How the Mighty have Fallen
Who is your King? Humble dependence on God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning, Church. It is always a privilege to bring the Word of God to believers. Even to non-believers, I get excited to preach to, to show them and reason with their doubts and genuine questions. I would often sit in the seats when one of our other brothers is preaching, and think, “oh man! I can’t wait until it’s my turn.” It’s like when we were young, but only one of us had a PlayStation. Yes, my cousin played well, but I still couldn’t wait until I held the controls. Same here, but with greater excitement. My prayer this morning is that my eagerness to preach would be used by God to ignite in each of us an elation to encounter God in His Word.
What is your reaction to bad news?
How do you respond when someone tells you that your friend, brother, mother, or father has just died? Many of us know what that’s like. In fact, some of us still feel the stabbing pain in our heart whenever we think about it. We remember with great accuracy how we found out, and, in our disbelief, we play over the memory of that event as we struggle to come to grips with what we were just told.
What’s your response? Maybe, that is more of a question for silent reflection than for us to raise hands and proclaim the answer. Death is a sensitive subject for most people, and it is not my intention to poke at the hurt that anyone would be feeling from loved ones lost. Let me tackle the question from another angle.
What if…you wanted the person to die? I know, I know, we are told that Christians shouldn’t wish bad to befall someone else. We’re told to love our enemies and pray for those who use and abuse us, but...
What about that leader that changed the education system of his entire nation to center around one book…about himself, thereby depriving millions of children of their education? (Muammar Gaddafi)
What about that President for Life who in just 8 short years, was responsible for the deaths of 300-500,000 of his own people? That’s more than the population of my whole country! (Idi Amin Dada)
What about that woman who orchestrated the sterilization and vasectomies of more than 6 million people in only one year? (Indira Gandhi)
The feelings inside your heart have shifted, I imagine.
When it comes to death and funerals, people from my country can’t get enough. We’re always half-hour late for weddings, but two hours early for funerals. I was at a funeral one afternoon, when the priest said, “Death it seems, comes too soon for some, and not fast enough for others.” *pause* It appears to me that when we think about death, our feelings change depending on the person that is dying. When it’s our loved one who dies, we have lots of compassion and we feel bad. When it’s a known tyrant or someone abusive who dies, we’re not so compassionate.
I remember when I was a teenager, there was a man in authority over me in an organisation I belonged to, who treated me very badly. His hurtful words would drive me to tears, and for the life of me, I couldn’t pinpoint anything that I as a boy could have done to offend him so. Needless to say, I ended up at his funeral watching his casket go down, and thinking, “Look how the mighty have fallen. You were so bad to me, and here I am now standing at your grave”.
Recap
Recap
In our series so far we have seen a lot of death.
We had the death of:
Goliath
Eli and his sons
Nabal, the husband of Abigail
Samuel
Saul and Jonathan
And with each death, I’m sure we had different reactions. With Samuel, for example, we see it as a sad but inevitable loss for the people of Israel. With Jonathan, we may feel that it was too soon, and perhaps even undeserved. With Goliath, we’re trained by now to see it as a triumph, and even a foreshadowing of prophesies yet to be fulfilled.
Not much is recorded about the reactions of others, though. Earlier in the book, we see that Eli is so grieved by his sons’ death, that he rocks back and dies. The Scriptures aren’t clear on how Saul was feeling when Goliath was killed. We aren’t told how the soldiers reacted to the slaughtering of the priests, and so when we are finally told about David’s feelings regarding Saul’s death and Jonathan’s death, I believe we should pay close attention.
The Story
The Story
Though this is the beginning of 2 Samuel, it’s important to note that this was all originally just one scroll. At the end of 1 Samuel, Saul had just killed himself, and the Philistines had pinned his corpse to the wall of Beth-shan בֵּ֣ית שָׁ֑ן. In 1 Samuel 31:4 , we see that looked behind him, and saw the Philistines coming, and he doesn’t do like Samson. He doesn’t cry to God one last time. Instead, we read:
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
Saul is the first man in the Bible to have killed himself. He seems to care more about his present circumstances than his eternal future. He takes his own life, and the Philistines came and lived in the cities that Saul was meant to secure. Don’t you just hate that? Don’t you hate it when you can see that this leadership choice is going to be a bad one for the people, but...because of good looks or maybe a tantalizing campaign, the people like sheep just flock to this leader and follow their rule, even if it causes them to suffer?!
We’re talking about a leader who showed so much promise at the beginning. He was tall, handsome, strong and an inspiring military commander. And now, he’s dead; and the country he was meant to rule was left in a worse state than when he took office...I mean, uhh, became king! The “experiment” with the monarchy had been an abject failure, Philistines had more of Israel’s land than before, and the entire country was on the verge of splitting into two, because of this leadership dispute between David and Saul.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
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.”
Just like with Eli, back in 1 Samuel 4:12, we see a man running from the battle with dust on his head and his clothes torn. In today’s culture of instant messaging and floating notifications, we may not be able to experience this in our 21st century lives. But, imagine with me if you will. David is pacing up and down in Ziklag, waiting for news from the battle. Day one, nothing. Day two, nothing. But, “on the third day”...hmm. On the third day, a young man comes from the battle. His clothes are torn and he has dust on his head. David knows it’s bad news and asks him about what has happened on the battlefield. Let’s read on: 2 Samuel 1:6-10
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.”
Now, we were just told in the previous chapter that Saul had killed himself. How come now this young man approaches David and has a completely different story from what we were just told? Somebody is telling lies, and I don’t think it is the narrator. Why would he lie?
Everyone knows that Saul was after David for about 10 years. David was often seen running from Saul, and people were either threatened or killed for trying to help him. Maybe, if I can convince David that I was the one who killed him, maybe I’ll get some kind of recognition. I brought him the crown. Hey, if not for me, ya know, yea? yea?
Imagine the reaction of this poor guy when David holds back his head and began wailing. 2 Samuel 1:11-12
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.
“Wait a minute,” this young man must have thought. “I thought you’d be happy; I thought you would be glad to know that the man who sought your life is now dead.” David shows not even a smirk at the news of Saul’s death. They all tear their clothes! We all by now are aware that this is a sign of grieving. Clothes weren’t as easy to come by as they are today. They didn’t have TaoBao where fancy suits are a dime a dozen. So, for them to tear their clothes in this manner is significant. This poor Amalekite must have been so confused. After all, the Philistines just took the body of the defeated leader and displayed it for the nation to come see.
His surprise is about to get more intense. David marvels at him and asks, 2 Samuel 1:14
David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”
Something that David resisted the temptation to do...here you are boasting in it and expecting a reward? David almost cut off his own arm for slicing Saul’s cloak in En Gedi, and here you are saying that you killed him? Oh no, Mr Amalekite. Death is your portion.
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.’ ”
What is your response to bad news? When your enemy and best friend die on the same day, do you praise one and berate the other? David uses his musical talent to play one last song for his king and for Jonathan. In the King James and other translations, this lament is called the Lament of the Bow. How amazing! He names it after his best friend’s weapon of choice.
Let us examine the song. (ek-noplu giborim)
Lexham Hebrew Bible Chapter 1
אֵ֖יךְ נָפְל֥וּ גִבּוֹרִֽים
English Standard Version Chapter 1
How the mighty have fallen!
“The Mighty” referred to here is in the plural. David is dedicating this song to both Saul and Jonathan, and by extension, all those who fought with him against the Philistines.
Moreover, David is seen here to be rather gracious and does not even hint at the weaknesses of Saul. When I was in primary school, if a teacher we didn’t like was absent one day, we would sing songs celebrating their absence. If a “bad” President is voted out, people gallivant in the streets with flags and chants, horns and drums. But here, David is forbidding the news from being publicized. 2 Samuel 1:20
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.
Yes, the death of Saul means that he would be the new King of the whole land, and can finally rest. He could finally stop running and take what is rightfully his. But he is more concerned about Israel, and doesn’t want Israel’s enemies to rejoice over their misfortune. He is more concerned about the Glory of God, and doesn’t want the Philistines to even think that their god somehow triumphed over the God of Israel.
David even poetically curses Gilboa as if it had a choice in receiving the blood of his King and brother. 2 Samuel 1:21
“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.
One commentary adds, “without dew or rain, the soil would lie barren in sympathetic mourning over [this] terrible catastrophe”.
Notice the next verse, 2 Samuel 1: 23-25
“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.
In this verse we see that David acknowledges Jonathan’s devotion to his father. He doesn’t seem to be saying that it was his devotion to his father that got him killed. Better put, this is to say that Jonathan was devoted to his father and his king until the end.
David then addresses the “daughters of Israel”. These same daughters that came out with the songs and timbrels, dancing and proclaiming the slaying of the ten thousands that David slew. Yet, David is telling them to turn their dancing into mourning. “Weep over Saul”? Yes, weep! Remember the good things that he has done. He ‘clothed you in luxurious scarlet’ and ‘put ornaments of gold on your apparel.’ Women for the most part like to look nice. This is also quite true for women of this particular time and place. David is not only acknowledging the beauty and adornment that the women of Israel were given by Saul, but he’s written it in the middle of his song that he teaches all Israel to sing.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen!
The heaviest part of this entire poem comes as we get to the end of the chapter, and this sermon this morning. There is no lack of honour for Saul. This is written with all due respect to the fallen Leader. But, the greatest praise is held for the man with the bow, the valiant warrior-prince, the best friend, Jonathan. The man was devoted to his friend, his nation, his king and his God. 2 Samuel 1:26-27
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!”
Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.
Charles Spurgeon
How do you see your enemies? How does David see his enemies? How does God...want us to see our enemies? David’s response to Saul’s death in this chapter is a powerful example of Christ-like love, humble dependence, and faith in God’s sovereignty. His grief and distress for Jonathan is understandable, but his reaction to Saul challenges us to look beyond our human instincts for revenge, bitterness, or self-justification and instead respond to others, even our enemies, with a heart that honors God.
David could have viewed Saul’s death as a triumph, a long-awaited relief after years of unjust persecution. But instead, he grieves the loss of Saul, not as an adversary but as the Lord’s anointed and as the king who had served Israel. There is not even a hint that David wanted his enemy to die. His lament demonstrates a profound awareness of God’s hand in all things. David knew that Saul’s rise and fall were orchestrated by God, and it was not David’s role to gloat or to berate Saul but to honour, forgive and humbly acknowledge God’s sovereignty over the situation.
Can you get this done? Can you forgive the one who has wronged you? Can you find the good in the person who has harmed you? Can you mourn...over the death of someone who has abused you? You can’t!
I can’t.
David couldn’t...
but he did...how? He had help! Psalm 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
You see, it is not easy. Sometimes, it is not even possible. Not with all your might, not with all your power can you forgive these people: that abusive parent, that unfaithful ex, that mean colleague or boss...
But, Zechariah 4:6
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
If I put a paintbrush in your hand and tell you to paint like Da Vinci, you will be powerless. If I put a pen in your hand and tell you to write like Shakespeare, you will be powerless. If I put your heart in your hands and tell you forgive like Jesus, you will...be...powerless!
But if the spirit of Da Vinci were in you, you could recreate the Mona Lisa with ease!
But if the spirit of Shakespeare were in you, you could belt out poetry akin to Macbeth!
and...
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
If the Spirit of Him who was abused the most lives in you, you too can cry out with Him, “Father, forgive them...they don’t even have a clue!!!”
Fun fact about that verse. Luke 23:34
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
The verb there ἔλεγεν, meaning “said”, is usually translated in the past tense. But this is not so in the original Greek. The word εἶπεν would be the past tense. The word used there is in the imperfect tense. “Okay, Mr Linguist. So what?” This means that Jesus didn’t just say this prayer once, but the verse should translate, “And Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them...” With every lash, with ever curse, “Father, forgive them”. With every nail, with every thorn, “Father, forgive them.” With every step up that God-forsaken hill, amid all the mockery and irreverence that they hurled at Him...that we hurl at Him today, He is still saying, “Father...forgive them.”
As David was running from Saul, every cave he hid in; every village he lodged in, “Lord, forgive Saul. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” He had the spirit of God in him. If you’re struggling to forgive someone this morning, and you have the spirit of God, reach out and ask Him to help you. If you’re here, and you can’t forgive that person, and you don’t have the spirit of God, I tell you the truth. Not only will you not be able to forgive from the heart...you yourself stand no chance of being forgiven of God. David was able to forgive because he knew that his sin against God was infinitely more deserving of death and judgement, than Saul’s sin against him. Read Jesus’ parable of the unjust servant in Matthew 18 for more details.
As we leave here today, you may have enemies. Those people who are committing injustice in your village, town, city or country. Your work might be delayed by someone who has it out for you: a vindictive professor, perhaps. You need to forgive.
How do you see your enemies?
Have you forgiven them?
Can you stand at their grave and only say good things about them?
Let’s pray!
