For the last few weeks we’ve been following the accounts of the period of time between the Judges and the early Kings of Israel. These accounts are found in the books of First and Second Samuel—and primarily detail the life of Samuel, the rise and fall of King Saul, and the choice of his replacement, King David.
You may recall that King Saul was rejected by God as the King because he failed to obey God in regards to completely destroying the Amelikites. Instead of destroying everything as he was commanded, Saul and his armies kept the best of the flocks and herds. On that day, Saul received word from Samuel that God had rejected him as king of Israel, and that another would be chosen.
We know that the shepherd boy David was chosen, not because of his height, his strength, or his good looks—but because he was a man after God’s own heart. Last week we learned about how David defeated Goliath—not through swords, spears, or javelins, but through the Name of the Lord.
During the time after Goliath’s defeat, chapters 18-31 of First Samuel tells us more about David’s rise to popularity, as well as Saul’s steady decline. We learn of Saul’s increased jealousy and his obsession with pursuing David through the wilderness so he could kill him.
While David is running for his life, he manages to protect the Israelites, go to battle against the Philistines, and destroy the Amalekites. Twice during his wilderness campaigns, he is given opportunity to kill Saul, but refuses to do so. Once, he cuts off a corner of Saul’s robe as evidence that he could have killed him. The second time he takes a spear from the King while he is sleeping. Both times, his men and advisors encourage him to kill Saul while he has the chance, but he reminds them that Saul is the Lord’s anointed. In First Samuel chapter 26, verse 10, David says to his men, “As surely as the Lord lives, the Lord himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed.”
In First Samuel 31, we read the account of the end of Saul’s life. As it became apparent that the Philistines were going to win the battle against the Israelites, Saul instructed his armor-bearer to kill him before the Philistines would have the chance to torture him. The unnamed armor-bearer was unwilling to do this, so Saul attempted to take his own life. Once the armor-bearer saw this, he then killed himself as well.
So reads the account of First Samuel 31. When the Israelites learned of this, they recovered the bodies of Saul and his sons and gave them a proper burial and fasted for seven days.
It would appear that, while Saul and his men were fighting the Philistines and being soundly defeated, David was with his armies fighting the Amalekites, whom he destroyed—except for four-hundred Amalekites who escaped on camel. It’s not until after David returns from his battle that he hears about the outcome of Saul’s battle against the Philistines. We find that account in Second Samuel chapter 1:
[Read 2 Samuel 1:1-27]
If you take time to carefully read First Samuel 30 and 31, and Second Samuel chapter 1, you may find yourself unsure of what actually took place there on the top of Mount Gilboa. What makes it particularly difficult is that we don’t know much about this Amalekite in chapter 1. Can we trust him? Is he telling the truth? Where did he come from? And does he have any motives? According to First Samuel 31, Saul kills himself by falling on his own sword. But according to the Amalekite, he happens across Saul, not quite dead—but certainly not fully alive. The Amalekite presents himself in what he believes to be the best possible light—showing mercy to King Saul by finishing his suicide attempt—and at the same time recovering the crown and bracelet for David—who (by the way) had just destroyed all of the nation of Amalek save four hundred young men.
Should the two accounts be reconciled? Some scholars think so—they envision a scene where Saul tries to kill himself, his armor-bearer believes he succeeded and promptly follows suit. The Amalekite comes upon them and Saul cries out to him, asking him to complete the job. If this is true, then we take the Amalekite at face-value, the son of a legal alien within the camp of Israel, possibly living with Saul and his armies, and fighting alongside them.
Others believe that the accounts are primarily reconciled by declaring the Amalekite to be a lying scoundrel. They picture him wandering through the battlefield, scavenging for weapons, armor, or other treasures, and he happens to come across King Saul and his armor-bearer before the Philistines find them. Maybe this Amalekite was one of the four-hundred who escaped David’s attack. He finds the dead king, takes his crown and bracelet, and concocts a story that paints him as the hero—both by showing mercy to Saul, and handing the throne to the new king. Maybe he’s trying to earn favor with King David—perhaps he wants to secure safety for his three-hundred and ninety-nine friends who escaped with him. Maybe King David will give him a place of honor in the kingdom of Israel.
I’m not entirely sure that it matters. I don’t think that scripture is entirely clear on whether the Amalekite and his account should be trusted or not. However, one thing is made quite clear—and that is David’s response to the news of Saul’s death. David takes the Amalekite at face value, believes him to have done what David himself could have done on two separate occasions, and killed the Lord’s anointed. David has this man executed on the spot, and proceeds to grieve for Saul.
We learn something about the character of David that shows us something about the character of God. While David was good friends with Jonathan, his relationship with Saul could be described as adversarial, or even simply as enemies. David was to replace Saul on the throne, and replace his dynasty. Saul probably made the assumption that David was plotting to assassinate him, in order to take the throne earlier. When we look at it from that perspective, it’s no wonder that Saul went on the offensive and tried to eliminate David first.
And yet, we know that two times David had opportunity to kill Saul…and two times he did not because it would have been wrong to touch the “Lord’s Anointed.” While Saul may have viewed David as an enemy or a threat, David continued to act as a subject to the king, serving in his court and defending his honor. David continued to defend Saul even in his death—by executing the one who claimed to have struck the final blow.
How do you treat your enemies? How do you think about those who consider you to be an enemy? Given the opportunity, would you strike out at your enemy? Or would you defend them at all costs? David’s treatment of Saul gives us a foretaste of the teaching that Jesus would offer many years later in the Sermon on the Mount:
[Read Matthew 5:43-48]
To follow God is to go beyond what is good and easy to do. It’s easy to greet your brothers and smile at your friends. But you are called upon to love your enemy, and pray for those that persecute you—even as David continued to serve King Saul until his dying day.
I think we learn something else from this narrative—something about the importance of life. In a world where abortions are available to anyone for any reason, we need to learn this lesson. In a world where physician assisted suicides are probably more common than we care to admit—we need to learn this lesson. In a world where we are tempted to play with life and death as though they were trivial matters, we need to be reminded that these decisions are not unimportant—rather they really are matters of life and death. Life is a sacred gift from God, and even though we have the medical ability to make decisions of life and death, we must always be careful to reflect upon the fact that God is the author of life, and that He has a plan for our life. All people are loved and valued by God—from the unborn child to the oldest senior adult.
And yet, our belief in the sanctity of life does not simply end with a discussion on abortion, infanticide, or euthanasia. The importance of life goes beyond the moral and ethical discussions of what the medical community can do versus what should be done. If we say that we believe in the sanctity of life, we must also recognize that it is our responsibility to be good stewards over that gift of life—making every moment count for the Kingdom of God.
In our Thursday night book club we are reading Jan Karon’s book, At Home in Mitford, the first of a series of books about Father Tim, a small town Episcopalian rector, and his parish. This past week, we were introduced to Olivia Davenport, a beautiful young widow who had recently moved back to the town of Mitford. One Sunday after church, she scheduled an appointment with Father Tim, and when she arrived in his office the following morning, she sat down and simply announced, “Father Tim, I’m dying.”
[“He could only trust that his face didn’t convey the shock he felt.”
“I’m asking you to help me find something to make the rest of my life worth living. Mother left me her winter and summer homes, and I have considerable property of my own. That means I could spend these last months being quite idle and carefree, and, believe me, that’s tempting. But I did not come to Mitford to join the club and sit by the pool. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s absolutely wrong for me. I came to Mitford to do something that will make a difference….”]
After some discussion, Father Tim suggests that she might visit the patients in the hospital every day, offering to read scripture to them. [“In the space of precisely seven minutes, which he reckoned to be the full length of her visit, he had been told a terrible truth, discovered an answer to prayer, helped someone find a ministry, and been unutterably refreshed in his own spirit. Perhaps, he thought, we should all live as if we’re dying.”] (At Home in Mitford, Jan Karon)
I’ve pondered that last phrase quite a bit this week—“perhaps we should all live as if we’re dying.” If you knew how much time you had left, you might choose to live life differently. You would make sure your affairs were in order, and your loved ones were provided for. You’d want to mend any bridges that had been destroyed—release grudges that had been held. And you’d want to do something with those last few months that would make a difference in the world.
Why? Because life is important. It is a valuable gift from God. Because our belief in the sanctity of life goes beyond our choices about when life begins and when life ends. Oh—I believe those issues are vitally important to our culture today—but isn’t it equally (if not more) important to consider how we live the life that we’ve been given?
This morning, I want to leave you with the words of a song by Chris Rice-
Everyday is a bank account
And time is our currency
So no one’s rich, nobody’s poor
We get twenty-four hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who’s under
Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
Somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
(Chris Rice, "Life Means So Much," from "Smell the Color 9")
(Listen to this sermon online @ http://www.capenazarene.org/ftp/sermonaudio/cecn_070906_life.mp3)
