Today we are looking at Chapter 1 of 2 Samuel. This book begins where 1 Samuel left off. Simply, turn the page and keep reading.
In verses 1-16, we read that David returns to the town of Ziklag and learns from an Amalekite that both king Saul and Jonathan are dead. The man shows up to tell David what he thinks will be good news. The man probably thinks that David will be somewhat happy after all that David had to endure from King Saul. David had more reasons to kill Saul than anyone, yet he passed up the opportunity to do so two times. We would think that Saul’s deaths would be a huge relief to David, but this would underestimate his character. He lived out what the Lord Jesus taught His disciples, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).
David ends the chapter, verses 17-27 with a Lament. A lament is an expression of sorrow and mourning. A “lamentation” is a sad song. David wrote deep, emotional, painful, hard words from his heart for Saul and Jonathan.
We have read about the unique strong friendship of David and Jonathan, so it is not surprising that David mourns his friend. However, you wouldn’t think this was a song written about a man who was trying to kill David.
We can learn from David’s example. We should look for the best in people, hoping to God that they will repent from sin and turn to him. We must love our enemies (Saul) and our friends (Jonathan) until the day they die, trusting God for the best in their lives.
In this first chapter we see David lament his losses and seek the Lord during yet another time of trial in his life. This is a great example for us today. We should turn to Christ despite terrible situations where our emotions may run rampant and try to control us. David knew what sorrow was. In Isaiah 53:3, Christ is called “a man of sorrows”. Because of this, we can turn to Jesus no matter the situation because He will know perfectly well what we are going through.
Also for todays reading…Psalm 33…