I Say to You, Love Your Enemies: Daily Thoughts from 2 Samuel (2 Samuel 1)

Comedian Patton Oswalt recently talked about a very negative post he made on Twitter against the President and how a man responded in kind toward him. He was tempted to retort but began by looking at this man’s feed and realized the man was suffering a real down time in his life and was short of funds for dealing with it. He had a Go Fund Me page and Oswalt decided the best thing to do was contribute and urge his friends to contribute. He returned kindness for enmity.

No one has been more of an enemy to David than Saul and with the report of Saul’s death in battle at the end of 1 Samuel, David now has a chance to respond about his enemy’s demise.

After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage. David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people 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?” And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.” David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?” Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD’s anointed.’”

And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:

“Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen!

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

“You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor fields of offerings! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

“From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

“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.

“You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

“How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!

“Jonathan lies slain on your high places. I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; very pleasant have you been to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.

“How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” (2 Samuel 1, ESV)

You would think that when God disposes of your enemy you should rejoice. When the twin towers in New York fell many who consider the United States their enemy rejoiced. When we learned that Osama Bin Laden had died we rejoiced. But in David’s case he mourned because Saul had been a beloved father to him before he had sought to murder David, before he lost the Spirit of God over his leadership. He was still God’s anointed.

We may see how consistent his heart was in this regard with the execution of the young man who reported that he had slain Saul (though this is questionable given the account in 1 Samuel of Saul’s death). You do not take it upon yourself to slay God’s anointed king. David’s mourning for Saul and Jonathan is reflected in his beautiful poetic tribute to them. We see his psalm-making ability already well developed. And his psalm is already published by the time our author writes this account, published in the Book of Jashar, which was either a compilation of poetry and songs, or more likely, some part of the history of this period and is a source for our author.

How will you respond when your enemy is disposed of by the Lord? In Psalm 4 David urged his enemies to be angry but not sin, to ponder in their hearts, offer right sacrifices and trust in Yahweh. That is a perfect reflection of how our hearts should be tuned toward our enemies.