2 Samuel 1 (Part 1) Bible Study (David Hears of Saul's Death) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have a Bible in your hands, meet me in the book of second Samuel in chapter one as we begin a new study in a new book. But, I believe it's important to know that although this is a a fresh book that we will endeavor to journey through, in the original Hebrew manuscripts, first and second Samuel were actually one combined text. It was not seen as two separate books. It was seen as one book. And it wasn't until there was a Greek translation done two, three hundreds before Christ where these, these two books were were created, or at least the one text was separated and divided into two.

And the introduction to second Samuel, as you and I will see, attests to that reality because there seems to be just a seamless flow from the last chapter in first Samuel to the introduction of this new book. It seems like we don't miss a beat. Seems like things just move on just fine. And why is that important to know? Because as we begin a new book, we often take the time in the introduction to look at the themes or the structure or the flow of thought or the main ideas in that text.

And that is not necessarily the case with second Samuel because, again, originally, it was just one book. So we're just continuing with the same intention that we did in the beginning of first Samuel. We're seeing that God has chosen a man to rule and reign, and we're going to continue to journey with David as he makes his way towards the throne, as God leads him towards the throne, and all the things in between that are to our benefit. There are many people who are intimidated by the Old Testament or have a limited view of its value in the Christian's life in the new covenant. And all you have to do is see the New Testament commentary on the value of the Old Testament to realize God's desire for those who are in the new covenant.

It's not just to find Christ as glorious as that is. It's not just to understand the the complete picture of redemptive history as important as that is. Romans tells us in chapter 15 that there are these things given to us to encourage us. And in first Corinthians, we read also in chapter 10 that there are these stories or or real real stories of real people, real events to warn us, to warn us about sin, to encourage us in holiness. And so we have every right, according to the bible, to actually come to David's story and glean spiritual principles for us today as we walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so as we do with every book, as we do with every study, why don't we just pause and ask the Lord to help us, especially as we begin a new text? Can we do that? Oh, Lord, we thank you for this book. We thank you for how you've taught us through first Samuel. And, lord, we trust that you will continue to guide us to know exactly what you've intended to speak to us through these verses today.

Lord, give us an attentive mind. Give us an open heart. We pray that the spirit of God would rest upon the ministry of the word and so that it would be delivered in power and in clarity. And that, lord, we would all leave here edified, our faith built up. Lord, that you would speak with your timeless truth into particular areas of our lives today, lord.

Let your voice be heard and your voice alone. We submit our wills to you. We submit our preconceived ideas, and we surrender to the authority of the scriptures tonight. Oh, lord. May this be an impartation, not just of knowledge, but of life, of life so that we can live like our master.

We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Where we begin in second Samuel one is exactly where we left off. The first king of Israel has died. He was brutally killed in war, and we saw the detailed account of his death.

And as we're about to find out, David is going to learn of this news. And what this first chapter is all about is his response to the death of his sworn enemy. And as you and I examine that, though we won't be able to go through the whole chapter, just half of it, it will surely challenge us. Because the longer you serve the Lord, the more dedicated you are to serving the Lord, the more you can assure yourself of enemies in this life. Enemies, not just in Satan and his minions.

Enemies through people, unfortunately. And perhaps you are familiar with that reality today. Perhaps that is completely foreign to you. Regardless, what we will see today will surely challenge us in the Lord. In verse one, 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 men who told him, how do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? Remember, there was a war between Israel and the Philistines.

David wanted to apparently join that war on the Philistine side, which was extremely concerning to us. But God providentially leads him away from that. And he faces his own issues because when he comes back to this town called Ziklag where he was staying, it was ransacked by the Amalekites. He goes on a rescue mission. After he repents before the Lord and seeks his guidance, God gives him victory.

They rescue their wives. They rescue their children. They head back to Ziklag. And when we see that he comes back to Ziklag, we we might be a little bit concerned because we know Ziklag is not where David is supposed to be. That is in the land of the Philistines.

Brother, you're supposed to be in the promised land. What are you doing there? Okay. You've repented and and you saw God lead you mercifully to victory. So so why are you going back to Ziklag?

There's no reason to be concerned. We have every reason to believe that David is going to either recuperate or he's planning to rest. Remember all those days of travel and battle, you can imagine that he was just worn out with his men. Or it could be that David is simply waiting. He's waiting to receive report.

He's wait waiting for an announcement of what happened in that battle. We don't know what is going on in David's heart, but all we do see is that finally, on the third day, somebody in the horizon who seems to be out of breath is making his way towards David. And the closer he gets, the more David realizes that whoever this messenger is or this visitor is, it's not about good news. Because he's already showing the signs of grief and of mourning because his his clothes are torn. There's dirt on his head.

And so David is already anticipating not so good news. And finally, this man arrives. And when he arrives, David asked his whereabouts. Where'd he come from? And the man tells him, I escaped from the camp of Israel.

And look what David says in verse four. How did it go? Tell me. Now, if you don't have the ESV, does it just say tell me or does it say something else? Who has a translation other than the ESV?

What does it say? Please tell me. Does it say the same in the King James? Pray thee, tell me. Same idea.

And when you see that, what you understand is a man who has great concern. David is not just asking out of mere curiosity. David is asking because there is a genuine desire to know the well-being of his people. What a what a change of heart compared to a man who was willing to go to war against his people. Now his heart has obviously been softened enough to be so concerned about what happened to his own.

And so he asks, please tell me, would you just disclose to me what has happened in that war? And what's so incredible about this is that it is a display of his compassion that describes just a glimpse of the quality of this man's love that made him the effective servant that he was for his God. David here is saying, tell me how did it go? And you're gonna see his response when he realizes that Israel has fallen, that he obviously really loved the people of God. He really did.

And what I appreciate about David's reaction here, at least desire to know what's happening, is that it was all before he was the king of Israel. He's not king yet. He's not their designated leader. In fact, he's a fugitive. In fact, he has he has received more mistreatment than anything else from his own people.

And yet at the same time, there is this yearning to know. There is this great concern in his heart. And as I look at that, I realize that this man was not motivated to be so concerned because of his responsibility or his position. This man truly had an empathy. There was a sincere interest.

There was a compassion that consumed him. There was this longing to have an understanding of the people and their good standing. And when I look at that, I also think about how this corresponds to us as servants of God. To us who do life with the people of God. What goes on in our hearts?

How do we feel about those who belong to Christ? How do we view them? How do we serve them? Not not if we serve them, but how? Because David example here causes us to think that if this man can show such passion as a fallen human being, he is not our ultimate example.

Jesus is. If you're a part of this church, you know that on Sunday, we're discovering the suffering servant in Jesus Christ in the book of Mark. And I am always humbled as I go through Mark to see the the type of servant Jesus was. Not just the the savior that he was, the servant that he was. And this will resonate with you my brother, my sister if you really wanna be a servant for the kingdom of God.

Jesus shows in so many ways how he felt, not just what he did, but how he felt about the people that he served. Can I show you one example? It's in the New Testament. You're gonna have to go there in your bibles. It's in Mark chapter six and verse 34.

Jesus comes to a crowd, a great crowd, thousands of people. And when he shows up on that shore only to see people littering those hills, There is an interesting commentary of how Christ felt about these people, and some of you are already aware of it. In verse 34 of Mark chapter six, when he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them. He had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things, many things. When it says he had compassion, the word there is extremely intense.

It speaks of being moved in the bowels. It's almost as though the pit of his stomach was turning. And it was turning with a tenderness, with with a concern, with an attentiveness, with a desire to alleviate some kind of suffering or harm. That is what he felt before he served those people before him. And when I look at that, that moves me.

That really does move me. But what moves me even more is when you just zoom out a little bit and understand the context. When you just go back a couple of verses, you see that Jesus did not come to the shore with the intent of helping thousands of people. He did not come to perform some evangelistic crusade. Actually, quite the opposite.

Now consider this. I mean, I read it today and I was like, Lord, I'm so not like you. I need you to make me like you as as I want to serve you. What happens? Look at verse 30 of Mark chapter six.

His disciples come back from a a missionary journey preaching and casting out devils and healing the sick and they were obviously exhausted. And in verse 30, we read the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that had been done and that was taught. And he said to them, come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. Don't you love that? Come and rest.

What a merciful leader. What a compassionate Christ. He saw that these men served him. He saw that they went out and sacrificed much and he says, come rest. Rest is important.

Rest is important for those who tirelessly serve the Lord. Rest is important for those who are giving themselves to the kingdom of God as their first priority. There is appropriate need to take some time to rest. We are human. These are vehicles that we have to take care of.

That that's not the point though. He he gathers these men. He goes on a boat. He wants to take them on a little retreat. And so as they go, there are people on the shore that see Jesus and they see where he's going.

And so the word goes out and they start following Jesus on the shore as they have their eyes on that boat. What's happening on that boat? They wanna go to a desolate place. Jesus has a plan. He has a little conference set up for his disciples so that they can be rejuvenated again.

And what's happening on the shore? Well, there's a different kind of conference being set up by the people. They want to be ministered to. They they want, they want to hear from this Jesus. And so they come, they beat him to the place, and as Jesus arrives, plans are ruined.

Interfered. There was, interference. Things did not go as scheduled. And you know what I love? Jesus being fully human, truly human.

I don't see Jesus being angry. I don't see him complaining. I don't see him sighing and then approaching this group and saying, okay, let's just get this over with. It says he had compassion on them. I wanna be like Jesus.

You know what I see here in wanting to be like Jesus? I wanna have compassion even if my plans are interrupted. Even if I have been serving the Lord and I need a little break, that in his providence something happens that might demand more energy that it would just cause me to be all the more compassionate. Isn't it amazing how when we really study the life of Jesus that it really challenges us in the smallest of details of life? I don't know if I would be compassionate after a long ministry trip just wanting to get some shut eye in a nice barbecue with some friends who serve the Lord as well, to stumble upon thousands of people that are not only gonna hear teaching, but are gonna be catered to.

But Jesus had compassion. What a savior. What a servant. And as you think about David's life, we realize here that he is an imperfect example, but an example nonetheless. Because it seems like he has this unusual concern for those who are defenseless and lost and needy.

And that is something that brings us to another point. And the point is this, that though he was not yet their designated leader, even though he was a nobody at this time, the qualities of the compassion that he had would make him the worthy candidate to be their leader. We have every reason to believe that as we approach David's life in coming to the throne, that God has shown us what his life was before he was promoted for many reasons, many, many reasons. Because remember, God could have just fast forwarded everything. He was anointed.

Ten, fifteen years have gone by. Now he's on the throne. The Bible does that in first Kings a lot. But for some reason with David's life, it wants to draw out certain details. Let me give you one reason I believe, that we see the qualities of a man who served God at the capacity that he was serving in before God gave him more to do, before he opened greater doors, before there was further service.

And I believe according to the scriptures, not my own head, that God saw something in David. And in seeing something in David, it drew his heart to David so that he can use them in the way that he used them. Maybe you don't believe me, and so I'll show you a text. It's in the book of Psalms. And it's about David, at least the last part of that Psalm.

It's in Psalm 78. And I want you to see something in verse 70 of Psalm 78. It's it's quite touching. Because in this portion of this Psalm, you read that David was described as a shepherd of actual sheep before he was known as a shepherd of people. That's important.

In Psalm 78 verse 70, look at this. He chose the Lord. He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds. From following the nursing ewes, he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people. So he was shepherding the sheepfolds and now he's shepherding Jacob, God's people.

With an upright heart, he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand. Do you think David had an upright heart and a skillful hand when he became king or before he became king? I don't think it's difficult to answer that. Before David had an upright heart and a skillful hand as the ruler of God's people, David had an upright heart and a skillful hand when he was ruling over Jesse's sheep. And that's important.

And the reason why it's important is because even in God's service, many people are only motivated to be devoted and developed in their gifting, in their ministry, in their service to the Lord if the opportunity is right, and if the recognition is to their liking. And what they fail to realize is that those same people, God considers us for further service when he evaluates our affection and our attention to whatever he has put in our lives in the present. Think about that. If you have any doubt that David had a heart of integrity and a skillful hand, then you did not pay attention during first Samuel. You see it sprinkled everywhere.

Remember when David was sent by Jesse to go and to give cheese and bread to his brothers on that battlefield against the Philistines where he met that giant providentially. Remember that little detail? He left someone in charge of the sheep before he left. Why would the Holy Spirit tell us that? Why?

Why is that important? Does God waste his words? No. God wants to show us how he managed the ministry that he had received. There's responsibility that he already had before that day where everything changed and his future would never be the same.

I know what it's like to to to be in a place, especially early in my faith, with big desires and longings to serve the Lord and the opportunity is not there yet. But I had wise counsel in my life who gave very similar instructions. God often evaluates your affection and your attention to what he has put before you now before he even considers you for further service. David was such a man. He had he had a compassion and a concern for God's people.

We see that in verse four. So we come back to our study in verse five of chapter one of second Samuel. Then David said to the young man, rather verse four, excuse me. And he answered, the people fled from battle and also many of the people have fallen are dead and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead. Now, here here's something very interesting.

The messenger highlights the death of Saul and Jonathan. And there's a reason for that. The reason is deliberate and my question is why do you think that is? Did did Saul have more than one son? He did.

And so why highlight just Jonathan? Why bring up Saul? Saul may seem obvious, he's the king, but why Jonathan? When you when you see that, you almost have an insight into this man's motives. And David has that kind of inclination as well, so he begins to ask more questions.

And what we have to understand is, though we don't know much about this mysterious messenger, perhaps he knows something about David enough to formulate his presentation in the way that he did. We have reason to believe that he knew that Saul and David were enemies. Enemies. That wasn't just a private thing. It was known.

It was known in all of Israel. But not just that, this man very likely believed the reason why he brings up Jonathan let me ask, why do you think he did it actually? Why Jonathan? Very good. Jonathan was the primary heir to the throne.

And so this would have been very good news for for David, which brings us to the third point. This man not only believed Saul and David were enemies, not only believed that Jonathan was the primary heir to the throne, but he must have believed or at least expected that David would be the next king that would sit on that throne. And with all of that taken into consideration as our bird's eye view interprets the following, this is why it's important to know many portions of scripture as familiar as we can get with all of scripture, that David understood those things. He put the pieces together. And that, I'm not guessing that.

Just go a couple chapters later. Go to second Samuel four and listen to what David says when he retells this story, at least a part of it. In second Samuel four, he says something quite amazing in verse 10. When one told me, behold, Saul is dead and thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which was the reward I gave him for his news. You know what that implication is?

That this man came with the anticipation of a reward. He was looking to be crowned with some kind of prize for not only being the messenger of this news, but also participating in Saul's death. And so as he came, he came with an intention that was for personal benefit. And he did it very very shrewdly because as you read and you see how he explains it, he does it where it seems as though Saul was about to die anyway and so I kind of just helped him end his misery. And I believe the reason why he does that is so just in case the response to Saul's death wasn't taken right, that he had some kind of excuse anyway to cover himself up.

But but because he mentions that he did in fact put a hand on Saul, maybe maybe David would get excited about that and then and then adorn him with some kind of gift or position. And so this man is very crafty. Very crafty. And as he comes to David, he realizes that the reward that he had thought he would get was not the reward that he thought he would get. Because David's like, you want a reward?

Here's your reward. You're a dead man. You put your hand on the Lord's anointed? You touched God's chosen man? You want a reward, Here's a reward, execute him.

And they did. And as I look at that, we should be suspicious of this man in totality. I now question if that's true. If he came for the reward, I I question his rent garments. I question him bowing before David and trying to show honor and respect to him.

Because it seems to be just an embellishment. It just seems to be a whole thing in order for personal gain. David discerned that and then David did something about that. Now here's what's amazing about it. There's a wonderful principle here for us believers in our service to the Lord as we seek to serve the Lord.

And this is so important to understand. Jesus is the greatest and the greater King. He is the son of David and he is the king that we all serve. He is the perfect king that no king could even come close to. The whole point, the main point of Samuel, second Samuel, first King, second King is that no human king can rightly govern the people of God.

No human king can bring ultimate deliverance and salvation for the people of God. And so as I paired all this, I see David, yes, but I also see him with a with a with a transparency. I I wanna see Christ as his descendant, as the fulfillment of the lineage of this dynasty. Here's this man who calls him my lord later on. Here's this man pretending to be someone.

Here's this man pretending to be in service to this king. And here's what we have to consider. If David could see right through this guy, if David can discern his true motive, his his actual plan, though he disguised it with humility, though he disguised it with some kind of allegiance to David, he couldn't fool him. He couldn't fool David. And I read that and I thought to myself, Lord, if this man couldn't fool David, do I think I can fool you?

Do you do you understand what I'm saying? Do I think that I can give the Lord something from the external and he doesn't have x-ray vision to see the internal? He does. I can't fool God. I can't trick him.

No counsel can avail against the Lord. There's nothing I can do no matter how radical it may seem. You don't wanna know how radical this guy was? He ran for miles, some believe a 100 miles from the battlefield to this point. That that sacrifice.

That's that's serious devotion. But the Lord saw the intent, at least David did. And the Lord sees our intent in all things. And Jesus puts an emphasis in the new covenant of where our hearts are at. He takes it to a new level.

If anybody ever tells you that the God of the Old Testament is more severe than the God of the New, they haven't read the New Testament right. He is gentle. He is lowly. But do you realize that Jesus upholds a greater standard for righteousness than how he manifested the law in the old? Adultery is when two people who are not supposed to be together are intimate with one another, especially when they're when they're in covenant with somebody else.

Jesus says, if you thought about it, you did it. I didn't say it. The Lord said it. Murder? Murder.

When you kill somebody, when you actually take their life. Anger, unjust, unrighteous anger is murder in Jesus' eyes. And so one of the one of the ways that you and I know as believers, and we praise the Lord, he he brings that standard of righteousness so that every mouth would be shut and that none can say I am righteous and that we would fall at the foot of the cross and receive his mercy. But it also shows the heart of God. And as we grow in the new covenant with the Lord Jesus, here's one hint that you and I are in the right direction in our spiritual maturity.

Here it is. Ready? We are not concerned just about the external, but about the internal. We are. Spiritual maturity doesn't just say, how do people see me?

Spiritual maturity says, what do you see in me, oh God? That makes all the difference. And I I hesitate sometimes to share these things because not that I'm afraid to share them, but because people can misunderstand it and then they leave here feeling condemned. Realize that God has given you and I every resource to not just be victorious when people see us, but when God sees us in our hearts and our minds. Every resource possible.

But David here shows that he could not be fooled. And I look at my king, my lord, my master, and if there's anything in me that says I can fool him or trick him, then I am greatly mistaken. But secondly, what do we see here? That this man clearly didn't understand who David was. He didn't know who David was.

He thought he did. He thought he did because he thought that in this news, David would would celebrate and rejoice and even maybe bless this man. And in fact, they put his head on a chopping block and says, off with his head. He clearly missed who David was. And I'm afraid that that many people who claim to know Jesus don't really know who Jesus is.

Remember those parables where Jesus with the talents especially? Where a man buries his talent and when the master comes and tells him what he did, he says, I thought you were a severe and hard man. Do you remember that? Do you know what the crime of that is? He did not know who his master really was.

He didn't. And you and I begin to do things in a certain way and it all begins when we fail to really understand who God is and what he requires of us. And there's two pitfalls in that. There is legalism. There's legalism.

Some people and and some people perhaps even watching or listening today, you are living according to a standard of righteousness, and I put that in quotation marks, that God doesn't even demand of you. And there are those who are in loose living because they have a different understanding of who Jesus is. This man got into a lot of trouble and it all began by him failing to know who David really was. David was not like those other kings who would celebrate when there were any obstacles removed for the opportunity of being the ruler of a certain land. That was not who David was.

And this man did not see it. And so you and I are in the safest place. You and I will know great blessing and great protection when we first understand who God is. And the more we understand who he is, the more we will know of his goodness in our lives. So David asks, how do you know that they died?

How do you know that they were slain? And I wanna read from verse five to verse 10 so that we can get the complete picture. Listen to this. Verse six rather. And the young man who told him said, by chance, I happen 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 armor that was on his arm, and I brought them here to my Lord. Here's my question. How many detailed accounts are we given in the scriptures concerning Saul's death? Anybody know?

Somebody said two. Is there two or more? There's actually a total of three, including this one. The first one is in first Samuel 31. We read it last week.

What happens? We read according to the writer, guided by the spirit, that Saul died of suicide. He died of suicide. The second telling of the same story is not in first and second Samuel. It's found in first Chronicles chapter 10.

And there's a verse there in verse 14 that tells us another angle to how Saul died. In first Chronicles ten fourteen, let me read it to you. This is what we are told. He being Saul did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore, the Lord put him to death.

The Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse. So in first Samuel 31, Saul kills himself. First Chronicles ten fourteen, God put him to death. Second Samuel chapter one, and the Amalekite kills him. What's going on here?

And people jump, yes. Contradiction. Your bible's filled with errors. Calm down. Take a breath.

Relax. That's not the case at all. We have to understand what's happening here. Whenever we see two stories that are told in different ways or with different details, we have to do the work to see if we can make some reconciliation. And what people have realized with this specific incident is that it is difficult to reconcile all three.

It's easy to reconcile first Samuel thirty one and first Chronicles 10. Why? Well, Saul died by suicide, but it was ordained by God. It's as simple as that. But what makes this a little bit muddy is when this Amalekite comes on the scene, he says, well, I was the one who actually actually killed him.

With that being the situation before us, many have concluded that this Amalekite must have been what? Lying. Lying. Now here we are at bible study. And here we are wanting to study the word.

And so let me ask you, show me the evidence that he is lying. Show me the evidence. Not not just the simple simple observation that it's different in first Samuel 31 than it is here. What is the evidence in the verses that we just read? What are some what are some details here that seem to put things into question concerning this man's apparent testimony?

And if you if you have something, feel free to lift your hand and give the answer. Yes. Okay. So he happened by chance. Well, that's kinda concerning.

What are you doing by chance strolling around in a war? Seems kind of odd wording, doesn't it? Good observation. Yes. Yeah.

What are you doing in Saul's camp, you Amalekite? Are are the Amalekites and Saul on good terms? Well, if you knew first Samuel, there would be no. Yes, David. David did fight the Amalekites.

He did early on. It's true. And so that is that is an important detail, but I think it helps to know that there are Amalekites sprinkled everywhere. Not just in that particular location, but that is a good observation that the Amalekites should have been completely destroyed, and we're gonna get to that point in a moment. Yes?

Yeah. First Samuel 31 says that the arborist is him falling off Ah, very good. Did you hear? It? There's another character in this story.

There's another character who was on the scene of Saul's suicide. Who was it? The armor bearer. The armor bearer was there. So we're gonna hold on to that.

Yes. That's a very very important clue. Anything else? Yes. I think it says in chapter 31, he wanted to die so he wouldn't feel bad.

Very good. Very good. Did you hear that? Saul wanted to die a particular death and and the way he wanted to die was not by the hands or at the hands of those who are the enemies of Israel. And so why would he ask an Amalekite to kill him?

If there were any reason for his suicide is that he wouldn't die at the hands of the enemy. Very good. Anything else? There's still some more clues here. Yes.

Very good. Very good. And so the observation is, this man tells it as though the chariots and the men of of the Philistines are right at his heels, at Saul's heels. Here's my question, if I may take it further. If that was the case, then why do we read in first Samuel 31 that it was the next day that the Philistines came and stumbled upon Saul's body?

If they were right there, if they were pursuing him right at his door, why does it say that in the next day, the Philistines came and found the bodies of Saul and his sons? Something's not lining up here. Anything else before we move on? These are great observations. And so here are the three main ones.

Number one, the armor bearer. The armor bearer. Go back to first Samuel 31 and notice what happens in verse five. Remember, Saul asked the armor bearer, just kill me. Please kill me so that I'm not mistreated by these these uncircumcised Philistines.

Verse five. And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was what? Was dead. He was dead. Now either either this is a lie or something's not lining up here.

We have every reason to believe that it was true. The armor bearer saw that he had died. If he had not died, then between him not dying, this apparent Amalekite would have shown up and put him to death. There would have been a conversation and who would have been there the whole time? The armor bearer.

And he wouldn't have let that happen, I'm sure. Now some would say, well maybe he thought he died and then and and so he killed himself and then the Amalekite happened to show up and then Saul was still, you know, he was lingering there and so he asked him to be, you know, finished off. But that that's kind of stretching it when it says clearly he died. Secondly, as we just heard, the Philistines were right there, apparently. That's not the case.

Because when you come to verse eight, what do you see? The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons. If they were right there, it doesn't take twenty four hours to to find a man that you're chasing, apparently. Apparently, so close. We heard again.

If Saul's suicide was caused not by wanting to be at the hands of the enemy, then why would he request an Amalekite to kill him, especially with his history with the Amalekites? He failed to destroy the Amalekites, and now he's gonna ask an Amalekite to kill him? It's questionable. Let me give you one more detail. Notice what the Amalekite says in second Samuel in verse six.

By chance, I happened to be Amal Geboah, and there was Saul leaning on his what? Spear? Does it say spear? Is that what happened in first Samuel 31? What does it say in first Samuel 31?

In verse four. Somebody said it. The last part, therefore Saul took his own what? Sword and fell upon it. We have a case before us that this man is not telling the truth.

He was not a soldier in any army that was at war. He might have been those who just kinda lurked during a war so that when there was the slain, he he jumped on the opportunity to to take some kind of kind of possession prizes or some sort and then and get out of there before before there was that search from the the winning side. But what we also see here is that this man clearly was an opportunist. He realized who Saul was. He realized he had his crown and the armlet on his arm and he had this whole scheme in his mind to come before David, the soon to be king, and to take advantage of the situation to to be promoted of some sort.

Now if this was a lie, then think about how tragic it is that this man thought that in his deception, he was going to receive some kind of award, but in fact, his very words would be the sentencing of his own death. No matter how great the opportunity is, no matter how wonderful the door may seem, no matter how easy it may seem to be access if you just manipulate it a little bit or lie or say something about someone that would remove them from that position and give you a greater chance, I wanna tell you in the name of Jesus Christ, you will not succeed. You will not succeed. Your success will be short lived. And your deception will eventually be exposed.

If not in this life, and oftentimes it does, it will in the time where it will matter most before God and his angels and maybe some people too. Proverbs 12 tells us, and you don't have to turn there, in verse 19, truthful lips endure forever, but lying tongue is but for a moment. A lying tongue is for a moment. If you are a victim of somebody's lies, if you have been slandered, assaulted, know this, that throughout the book of Proverbs, God has a special discipline for lying. And he assures us that lying lips will not go unpunished.

He assures us that whatever advancement was made through deception, it's only for a moment. It will not know long term success and fruit. That encourages me not to lie and that encourages me when I am a victim of people's lack of truth concerning me. But there's something else here in the story. Did you catch it?

This man identifies himself and who is he? He's a what? An Amalekite. That that part is true. We have no reason to believe why this would be a lie.

He was in fact an Amalekite and that makes it even more questionable in our case of whether what he is saying is true or not because the scriptures never ever ever put the Amalekites in a positive light. Always always the Amalekites are identified with an unholy people group and race. They are vicious. They are relentless. And they are the enemies of God's people, not just in one generation, but from generation to generation.

And when you think about that, though there is room for debate whether or not he was telling the truth or not, think about this deeper. An Amalekite an Amalekite came and saw Saul's dead body, took the crown off his head, took the armlet off his arm, and brought it before King David. He was the one who stripped Saul. He was the one who claimed that he had killed him. And if he was alive after this, he would have trumpeted that to his fellow Amalekites, I'm sure.

All to say what? This is a disgrace for Saul. Though he wasn't alive to feel it, this was a disgrace. This is humiliating. And it carries a crucial message for us.

Here's the crucial message. All of this could have been avoided for Saul if he had just done what God told him to do in first Samuel 15 and that was to eliminate all the Amalekites. He didn't. And just like this Amalekite, sin in our lives, when God calls us to put it to death and we fail to do so, we fail to go to war with it at least and allow it to live, it will come back to haunt us one day. It will.

That is God's law. That that is just truth from old to new, and it is a powerful illustration before us through this Amalekite. Because if you study the Amalekites in the Old Testament, what you will see is that the characteristics of these ancient enemies of Israel are shared with our enemy, which is the flesh. I'm telling you it's almost it's almost mirrored. When you look at the Amalekites, their behavior, the characteristics that are given, we realize that it parallels almost perfectly with indwelling sin.

Even in the life of a believer. Who remembers where the Amalekites are first mentioned in the Bible? No. Further. Further ahead.

But good good good answer. Yes. When Israel left Egypt and something happened. They were thirsty. God provided a miracle through a rock, which is a picture of Christ.

And right there, out of the blue, the Amalekites show up once the people experienced a great blessing from God. And they did certain things. And they're we are told certain things about the Amalekites that says something so powerfully about our war with sin. Peter tells us that you and I, as Christians, war against the passions of the flesh. He says war is against.

And I want you to see how the Amalekites and the relationship with Israel just a brief example. I mean, do a whole study on the Amalekites and you'll be blown away. But here's just one snapshot of how it pertains to our sin and how we go to war with it. Go to Exodus 17 very quickly. We're almost done here in our study tonight.

Look at Exodus 17 verse 16. This is after Moses and Joshua had victory over the Amalekites. They came out of nowhere. They attacked according to Deuteronomy, the weak and the vulnerable. That's in Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy tells us that the Amalekites strategically came for those who are lingering at the end of the line of the Israelites because that's what sin does. Sin comes to us most when we are weak and when we are trailing behind. But they have victory in this battle and then look what look what we are told in verse 16. A 16. A hand upon the throne of the Lord, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

And so though they saw though they saw triumph then, God assured them, you're still gonna battle with this. The the Amalekites are someone that you're still gonna have to deal with. And when you feel like you've dealt with them in one generation, a new generation will rise up and there they'll be again. What a powerful picture of our sin. We feel like we have victory.

It's been a good week. Been a good month. I feel more Christian than ever. Next thing you know, temptation comes like a flood. Obeying the Lord, doing great things in his name, great acts of faith, and and all for a sudden this rush of temptation.

These opportunities to disappoint the Lord, to ruin your reputation for Christ from generation to generation. Though you and I are redeemed, and praise God, that redeemed redeemed by grace, still this flesh according to Galatians, we are told that the spirit in us goes to war with this flesh that we are trapped in until we are glorified forever and ever. And so know this, you will go to war until you go to be with Jesus. That doesn't discourages me. That encourages me.

And that destroys one aspect of false teaching, which says that you can attain perfection in this life. Sinless perfectionism. Where did you get that idea from? People believe that you can attain glorification today. I'm not among those who believe that, and I am not among those who believe that that means we can live in sin.

I believe that we can have the empowerment of the spirit to say no to sin whenever it presents itself to us. And there is conscious sin and sometimes there are unconscious things that happen in our lives that just spring up and even surprise us just to remind us that we are human. But look at this. Look at verse 14 of the same chapter. Then the Lord said to Moses, write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.

Yes, you will go to war with Amalek from generation to generation, my people. But there is a time coming when I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek. And so it is with our sin. There is a day coming, and I hope it comes soon, where sin will only be a memory. And I don't even think we'll want to remember it when we're there.

Not only not only will sin be blotted out, temptation will be blotted. What does that feel like? That the suggestion to sin won't even be there. That the opportunity of sin won't even be there. That the presence of sin will not even be there.

That is that is the last and final phase of our salvation. Justification. What does it deal with? The penalty of sin. Sanctification.

We are being saved day by day. What does that deal with? The power of sin. Glorification. What does that deal with?

The presence of sin. The presence of sin. And I can't wait for the Lord to save us in that sense. And he will. He said it with the Amalekites and he said it pertaining to our sin when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to return and redeem his bride.

We're almost done. We come back to the last verses here in second Samuel in verse 11. This man tells him about how he assisted in Saul's suicide and here's the response. Then David in verse 11 took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with them. And they mourned and wept and fastened 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.

I almost wanted to get into the mind of this Amalekite and think, what was he anticipating when he came to David With that crown in his head, in his hands, and with that news on his lips? Well, we know later that he was obviously anticipating some kind of reward and, and maybe at least some rejoicing. If no reward, then maybe some celebration. Because anybody in their right mind would would be happy to know that the person that was trying to kill you is no longer able to kill you. And and perhaps even more than that, that the the throne that I've been promised and and and what I've been hoping for is now more of a possibility than ever before.

And to our surprise and very likely to the shock of this Amalekite, instead what you see is a bunch of men, warriors, grown soldiers with scars and trauma because of one man who has haunted them for years, break down like little children. And they weep. And they cry. And I I and I wish I could have seen that man's face in that moment. Like, what is going on here?

What did I miss something when I was rehearsing what I was saying? Like, what? These men are just shattered. And that is convicting to me. But it's also a teaching lesson for us believers, is it not?

Because you and I abide by the word of God and this is our standard and because of the spirit of God dwelling in us, we do not act or react in the same way that the world does. We don't. Christ's salvation and the transforming work in us purifies particular areas in our lives more detailed than you might think in the immediate sense. We don't we don't rejoice for the same things that the world rejoices over. We don't.

You heard it last week. Right? This world is losing their minds because they can't have easy access to murder babies. You and I are rejoicing, and we should. And We should continue to pray and seek God for a total overturn of this vicious, ugly, demented law.

And you you got two contrasting reactions to that news of that leak. You and I don't rejoice in the same way that the world rejoices. You and I don't grieve in the same way that the world grieves. We don't. We we have a different hope.

We have a different per perspective. Take it further. I love this. I always reference this to this. We don't even greet.

Not not just not just groan and and and grieve. We don't even greet the same way that the world greets. Didn't Jesus teach that on the sermon on the mount? Don't just greet your brothers. The world does that.

And so Christ comes and he infiltrates every detail of our lives, and it brings him glory and it brings us blessing. And and what I see here is a contrast. You have this Amalekite who is expecting something completely different and what he's getting is almost alien. It's strange. And there are at least two observations from this these men grieving.

And this is our closing thoughts that relates to us. The obvious one is that David did not rejoice. That baffles me. It absolutely just baffles me. If anybody had the right to have a smirk at least, to at least, you're sure he's dead?

It was this man. I don't care how hard you've had it in life, you haven't ran as a fugitive in the Chicagoland area because somebody wanted to kill you. If you have, I would love to hear your story. This man did. Haunted, mistreated, slandered, exhausted.

One one would say the prime years of his life were gone because he becomes king at 30. So you think to yourself, how could this man rejoice? And we we almost think to ourselves, how could he not rejoice? Maybe he's just a unique character among God's people. Maybe he's just someone special and we can look at it and say, what a godly man.

Until you come to the book of Proverbs and you probably you probably wonder, did this writer have David in mind when he wrote it, though he was inspired by the Holy Spirit? Listen to these words. Just in case, again, just in case we might think that's David. No wonder he was a man after God's heart. No wonder God loved him.

No wonder God made a covenant with him. Read and listen to this. Proverbs twenty four seventeen. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls. And let not your heart be glad when he stumbles.

Not okay. Thank that that's great, but then you read on, lest the Lord see it and be displeased and turn away his anger from him. That's something else. That's something else. The greatest men of God have had enemies.

Jesus had enemies. Paul had enemies. The apostles had enemies. The early church had enemies, and their enemies were great and power governors and emperors. And yet at the same time we read here that whoever your enemy is, who who intently seeks your harm, that's an enemy.

When they fall, when they are disciplined, when they are injured, do not rejoice. Do not let your heart be glad. And if God does see that, if he sees the sense of, arrogance or the superiority or this malicious satisfaction. Listen to this. If the Lord sees it, he is willing to to reduce his anger on the one who was wrong as a response to our pleasure in that person's discipline.

That's significant. What what's being said there? Because of the wrong reaction to somebody being under God's wrath and displeasure, He will do something with them as a rebuke to us. That's profound. That's incredible.

And I look at that and I think, well, my flesh doesn't like that. Because I want to know some kind of satisfaction in knowing that you got what you deserve. You you've done all this to me when I didn't deserve it. And and I heard you deserve that. And call a couple people and tell them about it and celebrate over it.

When the Lord sees that, he is willing just in order to correct us, just in order to discipline us to deal with him a little bit more gently and to lift his hand a little bit lighter as a way of saying something to our hearts. That is incredible to me. But here's a challenging question because we got we got to look at the totality of scripture. Then how do you reconcile? How do you and I reconcile the Psalms where David celebrates God intervening against his enemies?

Well, how about Exodus 15? The the the pharaoh and his his chariots drowned under the Red Sea, and there's a whole chapter dedicated to a song about their defeat. Help us because we want to walk in the ways of the Lord. Anybody have an idea how we can reconcile those two realities? Very good.

There's a fine line between rejoicing when the person experiences some kind of misfortune and rejoicing in God's deliverance. That's the difference. That's why we can have a verse like this in the scriptures, and then so many other verses where it seems to give the impression that there is celebration over God coming to a man's rescue when he is surrounded by adversaries. Because you're not rejoicing over what happened to that person who was created in the image of God, you are rejoicing in the fact that God had brought about a deliverance to you. See the difference?

It's not pleasure in the pain of somebody else, it's the delight in God's faithfulness in your life. I heard of a of a preacher. He was actually a friend of mine. And I saw a little bit of David in him when I sat with him on one afternoon. And I won't be long here.

He had told me very briefly in in a veiled way of how he had experienced great, great persecution from fellow pastors. And he obviously didn't disclose the details because perhaps it would be too unbelievable for me if I had not experienced it myself. But he told me it was enough for him to get on his knees and cry out to God in such desperate ways. And this is his own words and I trust his integrity. Where he had told me he had cried out to God, and when he had cried out to God for mercy, for for just wisdom, for deliverance from this onslaught of whatever was happening to him, a few of those ministers mysteriously died.

They died in a way that didn't make sense to human understanding. And I sat there as he said that. He didn't even look me in the eyes. He looked to the floor and he was staring at the floor and underneath underneath his breath he said, I didn't ask God to do that. I didn't ask God to do it that way.

I didn't ask God. And then he said, I aged two years in two weeks with that news. He said, well, boy, I have to go and prepare for the meeting tonight, and he left on that note. I was like, I saw David in that man. God delivered him, but he did not rejoice in the fate of those who harmed him.

The second observation from these men who who rent their garments, David and his fellow soldiers, it's a subtle one, not as obvious as the first one we just heard, a subtle one and the principle is found in the span of their sorrow. Notice that we are told that they wept and fasted until the evening. Until the evening, though their grief was genuine, it was not prolonged. See, we all have different temptations even in our emotions. Some are some are more prone to be angry, some are more prone to be proud, some are more prone to be jealous.

And listen to this, some are more prone to be excessively sorrowful. These men were genuinely broken, but they they stopped at a certain point. And David stopped at the evening because he had a duty to fulfill and that was to provide justice on behalf of the king and to execute this man who came to confess his apparent murderous plot, or at least his happen by chance idea, his assisted suicide. And that's important to understand because what David does here in in the the news of Saul's death says something about a healthy view of grieving. I don't wanna make too much of this, but I couldn't help but think about David's response to Saul compared to another man whom God actually corrected when he'd when he had been sorrowful for too long.

Who is that man? Very good. In first Samuel sixteen one, when Samuel learned that Saul had forfeited the kingdom because of his disobedience, Samuel goes to his room and he stays there and he just weeps and he grieves and and God comes in to speak to his prophet. And he told him in first Samuel 61. Listen to this.

Remember this. Right? How long will you grieve over Saul? How long will you grieve over Saul since I have rejected him for being king over Israel? In other words, it's too much, Samuel.

It's too much. It's time to go. And if this is something that you're interested in, come see me after the Bible study. I wanna recommend a resource to you about when grieving becomes wrong, when grieving becomes unrighteous, when grieving can actually turn into sin. And that can help us and help others that we know that have known great pains in life.

And let me give you two summary points before we close here. We can know at least two flags that are yellow flags or red flags in our sorrow. One, when we begin to assault attack the character of God. Samuel should have known better. Samuel as a prophet, as a man of God, should have known better as he was grieving for Saul.

Why? Because he had not he had not experienced this for the first time. He was a young man when Eli, the priesthood, had fallen and God pronounced judgment and promised something else for the future concerning God's leadership. He had seen that. And then when it came to Saul, for some reason, he doesn't remember that.

And he just he just he loses sight of God's sovereignty. He loses sight of God's control over Israel and his leadership. And and so when you and I in our sorrow and our pain and our disturbance, when we begin to now look at God and question his ability or question his character in a way that accuses him of unfaithfulness or being wrong, then we know that our grief is is is letting us cross a certain line that we shouldn't have crossed. Secondly, when our grief begins to loosen our grip on service to God, David stopped grieving because David knew he had a duty to fulfill and that was the deal with this Amalekite and to move on and be the leader that God called him to be. Samuel, same idea.

God calls him and says, hey, listen. Fill your horn with oil and go. You can't stay like this for too long. You still have a ministry to fulfill. You must get up and get moving.

There's another king that I have in mind. And it's your job to find him out, call him out, anoint him, and let him know that I have a plan for him. And there are people, I'm telling you, who have known great grief in in Christian circles. They've been harmed by fellow Christians, so they never show up to church again. Leadership in churches have failed them so they vow to never ever ever listen to a pastor, sit under a pastor, have anything to do with a pastor.

And all of that, no matter how sincere the sorrow may be, no matter how real the crime might have been, is a clear obvious indication that that person's grief has turned into disobedience or at least led them into disobedience. And so we have to be extremely careful of how something as real and as raw as pain, as a result of something that we brought about in our own lives or somebody has caused in our own lives, we have to be very vigilant of where it takes us. And with the time left actually, no. Next week, we will cover the fact that David here is going to sing a song, write a song and even share the song with the people of God and it is rich. It drips with awesome revelation in so many areas of our lives as believers.

And for now, we give thanks to God for what he has taught us as we've come to his word. Lord, we thank you for what you've taught us in the scriptures. We thank you for this introduction to second Samuel one. Lord, we pray that whatever was spoken would have landed in good soil. And we pray, oh Lord, that it would at least, if there is any consequence of this bible study together, that it would woo our hearts woo our hearts to the person of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we wanna give you all glory and thanks for this family who loves to be in your word. But, Lord, let the word live through us. Let it actually manifest in our words, in our thinking, in our hearts, in our motives, in our dealings with others. Lord, we thank you that your word is for us today. We bless you.

And, Lord, we wanna rejoice in you in song and thanksgiving, for you are the author of this book. And you are the God who speaks, and we've heard your voice tonight. Lord, encourage the faint hearted. Convict the one who is outside of your will. Bind our hearts together in unity.

Help us be the people that you've called us to be. And Lord, with all of that, help us rest in the saving work of Jesus Christ. That Lord, all that we've heard, all the challenges comes from a place of being accepted at the cross and that we are not living holy to be accepted by you. We are not performing so that we can get heaven. Lord, you've paid it all, and we just wanna live a life of gratitude in light of that great news.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Let's stand and worship the Lord together, shall we?