2Samuel 1 comments

 

2Samuel 1:1 ¶  Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; 2  It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance. 3  And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. 4  And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also. 5  And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead? 6  And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7  And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. 8  And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9  He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. 10  So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.

 

Here is a clear example of a battlefield scavenger who took the items from the fallen king thinking that by claiming that it was he who had killed Saul he would be rewarded by David. He was mistaken in his assumption. We already know how Saul died. He killed himself.

 

2Samuel 1:11 ¶  Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: 12  And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword. 13  And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. 14  And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’S anointed? 15  And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. 16  And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed.

 

This Amalekite, who may have been part of Saul’s army, is killed for killing a king even though we know he didn’t do it. This shows us the importance of the chief executive of a country, its king, and how the office was held as sacred. Even though Saul had tried so often to kill David, he could not let this affront to Israel and Israel’s God go unpunished. This is also a warning against bragging and taking credit for something you didn’t do.

 

See 1Samuel 24:6 and 1Samuel 26:9,11 about the loathing of killing the Lord’s Anointed even if he is a paranoid narcissist.

 

Another thing this guy apparently wasn’t aware of was that David had just had a battle where he killed many Amalekites and retrieved his possessions and wives. Bad luck for this lying braggart, indeed.

 

2Samuel 1:17 ¶  And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: 18  (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) 19  The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! 20  Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 21  Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. 22  From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. 23  Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24  Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. 25  How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. 26  I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 27  How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

 

David and Jonathan were very close.

 

1Samuel 18:1 ¶  And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

 

The book of Jasher is also mentioned in Joshua.

 

Joshua 10:13  And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is not this written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

 

However, it was not deemed by the Holy Spirit as necessary for inclusion in the Bible. It is known in some sources as meaning the Book of the Upright or the Book of the Just Man. Other sources say it is a reference to the first five books of Moses, as put out there by Rashi, the medieval Jewish rabbi whose commentary forms the basis for a popular Hebrew Bible today.

 

However, numerous forgeries have resulted from these beliefs in its veracity and it is widely regarded as a non-canonical book. In other words, it did not include enough that was given by inspiration of God to warrant the Holy Spirit operating through the Jews or the church to have it for us to use.

 

David mourns heavily over the deaths of Saul and Jonathan.

 

One thing of note that I might add is that it is said that Saul clothed the daughters of Israel in scarlet. We think of dyed clothing as a wealthier person’s prerogative but history tells us that even poor Hebrew women used vegetable dyes to color clothing and scarlet specifically came from an insect’s body which is a long story not necessary for our study. Scarlet, however, was something that important people wore (2 Samuel 1:24; Daniel 5:7; Matthew 27:28). This color was also found in the tabernacle as Exodus 26:31 shows and the ephod had scarlet in it (Exodus 28:6.)