KEY SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 1:12. And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.

When David heard about the death of King Saul and Jonathan, he rent his clothes, mourned, wept, and fasted till evening for Saul and Jonathan.

Please note Saul had pursued David out of the land of Israel and caused him to stay in the Land of the Philistines, yet he did not “pop champagne” but burst into tears and wept for him. The man who claimed he killed Saul, although that was not true, rather he was seeking for David’s commendation to him for killing his enemy, David said, “How were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed? (2 Samuel 1:14)

He asked that this man must die for his utterances. Be careful about what you say. It could lead you to big trouble. Why could David not be taken over with anger and vengeance for Saul? Many people would have jubilated on hearing of Saul’s death. David did not relate to people according to who they were or what they did, but what God’s word said about them. David had a great reverence for God and what God approves. To h, m God had approved and anointed Saul to be king, and no one had any right to attack him.

I believe we must all apply this principle to do everything in this life. We must respond to people not according to what they do or who they are but what God’s word says we must do to them. He said, Do unto others as you want others to do unto you. He never said Do unto others as they do unto you. Many marriages would have been saved if they had worked with this principle. What we see in most homes is that couples play by tooth for tooth. This is the very thing the Lord asked us not to do. Wife, the Lord instructs you to be submissive to your own husband. Eph. 5:22

If your husband is not the loving man that you would like.  The Lord says submit to him. Your submission must only be in obedience to the Lord. If the wife does not respect her husband, the man must likewise love his wife irrespective of the fact that she does not respect him. That is God’s instruction. There can never be any marriage that would run into deep marital stress if couples live by this rule. David rendered to Saul what God would want him to do. Because David lived by this rule, the Lord made sure that David had a very successful reign.

He crowned his successor king in his lifetime before he died. Faithfulness to God pays.

    CONFESSION

I am committed to honouring God’s word all the days of my life. I do not live by what people do, but by what God says I must do for them.

Further Studies:

2 Samuel 1:19. The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

2 Samuel 1:23” Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death, they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.