A Journey Through The Old Testament - Elmer Towns

On the death of Saul, David was the king designated by God. But as is often the case,
there was a period of confusion in Israel following the death of Saul. David was living in the
country which had defeated Israel and killed Saul. Therefore, he was not immediately accepted
as king. One of the sons of Saul, Ishbosheth, was able to secure enough support to establish a
rival reign as king over the northern tribes of Israel for seven and a half years.
David had only been back in Ziklag a few days when he heard of the deaths of Saul and
his dear friend Jonathan. David was approached by a young man with torn clothes and dust on
his head. When the man saw David, he fell on his face before him and “prostrated himself’ (2
Sam. 1: 2). When asked where he had come from, the man responded, “I have escaped from the
camp of Israel” (v. 3).
Even though David was living in the land of the enemy and under their protection, he still
had a deep love for his people Israel and realized he would someday rule over them. But his own
problems with the Amalekites had kept him occupied during the most recent Israel-Philistia
conflict and he had not yet heard from his usual sources how the battle had gone. It was,
therefore, only natural that he should ask this young soldier how the battle had gone.
As David listened to the young messenger, he heard how Israel had fled in the midst of
the battle, resulting in the loss of many lives including both Saul and Jonathan. He was not prepared
to accept the deaths of his king and his friend on the basis of one man’s unsubstantiated
testimony; so he began to probe further, asking the messenger how he could be certain the king
and his son Jonathan were in fact dead.
The messenger told David an “eyewitness” account of the death of Saul and presented the
crown and bracelet of Saul as proof of the king’s death. In the process of telling the story, the
messenger made several claims. First, he identified himself as an Amalekite, a surviving member
of the tribe Saul had been commanded by God to destroy fourteen years earlier. Second, he
claimed Saul had unsuccessfully tried to take his own life by leaning on his spear. He further
claimed Saul had asked him for help, requesting the Amalekite kill him. Finally, he admitted to
killing Saul and removing the king’s crown and bracelet to bring them to David.
The testimony of the Amalekite appears to conflict with another account of the death of
Saul, and this has created problems for some interpreters of Scripture. The two accounts can be
harmonized in either one of two ways. First, some scholars argue Saul did try to commit suicide
but failed. His armor bearer did not realize Saul had failed and responded by successfully taking
his own life. Later, as Saul groaned in pain dying from both the fatal wounds of the archers and
his own attempted suicide, he saw the Amalekite and had him finish the job. A second view of
some scholars argues the Amalekite found the body of Saul after the battle and took the crown
and bracelet to David. The story about killing Saul was created by the Amalekite in hopes of -
impressing David and receiving a reward. Those who hold this second view note it is highly
unlikely an Amalekite would be fighting in the army of Israel, especially in light of the fact they
were engaged in their own battle against Ziklag at the time.
David and his men responded in mourning for the loss of Israel. “And they mourned, and
wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord, and
for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword” (v. 12). Then David responded to
the Amalekite’s own claim of responsibility by sentencing and executing the man for destroying
the Lord’s anointed. David himself had had opportunity to take the life of Saul, but had refused
because God had anointed Saul king of Israel. It is interesting to note David’s observation, “Your
blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against thee, saying, `I have killed