Sunday, October 11, 2015

II Samuel 1: How The Mighty Have Fallen!

Loyal to Saul to the end, David is grief-stricken when he hears of the death of the king and the prince.  He composes a lamentation to be sung in their memory, and commands that it be taught to the people of Israel.  It contains an expression which has since become famous: How the mighty have fallen!  Here it refers to the champions of Israel, Saul and Jonathan, killed in battle upon Mount Gilboa.  David is especially overwrought by the death of his intimate friend, Jonathan.  When an Amalekite tries to take credit for killing Saul, perhaps expecting a reward from David for this service, the son of Jesse instead orders the man himself killed for daring to strike down the Lord's anointed.  The death of Saul and his family is not a cause for celebration for David, but a reason to grieve deeply, in addition to mourning the overall loss of Israel's battle with the Philistines.

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