2 Samuel 1:17-27 – Learn to e forward-looking

David was deeply affected by the defeat of Israel. He mourned the death of Saul, the many fellow Israelites, and especially his good friend Jonathan.  He not only chanted a dirge but instructed it to be written so as to instruct the children of Judah. To David, this was a great calamity. Israel had fallen and her people slain. For David, the thought of that had increased his anguish. The way Israel and her royalties were treated was a great dishonor to God.  

David was concerned about the shame inflicted on Israel spreading all over the land of Philistines. He was concerned about how Israel, and especially her God, would become a subject of ridicule and the laughing stock of the Philistines. We who love God truly can understand the sentiment of David. Just to think of the name of God we love being dragged through the mud by the inconsistencies of believers. That should disturb us greatly. Hence it behoves us to act wisely. We must learn to think before we act. There is a need to be careful in the way we go about living life. Any dishonorable conduct and its consequence will bring great disrepute to God.  

This elegy was David’s tribute to Saul and especially Jonathan. To him, both Saul and Jonathan were Israel’s fallen heroes. Notice that he said nothing negative about Saul. Some have concern that David was not being truthful in his eulogy of Saul. However, we need to know about truth-telling. We can always choose to highlight the positive points of someone and not to dwell on his negative. A wise man knows the right thing to do at the right time. For David, it was a moment to bring healing and reconciliation and not to discredit a person and further divide. David chose to highlight Saul’s good point rather than detailing his failures. The Biblical principle to remember is this: always speak what is edifying not what will destroy and divide.   

David began by eulogizing Saul and ended up focusing on Jonathan. He recalled the friendship and how deeply they loved each other. In the surmounting pressures of life, we need to make time to think and treasure people whose friendship we treasure. Now in Jonathan’s death, David felt it even more. His tender words were left for Jonathan. So he said:

“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me.
Your love to me was more wonderful
Than the love of women.
“How have the mighty fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!”

David’s elegy of Saul and Jonathan leaves us much to learn. Firstly, we must not carry a past hurt into the present. Let the past be a thing of the past. If not, one will remain bitter even long after that person who had hurt us is gone. Learn to find closure to all our hurts in life. Secondly, David probably had resolved the issue and had found a place in his heart to forgive Saul. Instead of gloating over the past, like David, we should leave the past behind, to live peacefully in the present, and gloriously for the future. Thirdly, David’s approach to his ordeal tells us how we should engage our minds. We should learn to engage our minds to think positively. Take the word of Paul in Philippians 4:8 seriously. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” Live forward in life and not backward!