Christian Devotional – September 1, 2020

Always Second – #16

David learns of Jonathan and Saul’s deaths. First we see his response to learning of Saul’s death. Read 2 Samuel 1:2-16.

On the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and kill me, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my Lord.” Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.” Then David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” And David called one of the young men and said, “Go, cut him down.” So he struck him and he died. David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.'”
2 Samuel 1:2‭-‬16 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/2sa.1.2-16.NASB

A man comes to David’s camp to share with him that Saul has died. He also tells him that Jonathan has been killed as well. Obviously, David wants to know the whole story and so the man shares. Here in these verses, we see how David responds to the news of Saul’s death.

How would we respond to the death of an enemy? David still recognized that Saul was God’s anointed. So, when the man said that he was responsible for ending the life of the anointed of the Lord, David ultimately has him killed. David had amazing respect and love of the Lord and anything that the Lord had done. As a result, he had great respect for Saul because he was anointed by God to be king. When this man falsely claimed to have been responsible for killing Saul, David responds by wondering why the man wasn’t afraid to kill one of the Lord’s anointed.

Now, the man probably had the Crown and the bracelet that he said he had, so he probably saw Saul dead, however we know from scripture that this is not how Saul actually died. This man lied. Intresting that he receives judgment not just for his lie but for his attitude toward the one that God had chosen. Do we recognize God’s choosen? Do we respect the choices that God has made, even when we don’t agree with them or understand them?

David knew that God had chosen him to be king, but it was decades between the time when David was anointed king to when he actually sat on the throne. Are we willing to wait on God’s perfect timing, even if that means waiting decades? Do we respect and love God enough that we are willing to accept his choices in every area of our life? Are we even willing to mourn and take action when someone else does not respect God’s choices?