Scripture:
2 Samuel 1:23-26 Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved during their lives, and not even in their deaths were they separated. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions. O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewelry, who put gold jewelry on your clothes. How the warriors have fallen in the midst of battle! Jonathan lies slain on your high places! I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan! You were very dear to me. Your love was more special to me than the love of women.
Observation:
The lament of David over the death of Saul and Jonathan is not full of tangled emotion as one might expect. His pursuer, Saul, was finally destroyed. And his best friend on earth, Saul’s son Jonathan, was killed with him. But there is no hint of joy or even accusation concerning the person of Saul in David’s song. Instead there is only deep personal grief. Saul and Jonathan, often quarreling about David, were together in their final battle. Their strength in earlier battles was remembered in David’s eulogy. The nation of Israel had been blessed during Saul’s reign, even though he had turned treacherous towards his enemies. And the death toll during the battle was much greater than these two, of course. David then recalls his deep love for Jonathan, who would have given the crown to David and served him as a faithful servant, even as David had served his father Saul. There is no deeper brotherly bond in scripture than these two. And now that Jonathan was gone forever, David’s tears are real and come from deep within.
Application:
Am I forgiving my enemies and those who spitefully use me? Do I give them their due regarding their strengths and all the good they do for the group of people who surround them, the community and the nation? If not, I need to start making that inventory, for it will help me greatly to forgive them. I can see that practice in this lament of David. He never forgot the good things about Saul, never gave up on hope of reconciliation. May I learn that and draw it into my heart as well. For in there is the strength to hope. Am I allowing myself to have close friends like Jonathan? Do I maintain those friendships across the years and distances? I am a poorer man when I fail to do that. For the Jonathan’s I have are a gift from God and if I fail to honor my friendships with my time and energy, I will eventually be deeply mourning that even as David did in this passage. Finally, let me learn to write down my songs, particularly at the crossroads of my life, for they seal my history and the history of my times and people, with closure and summary that enriches those who will follow.
Prayer:
Father, I thank You for the person of King David. You are the One Who forged royalty in his life even as he was a poor shepherd boy. And You taught his hands to play the lyre and sing for the whole nation. Grant that I may have a heart as his, seeing things the way You showed him to see, so that I might have all the balance as life goes forth from Your hand. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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