The second book of Samuel begins with the report of Saul’s
death being brought to David. This is followed by David’s lament over
both Saul and Jonathan. He mourns their death at the hands of Israel’s
enemies, utilizing the words of exile to highlight the pain and the shame
involved, even though Saul’s death means the end of his own exile and the
beginning of David’s exodus into the kingship for which he had been anointed.
Speaking of Saul and Jonathan, David sorrowfully exclaims, “How the mighty have
fallen!” (1:19b). With full knowledge that the news of the deaths of Saul
and Jonathan would serve as victorious rallying cries for the Philistines, and
that they would most likely attempt to take advantage of the situation in order
to further oppress God’s people, having already occupied Israelite cities (1
Samuel 31:7), David adds, “Don’t report it in Gath, don’t spread the news in
the streets of Ashkelon, or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the
daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!” (1:20) Of course, David’s
men would have been just as likely as the Philistines to celebrate Saul’s
death, as they had long suffered the pain and oppression of exile right along
with David.
David, however, saw no reason for rejoicing. Employing
those previously mentioned words of exile, to illustrate the poignancy of the
death of the Lord’s appointed deliverer at the hands of Israel’s
enemies---which was a new thing in Israel---David says “O mountains of Gilboa,
may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings!”
(1:21a) Gilboa, of course, is where Saul and Jonathan fell slain, and
owing to that, David pronounces something of a curse on the mountain, indicating
a desire that its fields be stricken. Speaking to this, David says, “For
it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled; the shield of Saul lies
neglected without oil” (1:21b).
In that day, pronouncing a curse related to agricultural
production would have been a common practice, but when we hear such words used,
in the context of the long-running narrative of the Scriptures, it is
impossible to give them meaning that is separate from that overall theme.
For Israel, Gilboa (because it was the place of Saul and Jonathan’s death), has
become a place that is representative of oppression, as the death of an
anointed one, regardless of how far he had fallen, is not to be celebrated, but
rather, deeply lamented. That death, and the resulting defeat of Israel,
has brought a measure of foreign subjugation, as the victorious Philistines are
occupying towns of Israel. By extension then, the curse that David speaks
forth can be safely rooted in the covenant-related curses of Deuteronomy, which
speak to a withholding of rain and a cursing of the produce of the soil,
especially in light of the foreign domination that is being experienced again
within Israel.
David continues on to say, “O daughters of Israel, weep over
Saul, who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewelry, who put gold jewelry on
your clothes” (1:24). David insists that Saul, as the anointed king of
Israel, and as the one chosen by God to rule over His people and to deliver
them from their enemies, despites his failings and mis-steps and David’s very
obvious personal conflicts with him, was a blessing to the people of Israel,
which is what one should expect from Israel’s anointed king. David
conjures up images of God’s blessings upon His people, and of His faithfulness
to His covenant promises, recalling the rescue from foreign subjugation that
was wrought at Saul (and Jonathan’s) hands through battles of deliverance
against the enemies of God’s people, by stating “How the warriors have fallen
in the midst of battle!... How the warriors have fallen!” (1:25a,27a)
Now, it is incumbent upon David to take up the role to which
he has been charged, which is to lead and to shepherd and to wisely and justly
rule over God’s people. As he ends his exile from that for which he had
been anointed, and now experiences his own exodus into the fulfillment of God’s
purpose for him, he does so by entering into a situation in which God’s people
are now experiencing some of the curses of exile, with a foreign power
attempting to consolidate its rule over the people and the land. So David
comes to the kingship with the charge of doing battle so as to continue
Israel’s exodus. Like Moses, David embarks upon his leadership at a time
of a defeated people. Like Moses, David will deal with internal struggles
for power and position, as the exodus that he is set to provide takes
root. Like Israel under Moses, Israel under David will experience a time
of wandering, unsure of its direction, as David does not immediately take a
place of kingship over all the people, but instead, goes up to Hebron, becoming
king first over Judah for seven and a half year, while having to deal with the
kingly aspirations and claims of Saul’s surviving sons, along with the natural
allegiance to them that have been engendered throughout Saul’s long and
generally prosperous reign.
Saul had been a popular king. As we learn from David,
he had been acclaimed as a warrior. There would be a natural inclination
on behalf of the people to continue his rule through his sons. Indeed,
though David had been instrumental in bringing deliverance from the
Philistines, credit for such things, despite the songs that the people might
sing, ultimately goes to the king, so why make a wholesale change of
dynasties? This is not the first time that Israel has been in this
position. In all reality, the desire to continue with things as they
were, which was partly responsible for David not becoming king over all of
Israel until more than seven years after the death of Saul, even though he had
long been the Lord’s anointed and appointed king, it not at all dissimilar to
what we see with Israel following the Egyptian exodus. When faced with
difficulties, Israel was ready to forsake Moses and return to Egypt. So
likewise, when faced with the current situation, and the difficulties presented
therein by the resurgence of Philistine power, on the whole, Israel was
comfortable with forsaking the one anointed as deliverer, so as to continue to
dwell in and with the house of Saul.
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