2 Samuel 1:1-16
The word bereave means to deprive ruthlessly or
by force. I believe the real agonizing pain of death
is its earthly finality.
Being deprived or denied the presence of somebody
we love for the remainder of our life is the most
severe of all heartaches.
We talked about First Samuel chapter 30 last week.
David returned to Ziklag and found his wives and all the
men’s families missing and the town was burning.
Through God’s providence David was able to find the
ones who burned their town and he struck them down
and rescued his family and all of their possessions.
This morning we are going to look at 2 Samuel 1:1-16.
You might be thinking, wait, why are we skipping chapter
31 of 1 Samuel?
Chapter 31 does not involve David and we are studying
David’s life, but don’t fret, because we are going to read
a few verses in chapter 31.
Chapters 30 and 31 of I Samuel likely happen
concurrently.
Notice the contrast between Saul and David’s lives.
Saul’s Demise
Saul is the outgoing king. He was the one the people
chose, the man after man’s heart. God told him through
Samuel that he was going to strip the kingdom from him
because he failed to obey what God had told him to do,
namely, kill the Amalekites. cf I Samuel 15. And in
chapter 16 tells us that the Spirit of the Lord departed
from Saul.
David’s Rise
David is the future king. David was chosen by God, a
man after God’s own heart. God told Samuel to anoint
him because he was the next king of Israel. Chapter 16
also tells us that the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David
from that day forward.
So it makes sense that we see Saul’s life end in chapter
31 and we see David enjoying a victory.
Chapter 31 describes the death of Saul.
I Samuel 31:1-5
“Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel,
and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines
and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines
overtook Saul and his sons,
and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and
Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The
battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers
found him, and he was badly wounded by the
archers. Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw
your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest
these uncircumcised come and thrust me through,
and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not,
for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own
sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer
saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword
and died with him.”
I’m sure you noticed that the Bible indicated that Saul fell
on his sword after being badly wounded by the archers.
Most commentators believe that his wounds were mortal
wounds. But Saul didn’t want to take the chance of an
uncircumcised Philistine finishing him off, so he asked his
armor-bearer to kill him. The armor-bearer refuses
because of his great respect for the king, so Saul falls on
his sword. Verse 5 tells us that when the armor-bearer
saw that Saul was dead he fell on his sword.
We don’t really have time to read it now, but if you look
at I Chronicles 10:1-5 you will notice that the text is
almost exactly the same as I Samuel 31:1-5.
Now, let’s look at our text for this morning
2 Samuel 1:1-10
David Learns of Saul’s Death
I’m sure at this point you are thinking, “Why does the
account of the Amalekite here in 2 Samuel differ from
chapter 31 and I Chronicles 10?”
Short answer, the Amalekite is lying.
Remember the Amalekites are the ones God told Saul to
eradicate. When God tells us what He wants us to do
there is always a good reason for it.
There are several questions that arise from these first 10
verses.
Why was the Amalekite wearing torn clothes and
dirt on his head? This was a common indication of
someone who was grieving. Why would he care if his
enemy was killed?
Why did the Amalekite bow down and pay homage
to David? His people had kidnapped Israelites and
burned their town. This man knew that David was the
future king of Israel. He understood that he needed to
pay respect to the future king.
Did Saul kill himself or did the Amalekite kill him?
I don’t think that the Amalekite killed him.
Two separate places in Scripture tell us that Saul fell on
his own sword. The Amalekite, an enemy to Israel, told
David that he helped Saul with a mercy killing.
I don’t believe the man.
I believe the other portions of Scripture tell us the truth
and this man is lying.
Also, notice that the unnamed Amalekite grabbed Saul’s
spear and his armlet. He offers them to David thinking
David would offer him a reward.
My thought is that he was standing nearby when the
Philistine archers wounded Saul. He heard Saul ask his
armor-bearer to kill him and changed the story to make
himself look like a good guy.
He probably knew that Saul had been chasing after David
for quite some time and thought David would be giddy
with the news that his “enemy” was no longer a problem.
But David was not excited about the death of Saul.
In fact, David never wanted Saul dead.
He had two chances to take Saul’s life, but refused both
times. He knew Saul was the Lord’s anointed and would
not lay a hand on him or allow his men to either.
The next verses describe David’s reaction to the news of
Saul’s death.
2 Samuel 1:11-12
David Mourns Saul and Jonathan’s Death
David and his men tore their clothes and mourned, wept
and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan.
David was genuinely upset about the death of Saul and
Jonathan. He followed what Proverbs 24:17 says.
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
and let not your heart be glad when he
stumbles,”
David grieves the loss of his best friend and his father.
Paul wrote to the church at Rome,
“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those
who weep.” Romans 12:15
We can offer comfort through life’s trials as we come
alongside one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
God gave us emotions. It’s ok to weep when we are sad.
After Lazarus died, the Bible tells us Jesus wept.
Lazarus was His friend. When He saw Martha and Mary
weeping Jesus mourned with them as well.
2 Samuel 1:13-16
David has the Amalekite Killed
David can’t understand why the Amalekite did not have
any fear of the Lord’s anointed.
Based on the man’s testimony, even if it was a lie, David
ordered his execution.
Imagine if David had rewarded the Amalekite for killing
Saul.
David would be guilty of supporting the killing of the
Lord’s anointed.
David proved twice that he was not willing to lay a hand
on Saul.
APPLICATION
Grief is a natural part of life.
There is a difference in how a believer grieves as opposed
to a non-believer.
The non-believer has no hope for the future.
Christians have hope of a future with God in heaven.
“But we do not want you to be uninformed,
brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may
not grieve as others do who have no hope. For
since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him
those who have fallen asleep.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming
of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen
asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these
words.” I Thessalonians 4:13-18
“But we do not want you to be uninformed,
brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may
not grieve as others do who have no hope. For
since we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him
those who have fallen asleep.
For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord,
that we who are alive, who are left until the coming
of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen
asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an
archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of
God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we
who are alive, who are left, will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord
in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Therefore encourage one another with these
words.” I Thessalonians 4:13-18
Grieve with Hope for the Future
Jesus promised that He was going to prepare a place for
His children. When our time on earth is through, we will
realize that promise and we will see God face to face.
The difficult part of losing a loved one is not seeing them
until we get to heaven. But God is always with us to
comfort us and give us peace that passes all
understanding
Grieve with One Another
Just as Paul wrote, we are to weep with those who weep.
How does God want you to grieve with a church member
who is grieving? Maybe a call or a visit would encourage
them and let them know you are thinking of them and
that you miss their loved one too.