Occasionally the narrative of the historical books is interrupted by a few lines of poetry. This interjection is often upbeat, celebrating a victory or recording the appreciation given for favors received from God (Ex. 15:1-21; Luke 1:46-55), although it can also be a pouring out of’ sorrow, as in the case of our present study (II Sam. 1:19-27).
Biblical poetry is based on fact yet often contains prophetic elements (Gen. 49:2-27). It can express the longings of the human heart and makes appeal to the emotions. Further, it can have that unique element contained only in scripture of revealing God’s mind and of revealing future events (Jdg. 5:28-30).
David’s lament
The poem found in the first chapter of II Samuel was written by David as he lamented Saul and Jonathan (II Sam. 1:17). The prose preceding the lament shows David dealing harshly with the Amalekite that claimed to have killed Saul (vv. 1-16). This prepares the reader for David’s positive presentation of Saul in the poem. We also find the puzzling statement: “Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher” (II Sam. 1:18). Since the book of Jasher is no longer extant, any helpful link between the instruction “teach the children of Judah the use of the bow” and this poetry has been lost. Knowing Saul’s death at Gilboa began with an arrow wound (I Sam. 31:3) links the poem to archers and their bows and perhaps encourages defense against this form of attack.
The lament for Saul
David and Jonathan were soul mates, so it is easy to appreciate David expressing his sorrow over Jonathan’s death. His love for Saul is more difficult to explain humanly speaking although it is both Christ-like and in keeping with David’s behavior (Matt. 5:44). In spite of having opportunities to take revenge on Saul, David did not do so (II Sam. 24:4-6; 26:12). In the poem, David speaks only of Saul in a positive manner because David fully appreciated that God anointed Saul to be king (II Sam. 15:1).
The women had sung, “Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (I Sam. 18:7) but David didn’t let the praise go to his head. Rather, he retained his respect for Saul and Jonathan, seeing them as mighty warriors (II Sam. 1:19,21,22,25,27). While Saul was displeased with the women’s song, David knew the victory was God’s and not his own. Like the authors of the song that praised David, he used superlatives to describe Saul and Jonathan: “Swifter than eagles… stronger than lions” (II Sam. 1:23).
The agony of defeat
David agonized that God’s people had met defeat at the hand of their enemies and expresses this as a plea that the news of Israel’s defeat should not be published in Gath or Askelon (that is, Philistia – compare Dan to Beersheba for Israel, I Sam. 3:20). The prophet Micah echoed a similar plea, while knowing in advance Israel would suffer defeat (Mic. 1:10). Of course, even as David spoke the Philistines were rejoicing (I Sam. 31:9), so David’s plea is a poetic expression of his deep grief.
Knowing his plea was futile, David cursed the battlefield where Saul and Jonathan had fallen: “Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings” (II Sam. 1:21). In Old Testament times, curses were a common expression of deep feelings, but under Christ, they are forbidden (James 3:10).
Praise for mighty warriors
David then recalled the bravery of these military heroes: “The bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty” (II Sam. 1:22).
Jonathan’s courage and reliance on God is well illustrated by his first attack on the Philistines: “Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few” (I Sam. 14:6). Read further to discover that he didn’t turn back until he and his armor bearer had slain about 20 Philistines (I Sam. 14:14).
Saul’s victories are nicely summarized thus: “So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed them” (I Sam. 14:47). Clearly, “the sword of Saul did not return empty.”
The closeness of Saul and Jonathan
“Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided…” (II Sam. 1:23). David’s comments about Saul and Jonathan’s private life at first seem extreme, yet there was a close communion between Saul and Jonathan: “Behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will show it me” (II Sam. 20:2).
Jonathan was undeniably the more pleasant of the two. Saul was not always happy with his son (I Sam. 20:33) yet Jonathan always tried to stay on good terms with his father. The fact that the kingdom was to be given to David, not Jonathan, accounts for much of Saul’s negative attitude.
Saul brought some prosperity to Israel
David mentioned the prosperity Saul had brought to the land of Israel and instructs its daughters to “weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel” (II Sam. 1:24). David is contrasting Saul’s day to the times of the judges when the land was even more troubled and less prosperous. Each victory over Israel’s enemies gave Saul an opportunity to be generous with the spoils.
His great love for Jonathan
Finally, David singled out Jonathan for special attention: “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” (v. 26).
Given today’s climate of immoral relationships, readers are sometimes disturbed with the way David described his affection for Jonathan. Their difficulty over David’s poetic expression may be a result of the way love is commonly used today (referring to sex). It helps to note that David prefixed this remark with “very pleasant hath thou (Jonathan) been unto me,” a phrase that describes the friendship of David and Jonathan. Consideration of the Biblical prohibition (Lev. 18:22) and the public nature of David’s lament, the poetic expression obviously has an innocent meaning. The affection between David and Jonathan was very deep, however, as each had made a covenant with the other and, as would a loving spouse, Jonathan had strengthened David’s hand in God (I Sam. 18:3; 20:17; 23:16).
The song closes with these words: “How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished” (II Sam. 1:27). The weapons David referred to are obviously Saul and Jonathan. Now that they were dead, David was ready to accept the rule over God’s kingdom. There was opposition, but David continued to treat Jonathan’s family well. We conclude that what David says in his song is not extravagant, but is a true reflection of his love for this royal father and son.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One