I’m going to list some names below, and as I read them, notice the emotion that you feel about them. Read the names, imagine their faces in your mind. What do you feel?
George Washington
Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth
Martin Luther King Jr
Richard Nixon
Margaret Thatcher
Donald Trump
Kamala Harris
Did you feel the emotion? Depending on your viewpoint of history, a person might be a hero, and they might be a villain. They might be someone you respect, and they might be someone you really have a hard time with.
Last week, Kirk Marks walked us through the narrative of chapters 28, 29 and 30. We learned that the Philistines summoned a huge army to attack the Israelites. Now in chapter 31, war erupts between Philistia and Israel. Here’s what we read in 1st Samuel 31, verses 1-2,
“Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua.”
This is bad news for Israel. Not only does Philistia win big against Israel, but three of Israel’s princes are killed, including the crown prince Jonathan. The Philistines want the big prize, though. They want the king. Let’s keep reading verses 3-6,
“The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, ‘Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.’ But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.”
This is one of those bittersweet stories. For weeks now, we have been rooting for David as he has been on the run, a fugitive from Saul. We have known since all the way back in 1st Samuel chapter 15 that God was taking the Kingdom away from Saul, and in chapter 16 that God had anointed to be the next king. On the blog, that was three months ago. Having waited so long, it is sweet to finally see God’s promise and prophecy fulfilled. But it is also bitter. The loss of life was massive.
War is just plain old terrible. The horror of war rains down on the good and bad. Yes, Saul dies, and Saul was wicked. But Jonathan also dies, and Jonathan was good. Jonathan seems as though he would have been an outstanding king. But his life is cut off too soon.
Who but Saul is to blame for all this loss but? Saul chose to turn from God numerous times, and the result is great pain and suffering. Let me summarize the rest of 1st Samuel 31. Saul, mortally wounded by Philistine archers, decides to fall on his sword. The people of Israel living in nearby towns flee to avoid the Philistines. The Philistines have not taken over all of Israel. They have taken only several border towns between Israel and Philistia.
As Philistine soldiers loot the dead Israelite soldiers, they come across the bodies of Saul and his sons. They remove Saul’s armor, and cut off his head. They place his armor in one of their temples, and they hang his body on the wall of a Jewish town that they now occupy. This is brutal awful stuff. It’s gory. But that’s war.
The chapter ends as some incredibly courageous Israelites in nearby Jabesh Gilead sneak to the town of Beth Shan, recover Saul’s body (and those of his sons) and they bring the corpses back to Israel for a proper burial and fasting.
That brings us to 2nd Samuel. There is no gap in the narrative between the two books. The story continues seamlessly. Before we jump into 2nd Samuel chapter 1, we need to think about what has just happened. Saul, the king, is dead. Three of Saul’s sons are also dead. Who gets to be king now? It seems as though the narrator of the story has this question of succession on his mind, because 2nd Samuel chapter 1, verse 1 starts right in on David.
“After the death of Saul, David returned from striking down the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days. On the third day a man arrived from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him honor. ‘Where have you come from?’ David asked him. He answered, ‘I have escaped from the Israelite camp.’ ‘What happened?’ David asked. ‘Tell me.’ ‘The men fled from the battle,’ he replied. ‘Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.’ Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, ‘How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?’ ‘I happened to be on Mount Gilboa,’ the young man said, ‘and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and their drivers in hot pursuit. When he turned around and saw me, he called out to me, and I said, “What can I do?” He asked me, “Who are you?” “An Amalekite,” I answered. Then he said to me, “Stand here by me and kill me! I’m in the throes of death, but I’m still alive.” So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that after he had fallen he could not survive. And I took the crown that was on his head and the band on his arm and have brought them here to my lord.’ Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes and tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the army of the Lord and for the nation of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.”
This story is dark and ominous. First, the intimate details of King Saul’s final moments are awful. Also David is learning that not just Saul, but worse, Jonathan, his best friend, is dead.
At first, David and his men have an impromptu period of mourning. Tearing their clothes is a customary method of expressing anguish. The physical ripping of cloth symbolizes the emotional ripping they feel. We would say, “You ripped my heart out!” They literally ripped their clothes. And they wept and fasted. As of course they would. They just found out that their countrymen were slaughtered. And for David it goes deep, as Jonathan was his best friend. When you lose someone close, it is right and good to mourn and feel the loss.
At some point in the mourning and fasting, though, a realization dawns on David. You can almost see the look come over David, as he thinks to himself, “Wait a minute…what did that guy say?”
This story is about to take a dark turn. We find out how in the next post.
Photo by Yosi Prihantoro on Unsplash
Engaging Scripture 
One thought on “The deep pain of losing a loved one – 1 Samuel 31—2 Samuel 2:7, Part 1”