Day 89 – 2 Samuel 1:1-5

Scripture Review

2 Samuel 1:1-5

"Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;" (2 Samuel 1:1)

1 Samuel 30, David has just come back from striking the Amalekites, the very people Saul had once failed to finish. That little phrase, "had abode two days," to me is like saying the scripture is saying, David had just enough time to breathe, not enough time to settle.

"It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance." (2 Samuel 1:2)

A man arrives with torn clothes, Dirt on the head. These were old signs of disaster and mourning. He falls to the earth and pays respect before David. David had refused to seize the kingdom by violence; now the news of its vacancy comes bowing to him uninvited. However, I have learned the Amalekite expected some kind of reward for their service.

"And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped." (2 Samuel 1:3)

David does not begin with "what's wrong?" he begins with "From whence comest thou?" The man answers that he has escaped from Israel's camp. David has lived too long under rumor, betrayal, false accusation, and twisted words to be hasty. If Psalm 56 taught me anything about David, it is that he knew what it felt like to have words extorted and steps marked. Men who live long under that pressure tend to learn not to trust the first word they here.

"And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also." (2 Samuel 1:4)

First the people fled. Then many fell and died. Then finally, "Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also." I find it amazing how suddenly personal victory at Ziklag is overshadowed by national tragedy. David has every selfish reason to think Saul's death would clear his path. But the report does not merely announce Saul's end. It announces Israel's wound and Jonathan's fall.

"And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?" (2 Samuel 1:5)

David does not accept the report as true just because it is dramatic. He asks for proof. He will not let the death of the LORD's anointed become gossip at his own fireside. In Psalm 56 David said, "Every day they wrest my words." Here he will not let another man's words run loose untested. David, fresh from the mercy and recovery of Ziklag, receives the first report of Saul and Jonathan's deaths with restraint, sorrow, and careful questioning rather than triumph.