Mourning the Fallen: Lessons from David’s Respect for Saul
2 Sam 1:25a How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle!
Here, David laments the death of his king. Although others might have expected him to rejoice at the fall of one who had brought him so much pain and misery, David no doubt had been with God during his times of suffering, and had learned the mind of God upon the situation, which is, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:” (Proverbs 24:17).
This was a hard time for David; a time when he should have been fighting battles WITH his king, but instead was running FROM his king. He had on a couple of occasions opportunity to slay King Saul, but refused to touch God’s anointed. This tells us that David understood the anointing, for he knew that if God raised him up, then it would only be God that put him back down.
Although king Saul was “in the wrong”, David knew that it was God’s business to deal with the sins of His anointed servant. What’s so sad about this story is that what could have been a triumph became a tragedy. Where did Saul go wrong? I think here of a couple of verses. 1 Cor 10:12 says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” One who is anointed is never to assume that he is immune to failure; this is a mistake that even the mighty Sampson made, remember?
Also, Pro 16:18 says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Saul’s pride drove him to jealousy, which drove him mad, which drove him to an early grave! Never be jealous of God’s anointing upon someone else; rejoice in their blessings and success, for there’s plenty to go around for all of God’s humble servants!
Perhaps then, the number one killers of mighty men are arrogance, pride, and carelessness. If not, they are definitely towards the top of the list! We are to thank God for every man of God we hear of that has lived out their lives honoring God, and who as a result died with honor! However, we ought also to weep every time we hear of one whose ministry fails because of reasons mentioned above.
Let this be a warning to those of us serving God; we are to take heed, lest we fall into the same snares that we have witnessed or maybe even criticized others for falling into! We are but flesh; therefore, we need God every moment of our lives!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Here, David laments the death of his king. Although others might have expected him to rejoice at the fall of one who had brought him so much pain and misery, David no doubt had been with God during his times of suffering, and had learned the mind of God upon the situation, which is, “Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:” (Proverbs 24:17).
This was a hard time for David; a time when he should have been fighting battles WITH his king, but instead was running FROM his king. He had on a couple of occasions opportunity to slay King Saul, but refused to touch God’s anointed. This tells us that David understood the anointing, for he knew that if God raised him up, then it would only be God that put him back down.
Although king Saul was “in the wrong”, David knew that it was God’s business to deal with the sins of His anointed servant. What’s so sad about this story is that what could have been a triumph became a tragedy. Where did Saul go wrong? I think here of a couple of verses. 1 Cor 10:12 says, “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” One who is anointed is never to assume that he is immune to failure; this is a mistake that even the mighty Sampson made, remember?
Also, Pro 16:18 says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Saul’s pride drove him to jealousy, which drove him mad, which drove him to an early grave! Never be jealous of God’s anointing upon someone else; rejoice in their blessings and success, for there’s plenty to go around for all of God’s humble servants!
Perhaps then, the number one killers of mighty men are arrogance, pride, and carelessness. If not, they are definitely towards the top of the list! We are to thank God for every man of God we hear of that has lived out their lives honoring God, and who as a result died with honor! However, we ought also to weep every time we hear of one whose ministry fails because of reasons mentioned above.
Let this be a warning to those of us serving God; we are to take heed, lest we fall into the same snares that we have witnessed or maybe even criticized others for falling into! We are but flesh; therefore, we need God every moment of our lives!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill