2 Samuel

2 Samuel 1: Even the mighty fall

Begin in prayer

Before we hear David’s sorrow over Saul and Jonathan, let us come to the Lord together. Ask Him to help us honour the king He chose, to face death honestly, and to look to Jesus, who has conquered death.

For in death there is no memory of you. In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?

Psalm 6:5

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us that David mourned the king You chose, and show us Jesus, the greater King, who has conquered death. Help us to stop trusting our own strength. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

David has come back from defeating the Amalekites, and he stays two days in Ziklag. On the third day a young Amalekite arrives from Saul’s camp with torn clothes and dust on his head. He says the army has fled. He claims that he killed Saul, who was leaning on his spear. He brings David the crown and the bracelet. David and his men tear their clothes and weep until evening, and David orders the man put to death. Then David sings a lament over Saul and Jonathan, crying, “How the mighty have fallen!”

As you read 2 Samuel 1, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

David mourns the king the LORD chose, and Jesus, the greater King, has conquered death.

This chapter begins just after Saul and Jonathan die in battle on Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31). An Amalekite brings David the crown and says he killed the wounded king at Saul’s own request (verses 8 to 10). In 1 Samuel 31 Saul fell on his own sword, so the man’s story does not match (1 Samuel 31 verse 4). David had twice refused to harm Saul, because Saul was the LORD’s anointed (1 Samuel 24 verse 6). So he asks the man why he was not afraid to stretch out his hand against the king (verse 14). David judges the man by his own mouth, and then he mourns the king who had hunted him (verses 11 to 16). His lament praises Saul and Jonathan and calls Jonathan his brother (verses 19 to 27). Their strength was real, yet no bow or sword kept death away. Jesus, the greater Son of David, is the King whom death could not hold (Acts 2 verse 24).

How does 2 Samuel 1 show us that David mourns the king the LORD chose, and that Jesus, the greater King, has conquered death?

David and his men grieve for the fallen.

David and his men tear their clothes, weep and fast until evening (verses 11 and 12). They mourn for Saul, for Jonathan, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel. Tearing clothes and fasting were ways to show grief in that land. David’s grief was honest and shared, and a family can bring its own grief to the LORD in prayer.

David will not let a man claim that he killed God’s anointed king.

The Amalekite says he killed Saul and brought the crown and the bracelet (verses 10 and 13). David asks why he was not afraid to stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed (verse 14). Saul was the king the LORD chose, even though he had been David’s enemy. David honours that king, and he does not excuse the man who claims to have killed him (verse 16).

Strong men fall in death, but Jesus has conquered it.

David sings that Saul and Jonathan were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions (verse 23). Yet both fell on the high places, and their strength could not keep them alive (verse 25). Death comes to the strong as well as the weak. God raised up Jesus, the greater Son of David, and freed Him from the agony of death (Acts 2 verse 24).

Memorise

Your glory, Israel, was slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen!

2 Samuel 1:19

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what do I lean on, and where have I placed my hope?

David cries, “How the mighty have fallen!” Saul was the king the LORD chose, and Jonathan was his brave son. Yet death took them both on the mountains of Gilboa, and only Jesus, the greater King, has beaten death.

No strength can keep death away from the strongest man. Jesus went into death for His people, and He carried their sin to the cross. He gave Himself once for all, and He was buried. God raised Him to life, and now He holds the keys of death.

So come to Him. Turn from your sin and trust Jesus. Everyone who trusts Him has life that death cannot take away, and God forgives them.

Parent's note

Tell your children that David mourned the king the LORD chose, and that Jesus has conquered death. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that Jesus, the greater King, has conquered death, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

Psalm 16:10

Lord God, thank You for Jesus, the greater King, who has conquered death. Draw each person here to turn from sin and trust Jesus. Help us to live this week with our hope in Him, and to bring our heart question to You. Amen.