1:1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating
the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.
1:17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.
1:18 (He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of
Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
1:19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places! How the
mighty have fallen!
1:20 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 exult.
1:21 You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was
defiled, the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.
1:22 From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the
bow of Jonathan did not turn back, nor the sword of Saul return
empty.
1:23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death
they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were
stronger than lions.
1:24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with
crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
1:25 How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan
lies slain upon your high places.
1:26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved
were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of
women.
1:27 How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
If the nation doesn't accept the fact that there are things to grieve, but hides it all under a happy face, will there ever be authenticity there? It seems to me that this is a great passage to talk about facing the fact that things go wrong not just on a personal level, but on a national level--assinations, riots, bombings, etc. Instead of only putting a positive spin on things--How great it is to see people pulling together so well, but admitting there is grief--How the mighty have fallen! How we all grieve these moments! Do we dare to pause for a moment with massive and large scale grief before moving on to the reassurances that all remains in God's hands? I think this passage can gives us a moment to exporess the pain before moving to the resolution. JMK in PA
What a great passage to preach on a 4th of July weekend. David grieves for the loss of his king, even though Saul was not a good king.
Would David go so far as to approve of the slogan "My Country Right or Wrong?"
DSS
I have a double murder funeral to conduct this coming Saturday and will use this text to talk about grief on Sunday. Most people do not like to grieve but good grief can carry us from pain to recovery. I think that is part of what is happening with David's lament.
Fred in NC
sorry about the typo. The second word above is murder and not morder.
Fred in NC
Yes, I agree that this is a great text for this week. This past monday some of our members were fascinated by Peter Jennings "Search for Jesus."
A similar search is going on now about King David.
There are minimalist scholars who doubt David's existence and maximilists who see the David story as reliable history. There is also the struggle within David. He works for King Saul, and yet there is an obvious tension between the two. Saul's son Jonathan grows close to David and yet they were separated by the war between Saul and David. Saul and Jonathan are now dead, murdered. God's anointed King struck down. How is David to feel? No matter how he felt about Saul he was still God's anointed. That seems to make all the difference. A good time to talk about grief, death, and the conflicts that arise within us in our dealings with others.
Jeff, WNY
probably too late to help but the good grief thing sounds like a title and a Charlie Brown tie in.
