Year 1, Week 33, Day 2 Bible Reading Observations

Year 1, Week 33, Day 2

I have a brief observation for today’s reading of 2 Samuel 1-2.

Today’s reading begins describing the immediate aftermath of Saul’s death. It is no surprise to see David emerge as the second part of Samuel begins. 2 Samuel 1 begins with an untrue account of how Saul died. The Amalekite messenger reaches David to give him the news of Saul’s death. The messenger must have assumed that David would be pleased to learn of the death of Saul. Furthermore, the messenger must have also assumed that if he took credit for Saul’s death, David would reward him. Things didn’t work out as the messenger assumed. 2 Samuel 1 concludes with a song of lament. 2 Samuel 2 records David’s installation as king, but his reign is only over part of Israel and he rules from Hebron. Meanwhile, Abner, Saul’s commander, installs Ish-bosheth, son of Saul, over the other part of Israel. Conflict between David’s forces and Saul’s forces escalates. 

One of the things that struck me from today’s reading is the LORD’s emphasis that His king be a humble man concerned with righteousness: “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall be far from me; I will know nothing of evil. Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly I will destroy. Whoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart I will not endure” (Psalm 103:3-5). David’s response to the Amalekite who took credit for Saul’s death shows his commitment to rule with justice and righteousness: “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” (2 Samuel 1:14-15). I am sure that the Amalekite was surprised, for he must have assumed that David wanted Saul dead and thus David would have richly rewarded the one who took the credit for killing Saul. But David would not be a king who would put personal advantage over what the LORD required. The Amalekite was ignorant of the kind of man that David was on the record of being: “The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD'S anointed” (1 Samuel 26:23). Even though David has not yet been publicly declared king, his first act, in the aftermath of Saul’s death, shows his concern for righteousness.

Not only is David concerned with righteousness, he also demonstrates that he is aware of the importance of humility. This notion of humility is expressed in the song that David expresses in the aftermath of Saul’s death. The song is a lament, but it also pertains to themes and were introduced in Hannah’s song at the beginning of 1 Samuel (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and then picked up again in another song of David at the end of 2 Samuel (2 Samuel 22:2-23:7). These three songs function as a structural frame for the narrative accounts contained in 1 and 2 Samuel. These songs, with the themes that they express, help instruct us on how to read and make sense of the historical accounts of the people throughout the storyline of Samuel.

Hannah’s song contrasted the strong and the proud with the humble and the weak. Hannah declared: “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength…The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor” (1 Samuel 2:3-4,6-8). With Hannah, she was the humble and weak one as a barren woman. Hannah, in the eyes of the world was assessed as feeble and low and needy, but the LORD strengthened her, and exalted her, and lifted her up. Hannah had no prideful perception of herself and no confidence in her own capacities, but the LORD has the last word. David’s song expresses the same contrasts. It is a lament but also a correlation to Hannah’s words, when David says, not once, but thrice: “Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!” (2 Samuel 1:19); “How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!” (2 Samuel 1:25); and “How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!” (2 Samuel 1:27). David is not gloating over the fall of Saul, but he does grasp that the LORD has brought things about in a manner that is consistent with His opposition to those who perceive themselves as inherently mighty, life Saul did. For Saul, humble obedience as well as humble repentance were the key to life, when natural qualities established your stature: “And he had a son whose name was Saul, a handsome young man. There was not a man among the people of Israel more handsome than he. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people” (1 Samuel 9:2). For David, the youngest son, who was just a lowly shepherd boy, he would not fit the expectation of being a king like all the other nations. The LORD has different priorities than the world: “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27). The LORD assessed things differently: “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). “The LORD has sought out a man after his own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14).

What struck you in today’s reading? What questions were prompted from today’s reading?

Pastor Joe