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4 June 2007
2 Samuel 1 v 1-10
Now Saul was dead. After David had defeated the Amalekites, he returned to Ziklag and stayed there two days. On the third day a young man from Saul's camp came to Ziklag. To show his sadness, his clothes were torn and he had dirt on his head. He came and bowed facedown on the ground before David.
Jesus, teach me to forgive. Teach me to love. Let me experience the deep mystery of loving my enemies, and follow you and your saints along that wonderful path. Amen.David asked him, "Where did you come from?"
The man answered, "I escaped from the Israelite camp."
David asked him, "What happened? Please tell me!"
The man answered, "The people have run away from the battle, and many of them have fallen and are dead. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also."
David asked him, "How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"
The young man answered, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. There I saw Saul leaning on his spear. The Philistine chariots and the men riding in them were coming closer to Saul. When he looked back and saw me, he called to me. I answered him, 'Here I am!'
"Then Saul asked me, 'Who are you?' "I told him, 'I am an Amalekite.'
"Then Saul said to me, 'Please come here and kill me. I am badly hurt and am almost dead already.'
"So I went over and killed him. He had been hurt so badly I knew he couldn't live. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm, and I have brought them here to you, my master."
Well hello there, and welcome to 2 Samuel.
There's an awful lot of history in the first line of today's reading, and it's worth exploring a bit. There's a weird triangle going on here between Saul, David and the Amalekites.
1. Saul was ordered by God in 1 Samuel to destroy the Amalekites.
2. Because he didn't, he was rejected by God, and David anointed as king instead.
3. Later David nearly lost his whole family in an Amalekite raid.
4. David ended up killing nearly all of them, kind of fulfilling God's order to Saul.
5. Saul was finally killed by an Amalekite, but this was to spare him from bring tortured by the Philistines, so it was a mercy to him.
6. That Amalekite was actually grieving Saul's death, despite all their history.
One could say that Saul's sin came back to bite him. On the other hand, maybe it's these blunders that God redeems ... after all, he was spared torture at the hand of the Philistines. Either way, life is complicated, and sometimes the bad things we did or didn't do in the past can be turned into a blessing today, as long as we aren't so blinded by regret to see it.
Think of something you felt God asked you to do that was hard, and for whatever reason you were unable to do. Bring it to God in your heart, and apologise. Ask God to show you how he has brought a mercy out of that for you. If you can't see it, that's ok, maybe there isn't anything. (I bet there is though!)
Written by Laurence Keith
2 Samuel 1 v 1-10
Now Saul was dead. After David had defeated the Amalekites, he returned to Ziklag and stayed there two days. On the third day a young man from Saul's camp came to Ziklag. To show his sadness, his clothes were torn and he had dirt on his head. He came and bowed facedown on the ground before David.
Jesus, teach me to forgive. Teach me to love. Let me experience the deep mystery of loving my enemies, and follow you and your saints along that wonderful path. Amen.David asked him, "Where did you come from?"
The man answered, "I escaped from the Israelite camp."
David asked him, "What happened? Please tell me!"
The man answered, "The people have run away from the battle, and many of them have fallen and are dead. Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also."
David asked him, "How do you know Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?"
The young man answered, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa. There I saw Saul leaning on his spear. The Philistine chariots and the men riding in them were coming closer to Saul. When he looked back and saw me, he called to me. I answered him, 'Here I am!'
"Then Saul asked me, 'Who are you?' "I told him, 'I am an Amalekite.'
"Then Saul said to me, 'Please come here and kill me. I am badly hurt and am almost dead already.'
"So I went over and killed him. He had been hurt so badly I knew he couldn't live. Then I took the crown from his head and the bracelet from his arm, and I have brought them here to you, my master."
Well hello there, and welcome to 2 Samuel.
There's an awful lot of history in the first line of today's reading, and it's worth exploring a bit. There's a weird triangle going on here between Saul, David and the Amalekites.
1. Saul was ordered by God in 1 Samuel to destroy the Amalekites.
2. Because he didn't, he was rejected by God, and David anointed as king instead.
3. Later David nearly lost his whole family in an Amalekite raid.
4. David ended up killing nearly all of them, kind of fulfilling God's order to Saul.
5. Saul was finally killed by an Amalekite, but this was to spare him from bring tortured by the Philistines, so it was a mercy to him.
6. That Amalekite was actually grieving Saul's death, despite all their history.
One could say that Saul's sin came back to bite him. On the other hand, maybe it's these blunders that God redeems ... after all, he was spared torture at the hand of the Philistines. Either way, life is complicated, and sometimes the bad things we did or didn't do in the past can be turned into a blessing today, as long as we aren't so blinded by regret to see it.
Think of something you felt God asked you to do that was hard, and for whatever reason you were unable to do. Bring it to God in your heart, and apologise. Ask God to show you how he has brought a mercy out of that for you. If you can't see it, that's ok, maybe there isn't anything. (I bet there is though!)
Written by Laurence Keith
