03 David’s Lamenation

In the first portion of 2 Samuel chapter 2, David was advised of the deaths of Saul and his best friend, and brother in the Lord, Jonathan. We also saw David react to the “confession” of the man who said he’d performed a merciful killing of Saul, who had been severely wounded, and near death. David reacted, first by being suspicious of the account of the sole messenger, and then by having the man executed, because by the words of his own mouth, he said he had slain the man God had anointed to as king of His people.

Now, in the second half of the chapter, we find David reacting to the events in another manner, as he took the role of leader, with overly asserting himself, even though the Lord had long-before anointed him to succeed Saul as King.

David’s leadership took the forms of musician, and moral instructor for the people.

1 David’s Instructions

Rather than attempting to assume the throne right away, David instead penned a lamentation, based on an ancient Jewish poem from the (non-biblical) book of Jasher:

2 Samuel 1:17-18

David understood that the nation had not only just lost it’s leader, but three of his sons, which jeopardized the presumed order of succession (in the minds of the people) since again, God had already chosen David to be the next king.

And while he didn’t attempt to establish himself as king, he assumed a leadership role by which he would both honor the lives of Saul and Jonathan, while guiding the people in how they should remember them nationally, and then what they should not portray to the world, especially the Philistines.

David was both hoping to prevent chaos due to the leadership void, as well as to show how the nation could be forgiving toward Saul for any ills which he had caused.

David did all that, while still mourning the death of his dear friend Jonathan.

But as seen from David’s words and actions, he was also greatly affected by Saul’s death. David was obviously troubled by the manner in which Saul died, which of course was based upon the information he’d received from the self-professed (and self-confessed) Amalekite.

Verse 18 shows David assuming the leadership role, as he instructed that the song be taught to the people of Judah, therefore providing them with the correct way of remembering both Jonathan and Saul:

2 Samuel 1:18

As for the book of Jasher, spoken of in verse 18, the book was also alluded to in the book of Joshua:

Joshua 10:13

So, while the book itself is not inspired by the Holy Spirit, there were certainly parts of it which were endorsed by the Lord to the extent that portions of the book of Jasher were useful as material for both the books of Joshua and 2 Samuel.

2 The Song of the Bow

The remainder of the chapter, is David’s song of lamentation, which he entitled “The Song of the Bow”, which alluded to Jonathan as an expert archer:

2 Samuel 1:19-27

The song was not only intended to honor the lives of Saul and Jonathan, but it was also to instruct and give direction to God’s people during this time without a king.

Even though David and Saul had well-documented problems, he desired to place Saul in the best light possible, and therefore, he honored him as king.

That may be seen, as he opened the song, by referring to the late king as “The beauty of Israel”. Despites Saul’s numerous attempts on David’s life, he amazingly, still saw “beauty” in Saul’s life.

David’s heartfelt mourning for the death of king Saul was also to be an example for the nation. Interestingly, David spoke of the deaths of both Saul and Jonathan, as the “mighty” as having fallen, this despite not having clear details about the details of their deaths.

Again, this showed leadership without inserting himself into the monarchy. Despite Saul’s repeated persecutions against David for nearly two decades, David still didn’t hold any ill-will against Saul, and had actually forgiven him.

Scripture speaks of how love for one another covers sins:

1 Peter 4:8

David’s attitude was because he was trusting in the Lord, and that the Lord had allowed the hardships and persecutions in his life.

Beginning with verse 20, David gave instructions not to sing this song of lamentations in the presence of the Philistines.

The reason was twofold. First, he wanted to encourage the nation regarding the loss of the king. But most of all, he didn’t want the song to become something which the Philistines would learn about, as they did years before, when the Israelite women began singing a song which lauded one of David’s victories over the Philistines:

1 Samuel 18:6-7

In verse 21, desired to in effect memorialize Mt. Gilboa as the place where not only Israel had been defeated, but where both Saul and David had died. Therefore, he wanted it to be a place of solemn remembrance for Israel, and not joyful celebration for the Philistines.

In verse 22, David spoke of how Jonathan’s bow didn’t turn back, which pointed to how his friend had been an expert archer, and a valiant warrior. Therefore, David was certain that Jonathan had fought courageously in battle, before losing his life.

And despite their personal problems, David didn’t attempt to separate Saul from Jonathan with regards to valor, as he suggested the same about the king.

In verse 23, David continued associating the lives of the two men, by stating that they were, “beloved and pleasant in their lives,:. That was certainly a gracious statement, as Saul and his son Jonathan had an “interesting” relationship to say the least, as Saul often showed violent outbursts against his son, and on one occasion, consigned him to death, until the people overruled the king, saving Jonathan’s life. However, David, rather only mentioned the occasions when he had seen Saul and Jonathan having a good and contentious-free relationship.

In verse 24, David then instructed the women to weep for Saul, again, asking that they display proper respect for the fallen king, who David says had provided for their lifestyles, allowing them to have more than simple necessities, but to have various luxuries, which enriched their lives.

In verses 25-27, David spoke of his deep friendship with Jonathan, whom he referred to as his “brother”. Their relationship in the Lord was so close, that he said he was “distressed” over his death.

The second part of verse 26, has sadly become a verse which some, especially advocates for homosexuality, have taken out of context:

2 Samuel 26b

While those individuals attempt to portray David’s words as suggesting an improper and sinful relationship between the two men, what David was showing, was that he and Jonathan shared true fellowship in the Lord. Thus their “love” for one another, was due to their mutual love for God. Since they both knew and loved God intensely, they were therefore able to encourage one another in that.

In the final verse, David spoke of how the valiant fallen warrior Jonathan, would no longer be able to go out in battle.