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2 Samuel 1:1-27

When Your Enemy Has Fallen

  • Samuel Wilson
  • Weekend Messages
  • January 26, 2025

  • Sermon Notes
  • Scripture

When Your Enemy Has Fallen

2 Samuel 1:1-27 

 

As we turn to book of 2 Samuel this morning, the place our study begins is in the middle of the life of David and at the end of the life of Saul, Israel’s first king. 1 Samuel we a book of transition, form the days of Judges to the placement of Israels first king. It is a book where we see the failures of the king and in the midst the anointing of a new king, David, though he won’t take his seat as king until 2 Samuel. David take center stage in 2 Samuel, the book can be divided into David’s triumphs (chapters 1-10, transgression (chapters 11-12), and the troubles that follow (chapters 13-24).

While 2 Samuel is a separate book in our Bibles from 1 Samuel, we understand that originally, the books of first and second Samuel were one book. So as we pick up in chapter 1 this morning, we are really continuing the study on 1 Samuel. With that in mind, I want to intro the message this morning, by looking at some of the backstory from our studies in 1 Samuel.

 

Illus. Context and background from 1 Samuel.

 

The last few chapters of 1 Samuel give us the immediate circumstances that help us understand why David is where he is in 2 Samuel 1. For much of the book of 1 Samuel, David had been on the run for his life, hiding in caves, trying to get away from Saul, though he had done nothing wrong to Saul. Saul had become jealous of David.  Saul made David public enemy number one. Sending soldiers and search crews after David to find and kill him. He threw his spear at David to try and kill him multiple times…David had not choice, but to run for his life.

After nearly a decade of running and trying to hide, we come to chapter 27 of 1 Samuel, where David is in a place of desperation. To flee and escape Saul, he ended up heading to the land of the Philistines, Israels enemy. He figured that it was the only place Saul would not search for him. While there, David began to seek the favor of that king, he was given land to live in just outside the city called Ziklag.

In chapter 28, we learn that the Philistines begin preparing for a battle against Israel and king Saul. The Philistine king tells David he and his men will go with them, and David indicates that he was more than willing (1 Samuel 28:2)

In chapter 29, David and his men are seen marching with the Philistines, heading into battle, but upon seeing David and his men, some of the commanders begin questioning things. They suggest that David may turn on them, and while David seems to want to convince them differently, they sent him back to Ziklag. Upon getting back to Ziklag, David and his men see that everything and everyone in the city has been taken by a group called the Amalekites (1 Samuel 30). David and his men go to battle against the Amalekites and win back what had been taken.

While that was going on, the Philistines fought against Israel and overtook Saul and his sons (1 Samuel 31). Saul ended up being wounded by archers, he asked his armor bearer to end his life by piercing him through, but his armor bearer wasn’t willing…and Saul fell on his own sword…

This is where we pick up in 2 Samuel chapter 1, where we learn the details surrounding David hearing the news that Saul can his sons had been slain. In these Scriptures we see his heart toward his fallen enemy on full display and we gain insights from David into where the focus should be, when your enemy has fallen.

 

Read: 2 Samuel 1:1-12

 

Upon learning that Saul and his sons had died, David is pictured taking hold of his clothes and tearing them. The tearing of one’s clothes in the Old Testament was a way people expressed deep grief and distress. It was an outward picture of how a person was feeling internally. In verse 13 we read that he and all his men mourned, wept, and fasted.  One of Saul’s sons was his dear friend, he mourned for him, but he also mourned for Saul, his enemy.

David’s posture is powerful, and gives a display of the depth of David’s heart despite what he had endured. The chapter will end with David singing a song of mourning of Saul and his son Jonathan. The song that line that is repeated three times, “How the might have fallen!” David’s enemy, the once might Saul had fallen, and it is through David’s response I want to offer three lessons that I pray will bring insights into the times in your life when your enemy no matter how might or small, has fallen. The first lesson has to do with your heart…

 

  1. Seek the Heart of the Lord to Find the Way Forward

 

  • In verse one we are given a status update surrounding David. It is a follow up to chapter 30 in 1 Samuel 30 where David had gone against the Amalekites after they burned down the city, and took all the people (women and children) as well as possessions from Ziklag.

 

  • It was a sad day to see everything and everyone gone, but David inquired of the Lord and then pursue the Amalekites getting back the people and possessions in the process.

 

  • After that battle, David returned to Ziklag, so, he is back in the city that had been given to him by the Philistines, and on the third day back, a man comes to David from Saul’s camp.

 

2 Samuel 1:2-10, And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen had overtaken him. When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’ So I stood next to him and finished him off, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the band which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

  • When the man comes with this story, it is important to note that we are not sure of the validity of his story.

 

  • The reason we aren’t sure is because in 1 Samuel 31, Saul is struck by the Philistine archers. Their arrows wounded him, but did not kill him. While struggling he asks his armor bearer to thrust him through with his sword.

 

  • Saul’s armor bearer was unwilling, so we read that Saul took his own sword and fell on it, his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead and then drew his own sword and fell on it.

 

  • As we turn to 2 Samuel 1, we read of this Amalekite man telling a different story. His story is that he saw Saul leaning on his spear and Saul saw him and asked him to finish him off because he was still alive.

 

  • We have a couple of options then. Option one, it could have been that Saul’s attempt to end his own life was unsuccessful and the Amalekite finished the job.

 

  • Or option two, the Amalekite, knowing that David was not only Saul’s enemy, but was going to be the next king, the Amalekite was making up the story to earn favor and a reward from David.

 

  • Some contend that his story is not incongruent with what is depicted at the end of 1 Samuel 31.

 

  • If we just take the story as given, that is was an Amalekite who ended Saul’s life, there is something important for us to see.

 

  • Saul had been instructed by God to take the Amalekites out in 1 Samuel 15, and he didn’t. Now an Amalekite is ultimately taking him out.

 

  • Biblically, the Amalekites are often referred to as a picture of the flesh.

 

Illus. Pictures.

 

  • We are to put to death the deeds of the flesh in order to have life (Romans 8:13).

 

Romans 8:13,  For if you are living in accord with the flesh, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

 

Galatians 5:16-23

 

  • David, upon hearing the news could have had many responses to it. But rather than going the way of the flesh, he displayed a posture and a heart after the Lord as he went forward.

 

2 Samuel 1:11-12, Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

 

  • David’s response to the news is in many ways surprising. On the surface, it would seem that with Saul fallen, David would no longer need to spend his life running and hiding. It would seem that with Saul fallen, David could enter into the fullness of his anointing as the next king. It would seem that Saul being fallen would be the end of much of the earthly difficulty David had been facing for over the last decade of his life.

 

  • His enemy was defeated, but in verse 12, David is not seen celebrating, but mourning.

 

  • His posture shows us a picture of what David is known as throughout Scripture. He is known for being a man after God’s own heart, some translate that is “a man after God’s own purposes.”

 

  • He was after the heart of the Lord. David had flaws we will see throughout 2 Samuel, he faces challenges, had many failures, but in him we see a picture, he was after God’s heart, even when his enemy had fallen.

 

Proverbs 24:17-18(a), Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles. Otherwise, the Lord will see and be displeased…

 

Illus. Game break.

 

Luke 6:27-28, I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

 

  • In Matthew 5:21-48 Jesus gives instruction to His followers surrounding anger, lust, divorce, vows, revenge and how to treat enemies. He gives a form, “you have heard it said”…and then, “but I say to you.”

 

Matthew 5:43-44, You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…

 

  • David had opportunities to take Saul’s life more than once, in 1 Samuel 24, while hiding in a cave in the wilderness of Engedi, Saul enters the cave to relieve himself. The men who were with him told him to end Saul right then and there.

 

1 Samuel 24:5-6, David got up and cut off the edge of Saul’s robe secretly. But it came about afterward that David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the edge of Saul’s robe. So he said to his men, “Far be it from me because of the Lord that I would do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to reach out with my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

 

  • David understood that the Lord had anointed and appointed Saul, and he was not going to go against the Lord by reaching out with his hand against him.

 

  • Since David was so sure to not reach out his hand against the Lord anointed, he made sure that the Amalekite knew that what he had done was not a good thing.

 

  • The Amalekite had reached his hand out to strike and destroy the Lord’s anointed, and he too would be struck and destroyed that day.

 

  • It would be easy to understand if David had rewarded the man, gave him favor in the land, or role in the royal administration…But David respected God and therefore respected Saul’s anointing and authority as king.

 

  • If something were to happen to Saul, or if the way was going to be make for David to access the fulness of his anointing, he clearly desired that to come from the hand of God, not the hand of man.

 

Psalm 75:6-7, For no one on earth—from east or west, or even from the wilderness— should raise a defiant fist. It is God alone who judges; he decides who will rise and who will fall. (NLT)

 

1 Timothy 2:2, …I urge that requests, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made in behalf of all people, for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.

 

  1. Station Yourself in The Center of His Will

 

2 Samuel 1:17-18, Then David sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.

 

  • Verse 17, we are told that David then sang a song over Saul and Jonathan. It was a psalm, a song that he wanted to be taught to the sons of Judah, “the mourning song of the bow,” a psalm that would be written in the book of Jashar.

 

  • We aren’t able to read the book of Jashar because it was not preserved, and it is not part of the inspired Word of God, however, if it were around we know we would see the song of mourning for Saul and Jonathan in it.

 

Illus. Pray for you.

 

  • David had some brutally honest Psalms. In Psalm 58, David sung and wrote about the wicked, those who lie and pursue violence, and in verse 6 of that Psalm he sung it this way, “God, shatter their teeth in their mouth; break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.” Or Psalm 69, in verses 22-24, “May their table before them become a snare; and when they are at peace, may it become a trap. May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see, and make their hips shake continually. Pour out Your indignation on them, and may Your burning anger overtake them.” These are called imprecatory Psalms, and there are several.

 

  • But often in those Psalms, David comes to the realization that he can look to the Lord and recognizes that that He is the only way to true Salvation, despite whatever trial he was in Psalm 69:29-30).

 

  • The song David sings about Saul, is far different than what one might expect given the fact that Saul had made David life quite difficult.

 

1 Samuel 1:19-23

 

  • David referred to the fall of Saul and his sons as the fall of the mighty, the fall of the great.

 

  • David didn’t want is told of in the city of Gath (the capital city of the Philistines), or spoken of on the streets of Ashkelon (the central city of Philistine worship).

 

  • David curses the mountain they died on, Mount Gilboa, no dew, no rain, no vegetation, no harvest…Because the shield of the mighty was defiled there.

 

  • He says that Saul and Jonathan were loved in their lives, they were mightier than lions, but as he said and will repeat, “how the might have fallen.”

 

  • The reality is, Saul had fallen long before this. He had hardened his heart, rejected the Lord, was warned, but chose his one will and way and not the will and way of the Lord. Spiritually, morally, personally, Saul had already fallen, and now physically.

 

  • Still David has a heart for Saul still, and it is revealed in this Psalm He saw beauty in Saul, he looked at him as mighty.

 

  • These were David’s raw and honest feelings. And there is something important we see about grief and morning here, that is that you can be honest with God on the way to His will.

 

Psalm 62:7-8, My salvation and my glory rest on God; the rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is a refuge for us.

 

  • David was willing to declare some things, but I am also struck by that fact that David in his grief, didn’t want the fall of Saul and Jonathan spoken of in Philistine cities.

 

Illus. Don’t mention it.

 

2 Samuel 1:24-27

 

  • As David continued, he declared that while he didn’t want the death of Saul discussed amongst the Philistines, he did want the daughter of Israel to mourn over Saul.

 

  • David then turns his attention to Jonathan who was a great friend to him. He was distressed over the loss of his close friend.

 

  • When studying 1 Samuel I mentioned that due to this text, some have tried to twist the relationship David and Jonathan into something beyond what Scripture describes. But doing put something into the Scripture that is not there and not does it affirm.

 

  • In this text, David is grieving, pouring out his heart, singing a song of grief, but what is revealed is that he was able to station himself in the center of God’s will in grace and truth, which is what we all need.

 

  • His enemy had fallen, and David, though Saul was far from perfect, was able to look back and see how the Lord had used Saul in the nation, he was able to look back with grace, stationing himself in the will of the Lord.

 

John 1:14, And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Illus. Looking back.

 

  • David gives grace to Saul. He knew the truth about Saul, he had seen sides of Saul that nobody else had seen, he knew the truth…Still, he was able to go forward in grace.

 

  • This reminds me of Jesus. Who was hung on cross and as he looked upon the people who place Him there, He said “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)

 

Romans 5:8, God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Matthew 6:14, For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses.

 

III. See That it is the Fallen Who Need to Be Forgiven

 

  • When your enemy has fallen, remember it is the fallen that need to be forgiven.

 

  • The Bible has much to say about the grace and mercy given to you and me.

 

  • Grace, God’s unmerited, undeserved favor. And mercy, withholding the punishment that another deserves.

 

Matthew 5:7, Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

 

  • David was going to need mercy in his life, big time! And here it seems, he looks back on the life of his enemy, with grace, and mercy.

 

Illus. Mercy Is Undeserved

Psalm 130:3, If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?

 

Hebrews 8:12, I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sins no more.

 

Illus. Forgive and Forget?

 

Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Samuel 1:1-27
 
1Now it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David stayed two days in Ziklag. 2And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it happened when he came to David, he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. 3Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead; and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.” 5Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6The young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen had overtaken him. 7When he looked behind himself, he saw me, and called to me. And I said, ‘Here I am.’ 8Then he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ And I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9And he said to me, ‘Please stand next to me and finish me off, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’ 10So I stood next to him and finished him off, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the band which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
11Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so also did all the men who were with him. 12And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, and for the people of the Lord and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13Then David said to the young man who informed him, “Where are you from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.” 14And David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to reach out with your hand to destroy the Lords anointed?” 15Then David called one of the young men and said, “Come forward, put him to death.” So he struck him and he died. 16And David said to him, “Your blood is on your head, because your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have finished off the Lords anointed.’ ”
David’s Song of Mourning for Saul and Jonathan
17Then David sang this song of mourning over Saul and his son Jonathan, 18and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the mourning song of the bow; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar.
19Your beauty, Israel, is slaughtered on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20“Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
The daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate.
21“Mountains of Gilboa,
May there be no dew nor rain on you, or fields of offerings!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
22“From the blood of those slaughtered, from the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return unstained.
23“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and delightful in life,
And in their deaths they were not separated;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were mightier than lions.
24“Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with jewelry,
Who put gold jewelry on your apparel.
25“How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan is slaughtered on your high places.
26“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been a close friend to me.
Your love for me was more wonderful
Than the love of women.
27“How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war have perished!”
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