2 Samuel 1

2 Samuel 1:1-16 David Learns of Saul's Death-

1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. 3 And David said to him, "Where have you come from?" So he said to him, "I have escaped from the camp of Israel."

“’Now it came to pass …’ - There is no break whatever between the two books of Samuel, the division being purely artificial.” (Albert Barnes)— “‘So David and his men were two days in Ziklag; And it came to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes torn, and he had earth upon his head.’ (2) This man feigned piety. He was an Amalekite fighting on Israel’s side. And he hoped to establish his loyalty with the new king. “‘So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.’ (3) All his object evidently was to ingratiate himself with the person who, he supposed, would succeed Saul in the kingdom.” (Whedon’s Commentary)

“The crown and the bracelet. If David had accepted this, he would have accepted his kingship from the hand of an Amalekite. Amalek is a picture of the flesh, used by Satan to fight against God. Accepting the diadem means accepting the kingship. David, however, wants to accept the kingship only from the hand of the LORD his God.” (G. de Koning)

4 Then David said to him, "How did the matter go? Please tell me." And he answered, "The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also." 5 So David said to the young man who told him, "How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?" 6 Then the young man who told him said, "As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, 'Here I am.' 8 And he said to me, 'Who are you?' So I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.' 9 He said to me again, 'Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.' 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord."

“This story is inconsistent with that given in 1 Samuel 31:4-5, and was evidently invented by the Amalekite to gain favour with David.” (C. J. Ellicott)

11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13 Then 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." 14 So David said to him, "How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?" 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, "Go near, and execute him!" And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, "Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, 'I have killed the Lord's anointed.'"

“David not only... lamented the death of the king, but also felt a personal attachment to Saul, notwithstanding his long and unreasonable hostility. But Saul did not die alone; Jonathan, David’s most cherished friend, fell with him. At the same time, the whole nation over which David was hereafter to reign received a crushing defeat from their foes, and large numbers of his countrymen were slain. It has been well remarked that the only deep mourning for Saul, with the exception of the men of Jabesh-gilead, came from the man whom he had hated and persecuted as long as he lived… Besides his personal grief, David had both a religious and a patriotic ground for sorrow. The men who had fallen were parts of that Church of God which he so earnestly loved and served, and were also members of the commonwealth of Israel, on whose behalf he ever laboured with patriotic devotion. The LXX, overlooking this distinction, has very unnecessarily changed ‘people of the Lord’ into ‘people of Judah.’” (C. J. Ellicott)

“Then David said..., "Where are you from?"— “He was an Amalekite born, but renounced his country and joined with the Israelites.” (Geneva Study Bible) But his words proved that he was not a true Israelite. “David heard and knew before what he was, but he asked it again judicially, in order to his trial and punishment.” (Matthew Poole) “So David said to him, ‘How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?’ (14) David had much grace for Saul in 1 Samuel. He waited for God’s timing to be enthroned as the king of Israel. Saul was the LORD’s anointed of Israel. Sure, David had been anointed by Samuel.

But in his mind and heart, only God would place him on the throne of Israel. “He had consistently refused to harm him (cf. 1 Samuel 24:6; 1 Samuel 26:11).” (Bridgeway Comm.)

“Saul was one of the great deliverers of the national of Israel. He united the kingdom for the first time since the days of Joshua (1 Samuel 14:47). He subdued all the nations who had been oppressing Israel for the past three hundred years (1 Samuel 14:47-48). No one in the time of the judges had performed so many great feats by the power of God at work in him. Thus, David rightly calls him ‘the Lord's anointed’. No Israelite could look down upon such a record of deliverance. Every Israelite felt the unity and strength of the nation of Israel because of the victories won by King Saul.” (Everett's Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures)

For David: “The crown is within the reach of the hands, but its bringer is not sent by God. The eagerness with which he offers the crown is not in accordance with the spirit of David… David is here an example of the Lord Jesus. The devil came to the Lord with the offer to give Him all the kingdoms of the earth. All the Lord must do is kneel down before the devil and worship him. Then, without suffering, He will acquire all the kingdoms. The Lord, however, allows Himself to be guided in everything only by the will of His God. He reminds the devil with a word from the Scriptures: It is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY‘ (Deuteronomy 6:13; Matthew 4:8)He wants to accept the kingship only from the hand of His God and in the way He has indicated: through the cross. He waits for the moment when God says to him: ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the [very] ends of the earth as Your possession’ (Psalm 2:8).” (G. de Koning)

“Why didst not thou refuse to kill him, as his armour-bearer had done? For notwithstanding his great danger, something might have fallen out through God’s all-disposing providence, whereby his life might have been preserved.” (Matthew Poole)

David does not rejoice. “On the contrary, he is mourning about his death. Also ‘all the men’ who are with David react just like him. They have taken over his character, they are formed by him. David and his men weep not only about Saul and Jonathan, but also about the people of the LORD and the house of Israel. For this deed the man receives the only ‘reward’ that applies: death…” (G. de Koning)— the most severe punishment of the law of Israel.

There was no need for witnesses as was required in the torah of Israel. (Deut 19:15) “It does not matter whether he fully believed his story or not, the man was be judged by his own account of himself.” (C. J. Ellicott)“Thy blood be upon thy head; the guilt of thy bloodshed or death lies upon thyself, not upon me, for thy free and voluntary confession is sufficient proof of thy guilt in killing the king.” (Matthew Poole) “Thy mouth hath testified against thee, and out of it thou art judged (Luke 19:22), whether thou hast done it or not.” (Berleburg Bible)

2 Samuel 1- The Song of the Bow-

17 Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher:

19 “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! 20 Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon— lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. 21 “O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you, nor fields of offerings. For the shield of the mighty is cast away there! The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. 22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, and the sword of Saul did not return empty. 23 “Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. 24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury; who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. 25How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan was slain in your high places. 26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; you have been very pleasant to me; your love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.

27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”

Then David lamented and told them to teach the children "the Bow". Old commentaries say that they were instructed to teach "the use of" the bow, “that they might be able to match their enemies the Philistines in that art.” (Geneva Study Bible) It is noted that “Saul fell by the bow: ‘the archers hit him.’ 1 Samuel 31:3.” (Joseph Sutcliffe) But this art already existed in Israel and I think it more likely that the lessons of this ode were to be taught. Here is my morning manna:

“The Bow- This title would tenderly remind David of that affectionate interview with Jonathan when the latter shot from his bow the arrows that were to warn him of his danger (1 Samuel 20:20; 1 Samuel 20:36)... David commanded his own tribe to learn to sing this mournful strain in order to show that they had no hardness and jealousy towards Benjamin, the tribe of Saul. At a later time all the singing men and singing women were required to learn Jeremiah’s lamentation over the good Josiah. 2 Chronicles 35:25.” (Daniel Whedon)

“‘Behold, [it is] written in the book of Jasher.’ (18b) What was written in this apocryphal book is “his foregoing counsel and course which David took to repair the last loss, which is here mentioned but briefly…(Poole) It is “haply called the Book of Jasher, in allusion to the name of Jeshurun, whereby is meant Israel” (Deut 32:15 ; 33:5).” (Trapp) They recorded the free will deeds of the cildren of Israel, which they beleived were also being written by the finger of God in a book in heaven. But Jeshurun oft aided them. “So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day.” (Josh 10:13)

““But Jeshurun (Israel aka Jasher) grew fat and kicked— You are grown fat, thick, and sleek— Then he forsook God who made him, and scorned the Rock of his salvation.” (Deut 32:15) The name “is not a diminutive but an appellative (containing an allusion to the root, ‘to be righteous’); and describes not the character which belonged to Israel in fact, but that to which Israel was called.” (Albert Barnes) "’There is no one like the God of Jeshurun (Israel) , who rides the heavens to help you, and in His excellency on the clouds. The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms…’ (Deut 33:26-27a) Moses called God by this name as the Israelites were getting ready to enter the Promised Land. He reminded the people to follow the Lord as they populated the land, because He alone was a dependable source of refuge and protection.” (Refuge by George W. Knight)

David’s funerary lament over Saul’s death recalls Jesus’ lament over the death of Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-39).” (Dr. Thomas B. Constable) “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.”

David “celebrated the praises of the fallen monarch as though he had been to David the best of fathers, and the best of kings: yet in the sacred strains of panegyric, he offers not the slightest violence to truth. Posterity could not say of this production, ‘False marble,’ or ‘lying scroll.’ He knew nothing of the venal eloquence and affected modesty of a Flechere. He introduces at once the subject of his tears. He strikes the soul by an apostrophe to his country. ‘The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy HIGH PLACES (v.19, where other gods are worshipped).” (Jospeh Sutcliffe) David would tear them down while in office.

"When the Hebrews entered Canaan, they encountered pagan peoples who had long worshiped at high places. God commanded the Israelites to destroy those sanctuaries (Nm 33:51-52) to avoid contamination by them, but the warning went largely unheeded. At the height of the Hebrew kingdom, after Solomon had completed the temple, he built high places for the god Chemosh of Moab, Molech of Ammon, and other gods of his pagan wives. For this sin God determined to split the Hebrew kingdom (1 Kgs 11:7-11)." (Tyndale Bible Dictionary)

“‘Tell it not in Gath, publish, announce, it not in the streets of Askelon,’ these being two of the five large Philistine cities, ‘lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.’ If Philistia should learn of the death of the heroes of Israel, there would be, and there undoubtedly was, a scornful joy over the victory.” (Paul Kretzmann)

“‘O mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew nor rain upon you,’(21a) Here a curse is pronounced upon the mountains which were the scene of Saul's death.” (Burton Coffman Commentary) David even calls upon nature to mourn along in this for Israel so sad occurrence (cp. Romans 8:22). He wants God to withhold His blessing from the mountains on which the mighty fell, so that they may be a permanent reminder of what has happened here. What a deep respect this shows for the LORD’s anointed.” (G. de Koning) — “‘nor fields of offerings.’ (21b) He imprecates such complete barrenness on the soil of Gilboa, that not even enough may grow for an offering of first-fruits.” (Albert Barnes ) "This curse still seems to lie upon the mountains of Gilboa, for they are still naked and sterile." (Jamieson, Fausset, Brown)

“‘From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty,’ considered a sign of great strength, ‘the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty’ (22) ; both heroes were accustomed to gain complete victories, to destroy every opposing enemy, their bravery, their prowess, was known far and wide.” (Kretzmann's Popular Commentary) Moreover: “’Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided;’ (23a) Jonathan stayed with Saul in his life and, as it were, took the same lot in Sheol were they will await the Judgment. I think that David is sure that they would both be raised in the resurrection of the just. And in life ‘they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.’ (23b) David gives them both a great compliment by attributing to them characteristics that we also find with the throne of God. There we find with the first living being that it is ‘like a lion”’ and with the fourth living being that it is ‘like a flying eagle’ (Rev 4:7). The power of the lion and the speed and movability of the eagle (Lam 4:19) are the main characteristics of the mighty of antiquity. As in life, so in death the two mighty are not separated. In braveness and courage they were equal to each other.” (G. de Koning)

“‘O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury; who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.’ (24 In ‘Is There Intended Allegory in the Song of Solomon?,’ Jim Hamilton explains that ‘Yahweh married Israel at Sinai.’ The ‘covenant between Yahweh and Israel’ is described elsewhere ‘as though it is a marriage.’ The Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem) is the fruit of that union; the heart of Israel.” (Why Christians Should Understand the Daughter of by Candice Lucey)

David laments their first death, which is appoint for all mankind, and expresses his intimate love for Jonathan. (25-27) He ends “How the mighty have fallen, and the WEAPONS OF WAR perished!” (2 Samuel 1:27) This is not a reference to such things as swords, bows, and arrows. ‘The parallelism suggests that the weapons of war are Saul and Jonathan themselves.’ [International Critical Commentary]…” (Coffman Commentary) And next- the Judgment.