We begin the book of 2 Samuel today and find David getting word of the death of Saul, as well as the death of his best friend Jonathan and two of Jonathan's brothers, and the defeat of the Israelite army at Gilboa.
A battle between the Israelites and the Philistines took place while David and his men were pursuing, overtaking, and fighting the Amalekites who had stolen all their possessions at Ziklag and burned the city and kidnapped their families. After retrieving all that was theirs (and more besides, for they plundered the Amalekites), they returned to Ziklag and were there for several days without hearing any news about the battle. On the third day someone finally comes along who can answer the questions on David's mind.
"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." (2 Samuel 1:1-2) When the author says David returned to Ziklag after the death of Saul, he doesn't mean that David knew Saul was dead, just that this was the order in which these things happened.
I think David and his men and their families are occupied with trying to put Ziklag back together when suddenly a man shows up who has all the outward signs of someone in mourning---the torn clothes and the dust on his head---and David knows something bad has happened somewhere. "'Where have you come from?' David asked him. He answered, 'I have escaped from the Israelite camp.' 'What happened?' David asked. 'Tell me.'" (2 Samuel 1:3-4a) I can just imagine the impatient sense of dread David must be experiencing as he waits to hear the news. If you've ever waited for someone to relay very big news to you, you know that a few seconds can feel like several hours in a time like this, especially when you know it's going to be bad news. I think David's mouth goes dry and his heart begins pounding and his skin starts to crawl as he waits through those seconds that feel like forever.
"'The men fled from the battle,' he replied. 'Many of them fell and died. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead.'" (2 Samuel 1:4b) This news is so bad that David doesn't want to believe it's true. "Then David said to the young man who brought him the report, 'How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?'" (2 Samuel 1:5) He holds out hope that this is just a rumor the young man heard, not something he saw with his own eyes.
But David's hopes are dashed as the man tells a strange tale. "'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.'" (2 Samuel 1:6-10) Why is the man's story strange? Because in the final chapter of 1 Samuel we found Saul already dead by his own hand, at which point his armor-bearer also killed himself. The battle was still going on, though most of Israel's troops were in the process of fleeing, and Saul was mortally wounded by the arrows of the Philistines. Not wanting to fall into the hands of the Philistines while he was still alive, he begged his armor-bearer to put him out of his misery before the enemy could taunt and torture him in the remaining moments of his life. His armor-bearer was terrified and could not bring himself to kill the king. Seeing that the man was frozen in place by fear, Saul managed to position himself overtop of his sword to thrust himself through with it. He was dead at that point because the Bible tells us that the armor-bearer saw that he was dead and, in despair and grief, also committed suicide.
Considering all that, the question must be asked: "Is the Amalekite lying to David about his role in Saul's death?" The majority of modern Bible scholars appear to think so. I think they are right because otherwise the account the Amalekite gives in 2 Samuel 1 contradicts what we were told in 1 Samuel 31 and I do not believe the Bible ever contradicts itself. I will offer my opinion as to what really went down on Mount Gilboa. The Amalekite, who claims he "happened" to be there while a battle was raging, didn't actually get close enough to recognize anyone until after the Israelites had fled with the Philistines chasing them. Why would a man just traveling through the countryside insert himself into a major military conflict? That would be foolish and I don't believe he did such a thing. He may have watched the battle from a distance while concealing himself but I don't think he just "happened" to wander onto Mount Gilboa while the fighting was in progress. No, he waited until the coast was clear and then came onto the scene to loot the dead bodies of the fallen soldiers. In the last chapter of 1 Samuel we were told that it wasn't until the day after the battle that the Philistines returned to loot the dead, so right after the battle the Amalekite took advantage of the fact that he would be the first to search the bodies for items of value. As he began picking the pockets of those who lay slain on the mountain, he came across the body of a man wearing a king's crown and an arm band that likely bore an insignia or coat of arms for the House of Saul. He knew immediately that this was the king of Israel and he also knew that he might be able to ingratiate himself to David by claiming he killed Saul and by offering the crown and the arm band to convince David he really killed Saul. Everyone in the region knows that King Saul wanted David dead and pursued him for many years. The Amalekite decides to take the crown and arm band to David, claiming to have killed his mortal enemy, thinking he will be rewarded greatly.
David does not react the way the Amalekite thought he would. Instead of rejoicing and throwing a party to celebrate the death of King Saul, he goes into mourning. "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." (2 Samuel 1:11-12) These men are brokenhearted for their nation. Even though King Saul wasn't a very good man, the fact that the Philistines got the upper hand in battle and killed the king of Israel and three of his sons is a terrible blow to everyone in Israel. National security is at stake. Now the people fear that the Philistines will become ever bolder in their attacks and that other enemies may follow suit.
The Amalekite who lied about "finishing off" King Saul as he lay mortally wounded will live to regret his words, but not for long. His life can now be counted only in minutes once David and his men finish weeping and fasting at sundown. "David said to the young man who brought him the report, 'Where are you from?' 'I am the son of a foreigner, an Amalekite,' he answered. David asked him, 'Why weren't you afraid to lift your hand to destroy the Lord's anointed?' Then David called one of his men and said, 'Go, strike him down!' So he struck him down, and he died. For David had said to him, 'Your blood be on your own head. Your own mouth testified against you when you said, 'I killed the Lord's anointed.'" (2 Samuel 1:13-16)
Whether or not the Amalekite ever laid a hand on King Saul while he was still alive, his lie about killing the king got him killed, and lest we begin feeling too sorry for him we must keep in mind that the Amalekites were people the Lord told the Israelites to completely wipe out. The Amalekites made themselves the enemy of Israel almost the minute the Israelites came out of Egypt, attacking the group from behind where the slowest people were traveling. This means that among those they cruelly struck down were elderly or disabled or sick or heavily pregnant or leading toddlers by the hand. The Lord said that for this sin, (and for numerous others because the Amalekites forsook Him long ago in favor of pagan gods and immoral rituals), a day would come after the Israelites had settled in the promised land when He would put it within their power to destroy the Amalekites from the earth. That time came during the reign of Saul but, as we learned in 1 Samuel, he was disobedient to the Lord and refused to follow through. It's ironic that an Amalekite claims to have killed the man who was supposed to have killed him and all his people. I am not sure whether David would have ordered this young man to be struck down for claiming to have killed the king unless he was of a tribe on the "extinction list" of nations the Lord told the Israelites to destroy. But upon hearing that the young man is on this list, and upon learning that he is a citizen of the nation that so recently burned David's city, stole all the livestock and goods, and kidnapped the families of David and his men, David feels no compassion for this fellow. He shows him no mercy. In David's eyes it's a grievous sin to strike down a man anointed in the name of the Lord to be king. Finding out that the young man is an Amalekite prevents David from feeling any pity for him at all.
David of all people had a good reason to kill King Saul but refused to do it on the two occasions Saul was within his grasp. He said he would not harm a man anointed by the Lord to be king and that he would wait for the Lord to depose Saul and raise him up in his place. If David felt he had no right to take Saul's life, this Amalekite certainly had no right. David believes the man's claim to have killed the king; he has no reason not to believe it with the crown and the arm band in the man's hand. Since assassinating the king is a capital offense, David carries out capital punishment on the offender. Then he composes a hymn in memory of his friend Jonathan and in memory of Saul whom he once respected and looked up to. What a credit it is to David's heart for the Lord that he could mourn a man who hated him so much! What a Christlike attitude he displays as we study the song in tomorrow's passage!
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