2 Samuel 1:1, 2 Samuel 1:17-27, Psalm 130:1-8, Lamentations 3:22-33, Psalm 30:1-12, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15, Mark 5:21-43.
(A). HOW ARE THE MIGHTY FALLEN!
2 Samuel 1:1, 2 Samuel 1:17-27.
The first verse of the second book of Samuel follows on from the report of the death of King Saul and his three sons at the end of the previous book. They died in a battle against the Philistines in Mount Gilboa (cf. 1 Samuel 31:1-6). At this time David and his men were over one hundred miles south of there, having returned to Ziklag after pursuing and defeating the invading Amalekites, and had abode there two days already (2 SAMUEL 1:1).
On the third day, a young man brought the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan from Mount Gilboa (cf. 2 Samuel 1:2-16). David and his men ‘mourned, and wept, and fasted’ for Saul and Jonathan, and for all who had fallen with them (cf. 2 Samuel 1:12). And David, ‘the sweet Psalmist of Israel’ (cf. 2 Samuel 23:1) spoke forth an impromptu lamentation over Saul and Jonathan (2 SAMUEL 1:17).
The Hebrew of 2 SAMUEL 1:18a tells us that David bade them teach the children of Judah, literally, “the bow.” The interpreters of the King James Version suggest that this should be ‘the use of the bow’ – whereas more modern interpreters (including the New King James Version) prefer ‘the song of the bow.’ Even If we just leave the text as it stands in the Hebrew, ‘The Bow’ could certainly sound like a song title, celebrating “the bow of Jonathan” that “turned not back” (cf. 2 SAMUEL 1:22).
“Behold it is written in the book of Jasher” (2 SAMUEL 1:18b). “Jasher” means ‘Righteous,’ or ‘Upright One.’ This book has been lost to posterity, but it is also mentioned in Joshua 10:13, about the day when the sun stood still until Israel had avenged themselves on their enemies. Both these events are commemorated there, perhaps in song.
Thankfully, a copy of the lamentation is preserved here in Scripture (2 SAMUEL 1:19-27). It is a well-structured poem, with the refrain “How are the mighty fallen” occurring three times (2 SAMUEL 1:19; 2 SAMUEL 1:25; 2 SAMUEL 1:27).
2 SAMUEL 1:19. The “beauty,” or ‘glory’ of Israel is slain, like the untimely death of a ‘gazelle’ (as the word may also mean). “Upon thy high places” - there is something quite tragic in seeing a majestic animal lying dead in his natural habitat (Mount Gilboa, 1700 feet). “How are the mighty fallen!”
There are possibly two varying reactions to this great loss. So, do not tell it in the cities of the Philistines, lest their daughters rejoice (2 SAMUEL 1:20). But tell the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul (cf. 2 SAMUEL 1:24).
There is a kind of imprecation against the very ground where Saul had fallen, where his shield had been cast away as if he (or it) had not been anointed with oil (2 SAMUEL 1:21). Despite his own anointing, David had always insisted upon the validity of the anointing of Saul. But now, at last, would be manifested the transfer of power predicted by the prophet Samuel.
2 SAMUEL 1:22. Saul and Jonathan are both described as great warriors. They shed “the blood of the slain,” and pierced “the fat of the mighty” – in language reminiscent of sacrifice to the LORD. It is here that “the bow” of Jonathan “turned not back,” and “the sword” of Saul “returned not empty.”
2 SAMUEL 1:23. Saul and Jonathan are accorded equal dignity. This is all the more surprising in that Saul had so often sought David’s life, whereas Jonathan (to all intents and purposes the Crown Prince) made every effort to preserve David’s life, interceding with his father, and warning David of Saul’s impending attacks. Yet, in David’s inspired view, he sees them both as “lovely and pleasant in their lives,” and it seems quite appropriate that they were “in their death not divided.” Both were proverbially “swifter than eagles” and “stronger than lions.”
It is not for us to judge those who have passed from this scene of time, but in a eulogy we recall the deceased’s good points. Saul was not always an enemy to David, but in his better moments might have mentored the younger man. It is here that David instructs “the daughters of Israel” to “weep over Saul,” whose military prowess had at least brought some security and economic stability to Israel (2 SAMUEL 1:24).
The second occurrence of the refrain, “How are the mighty fallen” (2 SAMUEL 1:25) explains the circumstances of their deaths: “in the midst of the battle.” David now eulogises Jonathan, who was also slain in the heights of Mount Gilboa along with his father and brothers. David expressed his grief, and described Jonathan’s love as “passing the love of women” (2 SAMUEL 1:26). Significantly, in the Greek Septuagint version of the Old Testament, the word used here for ‘love’ is ‘agape’ - the same word for love as is used of God’s ‘love’ for the world in John 3:16.
With the final occurrence of the refrain, “How are the mighty fallen” (2 SAMUEL 1:27) we are left with a sense of the whole tragedy of war.
(B). WAITING IN HOPE.
Psalm 130:1-8.
This Psalm is a song of ascent: “Out of the depths” (Psalm 130:1). The Latin language captures the intensity of the situation: “De profundis” (from which we have the English word ‘profundity’, meaning ‘a great depth or intensity of state, quality or emotion’). We have all been there, or somewhere like it. The Psalmist spares us the details.
Yet even in the depths - indeed, especially in the depths - the Psalmist does not forget the LORD. And the LORD does not forget him. When we are in the depths, it is to the LORD that we may cry. He has never given up on us, so we need not give up on Him.
The Psalmist’s plaintive plea is that the LORD will hear his voice, and that His ‘ears’ (an obvious anthropomorphism) would be attentive to the voice of his supplication (Psalm 130:2).
It would be a mistake to just take it for granted that somehow the Psalmist’s troubles arose from some specific sin. The sense is, “If you LORD should mark (literally ‘watch over’) iniquities, who would be able to stand? BUT there is forgiveness with you, that you might be revered” (Psalm 130:3-4). The writer is drawing strength from his own sense of past forgiveness. (Incidentally, forgiveness is not just about us: it is about the glory of God.)
Whatever the petition was, the Psalmist is waiting confidently for the answer of the LORD. This is personal: “my soul” waits (Psalm 130:5). It is intense: more intense than the watchman on the wall who could be waiting for news - or, just waiting for the morning so his shift can be completed peacefully (Psalm 130:6). I think of the City Crier, as the sun breaks over the horizon: ‘Six o’clock, and all is well!’
The LORD will answer your prayers, if they are in accordance with His will (1 John 5:14-15). The answer is already on its way (Isaiah 65:24). ‘Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time’ (1 Peter 5:6).
Just as we do not know the details of the writer’s petition, neither are we privy to the answer. However, this does not prevent the Psalmist from encouraging his community - God’s people - to place their hope in the LORD. Israel should know that He is merciful, and they have plenty of experience of His redeeming power (Psalm 130:7).
In His covenant love - the relationship which He has with His people - the LORD shall redeem even backsliding Israel, backsliding Church, backsliding Christians from all their iniquities (Psalm 130:8). Without being presumptuous, it is a done deal. As to those other things which we ask - this too shall come to pass, if it consistent with His will.
(C). HOPE AMID CHASTENING.
Lamentations 3:22-33
“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed” (Lamentations 3:22a). The Hebrew word translated “mercies” is “hesed”, and speaks of God’s steadfast love, His covenant mercy. The fact that “we are not consumed” is based in the unchangeability of God (cf. Malachi 3:6), “because His compassions (they) fail not” (Lamentations 3:22b). This speaks of God’s longsuffering and grace, as in the Name by which He announced Himself as He stood with Moses in Mount Sinai (Exodus 34:5-6).
God’s mercies are such that we are called to their daily recollection: “new every morning” (Lamentations 3:23a). We should raise up our Ebenezer, like Samuel of old, and remind ourselves that ‘Hitherto hath the LORD helped us’ (1 Samuel 7:12), and sing with renewed vigour, “Great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:23b).
I was amazed to discover that this word translated “faithfulness” is actually the Hebrew word “Amen”! It speaks of trustworthiness and is used by Jesus to preface some of His sayings: ‘Verily, verily’, or ‘truly, truly’. What is left in no doubt in Jeremiah’s mind - despite the fall of Jerusalem, Temple, and all - is the utter dependability of God (cf. Hebrews 10:23)!
We have hope in the fact that we can call the LORD “my portion” (Lamentations 3:24; cf. Psalm 73:26). This was originally the prerogative of the Levites (Deuteronomy 10:9), but such a relationship with God is now made possible to all through our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity, after all, is not a religion but a relationship!
Jeremiah came to the same assertion as had Asaph: “the LORD is good” (Lamentations 3:25a; cf. Psalm 73:1). To whom is God good? To those who “wait for Him” (Lamentations 3:25b; cf. James 5:7). In Hebrew, the verb ‘to wait’ shares the same root as the seemingly perished ‘hope’ of Lamentations 3:18. To whom is God good? To “the soul (that) seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25c; cf. Isaiah 55:6).
We hope for the fulness of our salvation. “It is good,” continues Jeremiah, that a man “should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD” (Lamentations 3:26). Your confidence will have a reward (Hebrews 10:35-37), so let us ‘hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:13).
It is good to bear the yoke in our youth, the passage continues (Lamentations 3:27). This sounds almost like a proverb (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:1). The Psalmists knew something about this (Psalm 90:12; Psalm 119:71).
‘Take My yoke upon you,’ says Jesus (Matthew 11:29-30). But the yoke still involves discipline, for ‘whom He loves He chastens’ is the mark of our sonship (Hebrews 12:6-7).
There is a time for silence (Ecclesiastes 3:7; cf. Lamentations 2:10), but also a time for silent solitude (Lamentations 3:28). After all his speechifying, Job at last laid his hand upon his mouth, and bowed to the superior knowledge of God (Job 40:4; Job 42:5-6).
When our heart is burdened, we must learn to stoop low before the LORD. Therein lies our hope (Lamentations 3:29). The prodigal found his deliverance when he was willing to humble himself before his father (Luke 15:18-19).
The righteous person patiently endures affliction (Lamentations 3:30). There are echoes of Job (Job 16:10), and anticipations not only of Jesus’ teachings (Matthew 5:39), but also of His Passion (Isaiah 50:6; Matthew 26:67).
How are we able to bear the chastening of the LORD?
Well, there is comfort in the fact that “the LORD will not cast off for ever” (Lamentations 3:31; cf. Isaiah 54:7).
“Though He cause grief,” we are again referred to His “compassion” and His covenant “mercies” (Lamentations 3:32; cf. Lamentations 3:22).
“He does not afflict willingly.” Literally, ‘it is not from His heart’ (Lamentations 3:33). When the LORD does so act it is, as it were, out of character (Isaiah 28:21). He is ‘not willing that any should perish’ (2 Peter 3:9).
The Lord’s chastening is ‘for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness’ (Hebrews 12:10). So, it is up to us to ‘turn and live’ (Ezekiel 33:11; Ezekiel 18:32).
(D). A JOYFUL TESTIMONY.
Psalm 30:1-12.
The junior members of the drama group were playing the part of carol singers in the musical play Toad of Toad Hall. I can still remember hearing their sweet voices singing just one line: “Joy shall be yours in the morning” (Psalm 30:5). I did not know the Lord then, but for me this is one of many evidences that the Lord was already graciously planting His Word inside me, even in the midst of a rebellious youth.
Like so many of the Psalms, this is a song of reversals. King David is drawing us through the ebbs and flows of the life of faith, through pain and loss - and death itself (Psalm 30:3) – to the place where we can give thanks and praise to the LORD “forever” (Psalm 30:12). There is a strong suggestion of Resurrection: both that of Jesus (Psalm 30:5), and our own (Psalm 30:11).
The initiative is with the LORD throughout (cf. Isaiah 54:7-8). However, that does not excuse us from the life of prayer: in fact, it encourages us to more diligent prayer, and greater faith in prayer (cf. James 5:16). If God has delivered me up to this point, then why should I allow my knees to droop and my hands to hang down (cf. Hebrews 12:12)?
In the midst of his prayer David takes time out to exhort others to join him in praise and thanksgiving (Psalm 30:4). It is with this that the Psalmist begins (Psalm 30:1), and ends (Psalm 30:12). Furthermore, the “And in my prosperity I said…” (Psalm 30:6) also brings in the element of confession, – which is not unlike the ‘But as for me…’ of Psalm 73:2.
The superscription of the Psalm suggests that this was a song from the dedication of the house of David. It reflects a time when David was “secure in his mountain” (Psalm 30:7; cf. 2 Samuel 5:10-12). However, the danger comes when we become self-sufficient and self-reliant, trusting in past experience and present resource rather than in the LORD Himself.
The Psalm itself falls into five parts.
I. David praises the LORD for lifting him up (Psalm 30:1) from the grave, and from the gates of death (Psalm 30:3). This has confounded his enemies (Psalm 30:1), bringing honour to the LORD. In his plight David cried to the LORD his God, and the LORD healed him (Psalm 30:2).
II. David exhorts the congregation to sing praise to the LORD, and to give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name (Psalm 30:4; cf. Psalm 29:2). Although Jesus twice warns us against too simplistic a view about the relationship between sin and suffering (Luke 13:1-5; John 9:1-3), the Psalmist is in no doubt that what he got he deserved: it was God’s anger that did this (Psalm 30:5; cf. Isaiah 38:15). Yet God’s anger is brief, and His favour is life-giving, lifelong, and eternal (Psalm 30:5).
III. David outlines the instance of backsliding that he feels led to this stern chastisement from the LORD. First, he found himself relying upon what God had given, rather than upon the LORD Himself (Psalm 30:6). Secondly, he became presumptuous, mistaking self-sufficiency for trust (Psalm 30:7). Suddenly he lost his sense of the presence of the LORD, and it seemed as if all his props were gone!
IV. Yet David did the right thing: he “cried to the LORD” (Psalm 30:8) and prayed for mercy (Psalm 30:10). In fact, the Psalmist pleaded with the LORD, and argued that it would be against God’s own glory for Him to allow David to go down prematurely to the pit of death (Psalm 30:9; cf. Isaiah 38:18-19). Jesus did, in due time, go into ‘the heart of the earth’ (Matthew 12:40), but He on our behalf prevailed over death, and for those who follow Him, ‘death has lost its sting (1 Corinthians 15:55).
V. Thus we are brought full circle to the praises with which we began. David yet again wonders at the reversal he has experienced (Psalm 30:11), and commits himself anew to a life of praise and thanksgiving (Psalm 30:12).
May we never forget all that the LORD has done for us, and may we never cease to give Him the praise due to His name. Now, and always, and throughout eternity.
(E). THE GRACE OF GIVING.
2 Corinthians 8:7-15.
I. The example of the Macedonians (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).
(1) By the grace of God, the Macedonian churches (Philippi and Thessalonica) had been particularly forward in giving.
(2) Their gift was given out of poverty: like that of the widow with the two small copper coins (Luke 21:2-4).
(3) They gave willingly (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:7).
(4) They gave as an expression of ‘the grace and the fellowship of the service.’ When we give to the poor in other churches, it is an expression of our fellowship in Christ. The Macedonians evidently considered it to be a privilege to give to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem (cf. Romans 15:26).
(5) Free-will offering arises out of a commitment to Christ, His cause, and His people (cf. 1 John 3:14).
II. ‘Incomplete!’ (2 Corinthians 8:6-8).
(6) How many things in our Christian lives, I wonder, have we begun, but not completed? Well, here is Paul the Apostle, looking at the grace begun by Titus among the Corinthians, instructing his protégé now to bring it to completion.
(7) It is not that the Corinthians are without grace: for in that they evidently abounded (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:4-8). “Since you abound in everything,” Paul argues positively, “… see that you abound in this grace also.”
(8) Interestingly, the Apostle does not instruct the relatively rich Corinthians to tithe. There is to be no sense of compulsion in our giving (cf. Acts 5:4). On the contrary, Paul challenged the Corinthians to demonstrate their love by sharing in this grace of giving.
III. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 8:9).
(9) This is the key verse in the passage. The Apostle reminds the Corinthians of what they already know: “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” How that He was “rich” but made Himself “poor” that we through His “poverty” might become “rich”. In fact, Jesus in His pre-incarnate glory was ‘equal with God’ but He ‘emptied Himself, took the form of a bondservant, became man, humbled Himself, was obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross’ (Philippians 2:6-8). As the Corinthians had just been reminded, ‘He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him’ (2 Corinthians 5:21). The pattern of Christ's giving (of Himself) is the paradigm for our (financial) giving.
IV. Paul gives his advice (2 Corinthians 8:10-12).
(10) The Corinthians were enthusiastic at the outset of the project. If there was a queue, they would have been first in it. But now their enthusiasm had abated.
(11) Perhaps the delay in the collection was due to a fear that they would not be able to complete it? Paul will later remind them of their source: the abounding grace of God towards them (2 Corinthians 9:8).
(12) Paul emphasises here that we are not necessarily called to give beyond our means. A gift is acceptable if we first have a willing mind.
V. A willingness to share (2 Corinthians 8:13-15).
(13) Some may have felt that an unreasonable weight of responsibility was being laid upon them. This was not Paul’s intention at all.
(14) Rather, “by an equality” - the equality that we already have with one another in Christ Jesus - we should each be willing to share out of whatever abundance we may have, to help those who lack. With reference to the poor in Jerusalem, Paul elsewhere mentions the spiritual indebtedness of the Gentile churches to the church in Jerusalem (Romans 15:27).
(15) In this, there is a kind of reciprocity. Paul illustrates this with a quotation from the gathering of the manna: “he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack” (Exodus 16:18). This is the divine economy at its absolute best!
(F). TWELVE YEARS OF SUFFERING, AND TWELVE YEARS OF LIFE.
Mark 5:21-43.
In this particular section Mark presents us with a ‘story within a story’ – and, as you might expect with such a literary device, there are both similarities and dissimilarities.
First of all, we have the not unusual picture of Jesus stepping ashore only to be thronged by a crowd (Mark 5:21; Mark 5:24; Mark 5:31). Then, when He finally broke free from the crowd at the house of Jairus, he found another tumultuous crowd and had to eject them from the room (Mark 5:37-38; Mark 5:40).
Second, we see the contrast in status of Jesus’ two petitioners. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue (Mark 5:22). The unnamed woman was ritually unclean (Mark 5:25). The ruler of the synagogue humbled himself, and threw himself down at Jesus’ feet (Mark 5:22); the unnamed woman only did so after she was found out (Mark 5:33).
Third, both showed faith (Mark 5:23; Mark 5:28) - but also had to be encouraged in their faith (Mark 5:33-34; Mark 5:36).
The first mention of “twelve years” refers to the length of time that this poor woman had been suffering (Mark 5:25). It is only after the healing of the unnamed daughter of Jairus that we discover that she was “of the age of twelve years” (Mark 5:42). All that girl’s life, the unknown woman had been suffering: for the one it was too long to suffer; for the other it was too young to die!
I say the woman was ‘poor’ both out of sympathy to her condition, and because she had actually spent all her substance on ineffectual doctors (Mark 5:26). This serves as a contrast to Jesus’ efficacious and holistic healing.
Other points of contrast come between Jesus, who knew that healing power had been resourced from His presence (in whose holy presence alone is perfect healing - Mark 5:30) - and the disciples, who could not quite grasp how it was that He was asking “Who touched me” in the midst of such a throng (Jesus was, like the story, sandwiched by the crowd – Mark 5:31).
The touch was very daring, because - as with the touch of the leper (Mark 1:41) - it theoretically rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean. Yet Jesus is willing to reach out and touch us, or to be touched, whatever our infirmities (cf. Hebrews 4:15). His words to the woman are very reassuring to those of us who hardly dare approach Him (Mark 5:34).
Touching a dead body would also have rendered an ordinary man or woman ceremonially unclean – but Jesus is no ordinary man! The messengers from the ruler’s house had nothing to report but disappointment (Mark 5:35), but when all things seem hopeless, and despair is ready to set in, Jesus is always ready with a word of encouragement (Mark 5:36).
Fear not! Only have faith! In light of the miracle which he had just witnessed, Jairus was no doubt inclined to obey.
Will we listen to the word of the Lord, hear, trust, and obey?
When Jesus, Peter, James, and John arrived at the house, the mourners were inclined to laugh at Jesus’ comment (Mark 5:38-40). “Sleep” is an acceptable Christian euphemism for death (1 Corinthians 15:20). The raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:41-42) reminds us of the raising of two boys by Elijah and Elisha respectively (1 Kings 17:17-23; 2 Kings 4:32-37).
The record of the Aramaic words spoken by Jesus to the young girl have the savour of an eyewitness report (Mark 5:41). And whilst everyone remained in a state of bewilderment (Mark 5:42), it is touching to notice that the busy preacher alone had the presence of mind to instruct that food be given to the child (Mark 5:43).
Jesus has power over disease (Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus has power over death (Acts 2:23-24). Jesus has power over sin (Mark 2:5).
That power is ours for the taking if we will put our trust in Him.
Ask. Reach out. Touch. Believe...
