King Saul’s Last Battle – R. 5673
2 Samuel 1

“Jehovah is my strength and my shield; my heart hath trusted in Him, and I am helped.”
Psalm 28:7 (continuation of article on page 59)

”The Song of the Bow”

When David heard of the results of the battle, his sympathy for Saul and for Jonathan was expressed in a beautiful poem, which is remarkable for the fact that it contains not a single suggestion of how Saul had persecuted him or sought his life. It compliments Saul for what good he had accomplished. It tells of the tender love of Jonathan, surpassing that of women. This ode is recorded in 2 Samuel 1:17-27. The Dead March from Saul is an attempt on the part of the musician to put the sentiment of David’s Song of the Bow for Jonathan and Saul into the music of our day; and thus it has become identified with the funeral services of the great today. In the battle Saul’s sons were killed, including Jonathan. Saul himself was wounded. Fearing that if he should fall into the hands of the Philistines alive they would torture him to death, he desired his armorbearer to slay him, and finally suicided with his own sword.

A young Amalekite, thinking to curry favor with David, and knowing something of how he had been persecuted by Saul, brought him the news of the death of Saul and gave him Saul’s crown and the bracelet that was on Saul’s arm, telling that he had dispatched King Saul at the latter’s request – probably, however, manufacturing this part of the story to bring honor to himself. At all events, David received the matter in a totally different way from what was expected, saying to him, “How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” David then commanded him to be put to death. But for Saul and Jonathan he mourned until evening.

David waited upon the Lord those many years, fully confident that in the end he should be the king of Israel, but not hastening the event in any way, simply standing ready for the responsibilities and the power of the office where the Lord should put him. What a wonderful example we have in David’s course! How much

Christians can learn of patient waiting for the Lord’s time in all their affairs – not only waiting for the Kingdom while they pray, “Thy Kingdom come,” but also waiting for the Lord’s leading and providence in all their affairs, overruling them all for good! It is one of the too frequent mistakes made by Christians, that they overlook the Lord’s providence and promised supervision of their interests, and attempt to do for themselves, often to their own disadvantage.

David realized that the time had probably come for himself and his companions to move from the Philistines’ country, and he inquired of the Lord by the priest and the ephod. The answer was that he should go into Judea. Next he made inquiry, Into which city? and the answer was, Hebron. Thither David and his companions removed with their families; and the tribe of Judah, his own tribe, promptly recognized him as their king. It was over seven years after this, however, before he became the king of all Israel. Meantime, one of the sons of King Saul, Ishbosheth, had survived; and Abner, Saul’s chief general, had him anointed king of Israel. King David of Judah made no attempt to coerce the other tribes, but continued his waiting for the Lord’s due time.

Meantime, however, Abner gathered an army against David’s servants, and a fierce battle ensued, in which David’s forces were the victors; the others lost the fight. Finally Abner, angered with King Ishbosheth, proposed to David that he would become David’s vassal, and would assist in turning the hearts of all the Israelites toward him. King David appreciated the proposition, doubtless considering it to be the Lord’s will and in harmony with the Lord’s promise. However, the matter did not so carry out; for Joab, David’s nephew, the chief man of war, slew Abner deceitfully. Again we see David’s conduct in contrast with the average sentiment of his time. Instead of rejoicing in the death of Abner, the king mourned for him, and denounced his nephew for the wrong course he had pursued. He was courageous enough in the presence of his own ablest soldier to extol the virtues of Abner as a great soldier, saying, “A mighty man has fallen in Israel.”

King of All Israel

But a little while after this, others, misunderstanding King David, slew King Ishbosheth and brought his head to David as an evidence of his death, expecting doubtless that they would be rewarded. On the contrary, they also were condemned. They had slain the king. They were esteemed worthy of the same punishment, and were themselves slain. Thus did the people see exemplified in David’s course principles of righteousness quite uncommon in his day, and we might say, uncommon still. All these things served to endear to the people the king, who, they perceived, was not merely self-seeking, narrow, but was broad-minded and even generous toward his opponents, his enemies. He seems to have had a great appreciation of justice and also a breadth of sympathy for his enemies.

King David was thirty-seven years old when finally the eleven tribes sent a delegation to confer with him, indicating that they would appreciate having him as the king over all Israel. This was seven years and a half after the death of King Saul, and probably about seventeen years after David had been anointed first by Samuel. Faith and patience mark every step of those years and show us King David’s character as we could not otherwise have known it. Its grandeur was chiefly shown in that it manifested a devotion to God and a submission to the Divine will.

The king’s acceptance as king of all the tribes of Israel marked the third time that the holy anointing oil was put upon his head.

Meantime King David had grown stronger and stronger in conquering his enemies – the enemies of the Lord – those whom God declared should be destroyed. We remind our readers afresh that the Lord declared that the iniquity of the Amorites had come to the full, and thus indicated it to be His will that they should be destroyed from the earth. Whether destroyed in battle or by pestilence or famine, mattered nothing to them, as the Divine sentence of death must be carried out.

However, all the while that God has been permitting sickness, war, famine, pestilence, death, to reign in the world. He has been preparing for human redemption, human salvation through the great Redeemer. Messiah’s Kingdom is soon to take control of the earth, to cause a cessation of the reign of sin and death, to cause the binding of Satan and to cause the sunlight of Divine Truth to flood the earth. Then all the blind eyes will be opened and all the deaf ears will be unstopped, to know, to understand the true God, His true Message.

Meantime, those who died by Israel’s sword will know nothing of the lapse of time. They will awake in the Millennial Kingdom, when all that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake. They will then be under the most favorable conditions we could ask for them – freed from the shackles of ignorance and superstition, with Messiah’s Kingdom ready to help them out of their weaknesses and degradation back to human perfection, lost in Eden, redeemed at Calvary.

A Friend in Need a Friend Indeed – R. 4224 (excerpt)

A glimpse of David’s estimation of Jonathan and his love is given in what is termed “The Song of the Bow,” David’s touching lament at the death of his friend Jonathan. He exclaims, “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.” (2 Sam. 1:26) But we, dear friends, know of a still more wonderful love than this, of which we sometimes sing,

“Love of Jesus, all divine,
Fill this longing heart of mine.”

Love begets love; and so the Scriptures tell us that it was not that we first loved God, but that he first loved us and manifested his love for us in the gift of his Son. So it was the love of Jesus that attracted us and drew forth our love in response. And day by day, as we come to appreciate more and more the heights and depths and lengths and breadths of the love of God and of Christ, which passes all human understanding, the more our love toward them will increase and abound. And as it increases we ourselves become more Godlike and correspondingly also from us proceeds a love for others who love us not; and our love for them will excite the love of some in return, and lead them to a greater appreciation of this principle which stands in opposition to the spirit of the world, the love of the world, the selfishness of the world. Let us then seek to cultivate this godlike quality. Let us notice not only that the Scriptures declare love to be the principal thing in the world, but that it is the very essence of the divine character, the very essence of the divine law which is fulfilled in this one word, Love. Let us remember then that in the exercise of this quality we are preparing ourselves for the glorious possibilities to which we have been invited, and which by our Lord’s grace we are seeking to obtain by making our calling and election sure.