A ragged runner from the battlefield reaches David at Ziklag and tells how Saul died — with a lie folded in, that he himself finished the wounded king off, expecting to be paid for the news. David has him executed for the boast, and then does the thing no one expected: he mourns. The song he writes for Saul and Jonathan becomes Israel’s, and its refrain has become everyone’s: how are the mighty fallen.
A study in 2 Samuel 1 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
How Wast Thou Not Afraid
“And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed? And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’s anointed.”
2 Samuel 1:14-16
The Amalekite misread David completely. He assumed the hunted man would be glad his hunter was dead and would pay for the news. But David had twice held Saul’s life in his hand and twice refused, for one reason: Saul was the LORD’s anointed. The man is condemned out of his own mouth — whether he struck the blow or only claimed it to a stranger, he boasted of a thing David counted a capital crime.
“Twice David had had Saul in his power; but when urged to slay him, he had refused to lift his hand against him who had been consecrated by the command of God to rule over Israel. Yet the Amalekite feared not to boast that he had slain the king of Israel.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 695
The Beauty Of Israel Is Slain
“The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen! Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.”
2 Samuel 1:19-20
David’s first instinct is not to celebrate an opening but to grieve a loss — Israel’s loss, the people of God fallen by the sword. “Tell it not in Gath”: he will not have the enemies of the LORD gloating over the death of the LORD’s king, however unworthy that king had become. Death has closed the account, and what David remembers now is what was kingly, not what was cruel.
“David’s grief at the death of Saul was sincere and deep, evincing the generosity of a noble nature. He did not exult in the fall of his enemy… Death had obliterated the remembrance of Saul’s distrust and cruelty, and now nothing in his history was thought of but that which was noble and kingly.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 695
Ye Mountains Of Gilboa
“Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil… Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.”
2 Samuel 1:21-23
The lament does not pretend. Saul and Jonathan were “lovely and pleasant in their lives” — David says it of the man who threw spears at him, because on the field they had stood together for Israel. He curses the hill that drank their blood. This is grief without score-keeping: the generous eye Christ later commends, that can look at an enemy fallen and refuse to be glad.
Passing The Love Of Women
“How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”
2 Samuel 1:25-27
For Saul the grief is dutiful and generous; for Jonathan it is personal and raw. Jonathan had every earthly reason to treat David as a rival and instead loved him “as his own soul,” handed him the succession, and kept him alive. That covenant friendship — chosen, unselfish, unbroken to the end — is what David weeps for here. The song became a treasure to the nation, and its ache is still recognisable.
“The name of Saul was linked with that of Jonathan, whose friendship had been so true and so unselfish… The song in which David gave utterance to the feelings of his heart became a treasure to his nation, and to the people of God in all subsequent ages.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 695
