And David lamented with this lamentation
over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (Also he bade them teach the children of
Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) The
beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the
daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised
triumph. Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be
rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is
vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with
oil. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of
Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty. Saul and
Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were
not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. Ye
daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other
delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. How are the mighty
fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high
places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou
been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. How are
the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! (II Sam. 1:17-27).
Q. “Regarding David’s elegy to Saul and
Jonathan in 2 Samuel 1:22-26, surely David wouldn’t say those things
about Saul if Saul was a reprobate? Wouldn’t he rather have rejoiced that a
reprobate wicked man, such as Saul was, had gone? Doesn’t his great sorrow and
sadness over Saul imply that Saul was one of God's elect, though greatly
influenced and ruined by sin throughout his life? ... Even the Holy Spirit
recorded this lament of David in Scripture ... so surely it must mean something
about Saul, from a deeper spiritual point of view ...?”
(I)
David
says nothing about godliness in Saul. He speaks of him as the dead leader in
Israel, the Lord's anointed, his father-in-law and one who had (in his earlier
days) helped David. (AS, 08/11/2020)
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(II)
More
to come! (DV)
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