Transition

Transition

2 Samuel 1:1-16

¹After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. ²And on the third day, behold, a man came from Saul’s camp, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head. And when he came to David, he fell to the ground and paid homage.

³David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”

⁴And David said to him, “How did it go? Tell me.” And he answered, “The people fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead, and Saul and his son Jonathan are also dead.”

⁵Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?”

⁶And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and there was Saul leaning on his spear, and behold, the chariots and the horsemen were close upon him.

⁷And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’

⁸And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’

⁹And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’

¹⁰So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the armlet that was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

¹¹Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.

¹²And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

¹³And David said to the young man who told him, “Where do you come from?” And he answered, “I am the son of a sojourner, an Amalekite.”

¹⁴David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?”

¹⁵Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died.

¹⁶And David said to him, “Your blood be on your head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed.’ ”

There are days in our personal lives and in our corporate lives as a nation when everything changes. Events take place where a not so subtle shift is felt by everyone. We all know that things will not be the same anymore. A transition is going to happen whether you want it or not. That is what the nation of Israel faced upon the death of King Saul. Nothing was ever going to be the same again. Saul is gone and David will now be king.

As you can tell, the flow from chapter 31 of 1 Samuel into chapter 1 of 2 Samuel is seamless. The story simply continues. Most biblical scholars believe that 1^st and 2^nd Samuel were originally just one long book. The break between the reigns of Saul and David was probably made during the translation of the Old Testament Hebrew into Greek known as the Septuagint. (The translation process was undertaken in stages between the 3rd century BC and the 1st century AD. It reached completion before 132 BCE.) If you read 1 Samuel 31 yesterday, you might have noticed that the story told of Saul’s death in 1 Samuel 31 and the story told to David by the Amalekite are not quite the same. There are inconsistencies. Where does the truth lie? There is some speculation among biblical scholars about these differences in the two stories, with most of the experts declaring that the Amalekite was probably lying about his role in the death of Saul. At most, he probably came upon the dead body of Saul and stole the 2 most valuable items. He presents David with Saul’s “crown” which was probably a gold halo around Saul’s helmet, and a gold arm band. David certainly would have recognized these items as belonging to Saul as he had spent a great deal of time with Saul at court. The Amalekite’s mistake was in claiming to have killed Saul. This was a major offense to David who guarded Saul’s life on numerous occasions. While trying to impress David with his helpfulness this man sealed his own fate by labeling himself as Saul’s murderer. David’s integrity shows yet again. If it wasn’t okay for him to kill Saul, neither is it okay for this stranger to do so.

The news of Saul’s death travels quickly through the land. The people know that they are now in a time of transition. We’ve all been there. Standing upon the point of change. Where do we turn in those moments? How do we know where to go? The answer is always the same – Jesus. Seems kind of simplistic, but it is nonetheless true. When those times of change are upon us, in order to remain inside of God’s will, we need to consult with Him. What is the point of going our own way and then asking God if it is right? Maybe a better plan would be to seek His face first and then follow where He leads. Transitions can be frightening but they can also be times of tremendous growth and excitement.

Now we head into our study of 2 Samuel. If you have been hanging in there, you have read the entire book of 1 Samuel! That’s pretty cool. The story of the reign of King David is filled with intrigue, interesting people, and the hand of God. It’s another great read and the adventure continues!