had come to him from the tribes of Benjamin, Gad, and Manasseh (1 Chron. 12:1–22), so he not only had a large and experienced army but also a representation from some of the other tribes. Before long, David would win the allegiance of all the nation of Israel.
In his accession to the throne of Israel, David illustrates the career of Jesus Christ, the Son of David. Like David the shepherd, Jesus came first as a humble servant and was anointed king privately. Like David the exile, Jesus is King today but doesn't yet reign on the throne of David. Like Saul in David's day, Satan is still free to obstruct God's work and oppose God's people. One day, Jesus will return in glory, Satan will be imprisoned, and Jesus will reign in His glorious kingdom (Rev. 19:11–20:6). God's people today faithfully pray "Thy kingdom come" (Matt. 6:10 kjv) and eagerly await the return of their King.
In composing and teaching this elegy, David may have had several purposes in mind. For one thing, he gave honor to Saul and Jonathan and taught the people to respect the monarchy. Since Saul was Israel's first king, the people might conclude that all their kings would follow his bad example and possibly ruin the nation, so David sought to strengthen the concept of monarchy. The song also made it clear to everybody that David held no grudges against his father-in-law and sovereign. Finally, David set an example for all of us to follow in paying loving tribute to those who have died in battle to protect their country.
David was thirty years old when the elders of Judah made him their king, and he reigned in Hebron for seven and a half years (2 Sam. 2:11). How blessed were the people of Judah to have such a gifted and godly leader!
Coronation (2:1–4a) David was Israel's lawful king and couldn't remain in Ziklag since it was in enemy territory. It's likely that Achish, the Philistine king, thought that David was still under his authority, but David knew that he must return to his own land and begin to reign over his own
Appreciation (2:4b–7) David was a man with a shepherd's heart who cared
2 Samuel & 1 Chronicles
about his people (see 2 Sam. 24:17), and one of his first concerns was the fate of Saul and the three sons who died with him. When he asked the leaders of Judah about the burial of the royal family, they told him how the men of Jabesh Gilead had risked their lives to recover the four bodies, burn away the decayed and mutilated flesh, and then bury the bones back at Jabesh (1 Sam. 31:8–13). They remembered how Saul had rescued their city many years before (1 Sam. 11).
encourage young men to learn how to use the bow, but the Hebrew text doesn't support this. The elegy was called "The Song of the Bow" possibly because of the reference to Jonathan's bow in verse 22. The name identified the tune that was used to sing the song. Certainly David wasn't encouraging the archers to practice more because Saul and Jonathan lost the battle, because his song extols their military prowess. 5 The Hebrew word translated "glory" can also be translated "gazelle." David saw Saul as a majestic deer that had been slain on the mountain. 6 "The sword devours" (i.e., eats, drinks) is a familiar metaphor in the Old Testament (Deut. 32:42; 2 Sam. 2:26; 11:25; Isa. 31:8; Jer. 12:12). Saul's sword devoured much blood and was satisfied. 7 It appears that the tribe of Judah, while cooperating with Saul and the other tribes, had been maintaining somewhat of a "separated" posture in those days (see 1 Sam. 11:8; 15:4; 17:52; 18:16; 30:26). 8 David was anointed three times: first privately by Samuel (1 Sam. 16:13), then publicly by the elders and people of Judah (2 Sam. 2:4), and finally publicly by the whole nation (5:3).
Jabesh Gilead was located across the Jordan in the tribe of Gad, and the men who recovered the bodies had to travel northwest and cross the Jordan River to reach Beth Shan, a round trip of perhaps twenty-five miles. It was a courageous endeavor, and David thanked them for their devotion to Saul and to the kingdom of Israel. They had displayed "kindness," and the Lord would show them "kindness and faithfulness." Twenty-five years later, David would disinter the remains of Saul and the sons who died with him and rebury them in their native tribe of Benjamin (2 Sam. 21:l2–14). But David used this occasion as an opportunity to invite the brave men of Jabesh Gilead to cast their lot with him. They had been valiant for Saul, and now they could be valiant for David. Some warriors from Gad had already joined David's army while he was in Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:8–15), affirming their confidence that he was God's anointed king. Unfortunately, the people of Jabesh Gilead didn't choose to submit to David but instead followed Abner and Saul's weak son Ish-Bosheth.