Respected, SS Session 01, Summer 2018

Charles Martin

Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

0 ratings

· 4 views

Notes

Transcript

Handout

Sermon Tone Analysis

Emotion

Language

Social

View more →

;

ESV (22) "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.

(22) "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.( ESV)

(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.

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

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

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

(25) "How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! "Jonathan lies slain on your high places.

"How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! "Jonathan lies slain on your high places.( ESV)

(26) 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.

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.( ESV)

(27) "How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"

"How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"( ESV)

ESV (1) After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."

ESV

(1) After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."

(2) So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

(3) And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron.

(4) And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,"

(5) David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him.

(6) Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.

(7) Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

First Thoughts

God chooses to use human beings to accomplish His purposes. He could use angels to do this. Presumably, God could deliver messages to His creation by writing them in the sky. He could bring His will to pass through a vast variety of methods. However, Scripture declares that God calls individuals to accomplish His purposes by leading His people. Those leaders deserve our respect.

(In PSG, p. 10) Should all leaders be given respect? Explain. What are the dangers of failing to respect leaders?

In politics, one of the oldest and surest ways to gain support is to claim that your predecessor or rival is both incompetent and evil. When Cyrus of Persia took over Babylon in 538 BC, he declared that the previous king, Nabonidus, had been so impious and negligent that Babylon’s chief god Marduk had decreed that Cyrus should take over.

What is remarkable in David’s succession of Saul is that we see none of this. Saul had been condemned by the prophet Samuel, had become mentally unstable, and had sought to kill David. Saul had many faults, and David could have brought them all out on display. Nevertheless, at Saul’s death, David lauded him as one of the greatest heroes of Israel. David did not raise himself up by dragging others down, and he chose to honor Saul.

UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT

2 Samuel 1:1–2:7 ESV

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!” After this David inquired of the Lord, “Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?” And the Lord said to him, “Go up.” David said, “To which shall I go up?” And he said, “To Hebron.” So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,” David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, “May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”

From the first Saul is characterized as a preposterous choice for king, a catastrophe in statecraft whose initial depiction and earliest activities show him to be a poor substitute even for the succession of judges with whom the people became so disillusioned. Saul was indeed the king the people deserved.

The allusions begin with Saul’s very introduction. He is a Benjaminite, the son of Kish (), from the town of Gibeah (). These seemingly neutral genealogical and geographic references in fact recall a fairly recent incident (in narrative time) that preceded Saul’s accession to the throne.

The incident, told in , occurred in Saul’s hometown, Gibeah of Benjamin. A Levite and his concubine stop for the night in Gibeah and are graciously taken in by an old man. Later in the night, a group of men from the town beat on the old man’s door, demanding that the Levite be made available to them for homosexual rape. To satisfy the men, the concubine is pushed out onto the street and gang-raped until morning, when the Levite finds her broken body in a heap at the entrance to the house. If she is not already dead, she dies on the journey to the Levite’s house.

The Levite sends the twelve pieces to the twelve tribes and demands justice for the Benjamites allowing this. The war with Benjamin ended in defeat and almost wiped out the men of the tribe. No other tribe was allowed to intermarry with Benjamin.

As luck would have it, however, the town of Jabesh-Gilead is not included in the oath, for Jabesh-Gilead, alone among the Israelite settlements, did not respond to the Israelite muster against the Benjaminites.

Saul’s “kingdom” was not very large. It probably included Mt. Ephraim, Benjamin and Gilead. He also exerted some influence in the northern mountains of Judah and beyond the Jezreel Valley. Instead of having a capital city or a palace, Saul set up his tent “in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is at Migron” () or in Gibeah, where he sat “under the tamarisk tree on the height with his spear in his hand, and all his servants [i.e., ministers] were standing about him” ().

----------------------------------------

At the death of Saul, Israel was in a desperate situation and David was in an awkward and precarious situation. The Philistines had won a resounding victory over Saul at the battle of Mount Gilboa. Saul, his three capable sons, and the main body of the Israelite army lay dead on the ground (). The Philistines were poised to dominate Israel completely. Israel needed experienced and decisive leadership, but it was common knowledge that Saul had regarded David as a dangerous rival, and that he certainly did not want David to gain the throne. Saul still had many supporters in Israel who would have regarded David as little more than a traitor and usurper. Abner, Saul’s military commander, was still alive. More than that, Saul still had one surviving son, Ish-bosheth. David had to find a way to consolidate support for himself while dealing with the Philistine threat. All the while, he was grieving over the deaths of Saul and his close friend, Jonathan.

EXPLORE THE TEXT

COMMEMORATION ()

is a psalm of lamentation. It is similar to the psalms of the Book of Lamentations, except that David’s psalm grieves over the death of Saul and Jonathan, whereas Lamentations grieves over the fall of Jerusalem. Verse 18 tells us that David called this lament “The Song of the Bow.” The name reflects the fact that Saul and Jonathan were warriors, and it may be derived from the first line of verse 22, Jonathan’s bow never retreated. Verse 18 also tells us that the psalm comes from “the Book of Jashar.” This appears to have been an ancient collection of heroic, warrior poetry. It is cited in , where it cites the poetic prayer of Joshua in a time of battle, and here in . The Book of Jashar is now lost to us, as is another text the Old Testament cites, “the Book of the Lord’s Wars” ().

The people of Judah were partisans of David, not of Saul. The fact that David wanted the song to be taught to the Judahites implies that he desired his supporters to honor Saul and not to celebrate his death.

Verses 19-21 set up the lamentation. Verse 19 begins by stating in poetic form the main point of the lament: Israel has suffered a terrible defeat in battle and its king has fallen. Verse 20 expresses a desire that the news of the defeat would not reach the Philistine cites of Gath and Ashkelon, where the women would greet the news with singing and celebration. Such festivity after a victory was a common phenomenon in the ancient world; in , Israelite women similarly celebrate the defeat of Philistines. Verse 21 invokes a curse on Mount Gilboa because that is where the calamitous defeat took place.

Verses 22-23

ESV "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. (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.

Verse 22 celebrates the courage and martial skill of Saul and Jonathan: They did not shirk from entering into battle against powerful foes, and they emerged victorious time and again. The gory language reminds us that warfare is a gruesome business. It is still brutal today, but it was certainly brutal in ancient Israel, where warriors fought face-to-face with swords and clubs. The Philistines, moreover, were an aggressive and pitiless enemy, eager to subjugate and exploit the Israelites. The soldiers who went into such combat needed the courage not only to put themselves at risk, but also to put themselves through the extreme psychological stress of so much bloodshed. David did not celebrate violence or attribute glory to acts of violence, but he did honor the courage that enabled these men to enter such a brutal arena in order to defend their people. Praising the valor of such soldiers is not the same thing as idealizing warfare.

The psalm explicitly praises Saul and Jonathan in verse 23. A cynic might scoff at the claim that the father and son were not parted in life or in death since Saul became bitterly angry and suspicious toward Jonathan, who in turn once stormed out of his father’s presence (). But this was in fact a temporary family conflict and not a permanent rupture. Jonathan remained loyal to Saul to the end. Also, David’s psalm is a eulogy, and thus he naturally emphasized the positive aspects of their lives.

Verses 24-26

ESV "You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. (25) "How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! "Jonathan lies slain on your high places. (26) 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.

Verse 24 focuses on Saul, and verses 25-26 focus on Jonathan. David praised Saul for having won a great deal of plunder for Israel, so that the women had expensive clothing (scarlet) and jewelry (gold ornaments). Now that Saul has fallen, he said, they should weep. Saul did more than protect Israel; he made it into a great empire. Turning to Jonathan, David says that he was a great warrior and a beloved friend.

David’s declaration to the dead Jonathan, Your love for me was more wondrous than the love of women (v. 26), makes some readers wonder whether the two men had a homosexual relationship. The claim that this was the case rests on three arguments. First, we know of many examples of bisexual behavior among warriors in the ancient world. Second, there are the statements here and in that the two men had a deep love for each other (along with , which says that the men kissed each other). Third, Saul accused Jonathan of shameful and perverse behavior regarding David in

: “Then Saul became angry with Jonathan and shouted, ‘You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you are siding with Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the disgrace of your mother?’”

Only someone with a limited knowledge of ancient culture would leap to the conclusion that David and Jonathan had a sexual relationship. In ancient societies, both men and women valued deep, lifelong friendships that included open expressions of love through words and physical actions such as holding hands, touching, and kissing on the cheek, but with no passionate or sexual contact. An ancient person would not have thought it at all strange that the “beloved disciple” leaned on Jesus’ chest at the meal in the upper room (). Indeed, an ancient man would probably consider his modern counterpart to have a cold and isolated existence, devoid of real affection. He might watch our interactions with one another and declare that we don’t have any real friends at all. When we look at the account of David and Jonathan, it looks sexual to us, but that is a function of our own cultural outlook.

The Bible is quite straightforward about mentioning the sins and faults of its leading characters and heroes. Standard biblical terms for sexual intercourse are to “uncover the nakedness” of someone or to “lie with” someone. Neither term, or anything remotely like them, is used of the relationship between David and Jonathan. Universally in the ancient world men kissed men and women kissed women as a sign of affection and greeting. In ancient Rome, and probably elsewhere, it was scandalous for a man to kiss his wife in public precisely because such kissing was considered sexual due to the nature of their relationship. By contrast, a man greeting a male friend with a kiss carried no sexual connotation.

If Saul did not refer to Jonathan as perverse in a sexual context, what did he imply in calling Jonathan perverse?

Saul did accuse Jonathan of perversity regarding David, but not the perversity of homosexual behavior. Rather, Saul thought it was perverse that Jonathan supported David’s rise to the throne, knowing that this meant that Jonathan himself and the whole house of Saul would be subordinates rather than kings. Saul expected Jonathan to place the interests of his father’s dynasty and himself above everything else. But God had repudiated Saul (). It had apparently become common knowledge that Samuel had anointed David to succeed Saul. Even people far from the center of power fully expected David to prevail. (Abigail, living in the hinterland of southern Judah, predicted in that David would become king.) Certainly Jonathan knew all of this, and his willingness to support David was not only an act of loyalty and unselfishness; it was also an act of submission to the will of God. Saul, for whom holding on to power had become everything, could not comprehend this.

David’s specific statement regarding Jonathan, that his love was more wondrous than the love of women means that David found deep emotional satisfaction and joy in his friendship with Jonathan. We should remember also that this was a eulogy and that David was expressing his praise and affection in a fulsome and even exaggerated manner. His words should not be taken too literally or be psychologically analyzed.

Verse 27

ESV "How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"

The line, How the mighty have fallen, appears three times in the psalm (vv. 19,25,27), and may have served as a kind of refrain. David, by having the Israelites learn and recite this song, drove home to them the lesson that Saul and Jonathan should be commemorated as mighty heroes whose deaths should be honored and mourned.

David celebrated the virtue of the deceased Saul and ignored his faults. Is that a valid thing to do in a funeral? Why or why not?

CORONATION ()

Verse 1

ESV After this David inquired of the LORD, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" And the LORD said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."

The first thing David did after mourning Saul was inquire of God. This of course shows his piety, but it also indicates what a delicate position he was in. Everyone knew that Saul had come to regard David as an enemy. Even though David had refrained from killing Saul when he had the chance, people might regard any sudden move on David’s part as cynical and opportunistic, using Saul’s death as an opportunity to advance himself and grab power. Thus, it was no doubt with genuine hesitation and indecision that he sought direction from God before moving.

David and his men had been living in Ziklag, a city within Philistine-controlled territory (). Philistine city ruled by David for 16 months before he moved to Hebron to become the king of Judah. Ziklag was deeded to David by Achish of Gath, presumably to ensure David’s continued neutrality (; ). It was most likely located somewhere on the frontier between Philistia and Judah, southeast of Gaza (possibly Tell el-Khuweilfeh). Ziklag is last mentioned as one of the cities that was inhabited by the settlers after the exile

---------------------------------------

Hebron was a logical place for David to go. It was a city of Judah, and it is likely that the people of Judah were well-disposed to him, since he was one of their own. David had in fact been careful to cultivate their support by sending gifts to the towns of Judah, including Hebron (). Hebron was an important regional city in the center of Judah, and it was on high ground, set at about 3,050 feet in elevation. In OT times Hebron included Mamre, the place where Abraham built an altar to the Lord after parting from Lot (). It was here too that he learned of the capture of his nephew Lot (14:12–16); and, years later, entertained three angels and was told of the judgment soon to fall on Sodom and Gomorrah (ch 18).

Between 1964–66 a team of American archaeologists excavated portions of ancient Hebron. They found evidence of occupation dating back to about 3000 BC. Because of Hebron’s location, the fertility of the soil, and the plentiful supply of water, it seems to have enjoyed almost continuous occupation. The city must have been destroyed, however, perhaps by the Hyksos, for it was “built” (or rebuilt) seven years before Zoan (also known as Tanis), approximately 1730 BC ().

It was the ideal place for David to consolidate his control over Judah. These very advantages could make it seem that David was getting ready for a civil war with what remained of Saul’s house, and so he hesitated, not moving until he had received a word from God.

The positive answer David received affirms that God had chosen David to become the next king. In this case, the strategic thing to do was also the right thing to do. Jacob had prophesied that a man from Judah would become king (). David’s move into Hebron would begin the process of him becoming king over all Israel, establishing the Davidic dynasty. The last heir of David’s dynasty was Jesus, who became Israel’s eternal king and Messiah.

Verses 2-4a

ESV So David went up there, and his two wives also, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. (3) And David brought up his men who were with him, everyone with his household, and they lived in the towns of Hebron. (4) And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,"

David took his two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, to Hebron. Ahinoam was from Jezreel (), but this is probably not the more famous Jezreel in the north (see, for example, ). It was doubtless the small town of Jezreel in Judah (). Saul’s wife was also named Ahinoam (). Some people argue that David actually took Saul’s wife after Saul’s death, since says, “I gave your master’s house to you and your master’s wives into your arms.” But it cannot be that Saul’s Ahinoam and David’s Ahinoam are the same woman, since David’s Ahinoam was already with him when they lived among the Philistines (; ), before Saul was killed in battle. In another coincidence, David also had a sister named Abigail (). Here in , the Bible probably calls Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the widow of Nabal the Carmelite in order to distinguish them from the other Ahinoam and Abigail.

Is stepping up to take command during a crisis always an act of ambition? While we should be cautious of people’s motives, what are the dangers of being cynical?

COMMENDATION ()

Verses 4b-7

ESV And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul," (5) David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him. (6) Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing. (7) Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

Saul’s city, Gibeah, had close ties to Jabesh-gilead, a city some distance to the north and on the east side of the Jordan. In the time of the judges, men in Gibeah, a city of Benjamin, had brutally raped and murdered a Levite’s concubine. This prompted a civil war, with all of Israel allied against the tribe of Benjamin. This left Benjamin nearly annihilated. In the peace that followed, the Israelites were alarmed that the tribe might disappear altogether. Jabesh-gilead had failed to send troops to the allied effort, so the Israelites forcibly took four hundred unmarried women from that town to serve as wives for the remaining Benjamites to help repopulate the tribe. The story is found in . In the aftermath, Gibeah and Jabesh-gilead were closely bound to one another, because their populations were closely related and because both had avoided extermination at the hands of their fellow Israelites.

According to , Saul’s first act as king concerned Jabesh-gilead. The city appealed for help after Nahash, ruler of Ammon, threatened to slaughter it if the men did not submit to having their right eyes gouged out. Saul slaughtered a pair of oxen and sent the pieces throughout Israel, demanding that all the tribes send troops to join him in the expedition against Nahash (). This gesture alluded to the gruesome manner in which the earlier civil war had begun (see ). Israel obeyed Saul’s summons, and they shattered the Ammonite army. Thus, Saul honored the family ties between his city and Jabesh-gilead, and he brought closure to the rift created by the terrible civil war. After Saul’s death, the men of Jabesh-gilead recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons (which the Philistines had put on display) and buried and mourned over them ().

David, upon hearing what the men of Jabesh-gilead had done, sent word to them praising them for their loyalty and courage. He also informed them that he had become king, implying that he would take up Saul’s fallen sword and drive the Philistines from Israel. David had been attacking cities of other groups under stealth and claiming attacks against This was politically astute, since the men of Jabesh-gilead above all other Israelites were loyal to the house of Saul. If he could win them over to his side, the rest of Israel would surely follow. But it would be wrong to read this cynically, as though David were motivated purely by political advantage.

implying that he would take up Saul’s fallen sword and drive the Philistines from Israel. This was politically astute, since the men of Jabesh-gilead above all other Israelites were loyal to the house of Saul. If he could win them over to his side, the rest of Israel would surely follow. But it would be wrong to read this cynically, as though David were motivated purely by political advantage.

Everything in the story of David implies that he had deep loyalty toward Saul and did not reciprocate Saul’s hostility and suspicion. His lamentation in was heartfelt and not done for show. Thus, he was no doubt genuinely moved by the loyalty Jabesh-gilead had shown toward Saul, and he wanted to have men of such virtue on his side. It seems that David detested disloyalty and ingratitude above everything else (see ).

(In PSG, p. 17) How is the goodness of the Lord reflected in His provision of leaders? How might a person be blessed by demonstrating respect to leaders God places in this world?