AT A GLANCE

Can appearances be deceiving—even in matters of faith? In this message from 2 Samuel 1:1–16, we examine the striking contrast between David and the Amalekite who brought him Saul’s crown. One sought to gain reward through deception, while the other patiently waited for God to fulfill His promises. Along the way, we discover that the God who sees every hidden motive is also the God who offers abundant grace to all who step into the light through Jesus Christ.

LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING

We’ve all known people who looked impressive on the outside but turned out to be someone entirely different. Sometimes they’re public figures. Sometimes they’re people we trusted. Sometimes, if we’re honest, we’ve been tempted to project an image of ourselves that isn’t quite real.

The question isn’t whether we can fool other people for a while. The question is whether we can fool God. As we open 2 Samuel for the first time in our study of the life of David, we’re introduced to a man who arrives carrying a king’s crown and what seems to be a remarkable story. 

He believes he’s about to be rewarded for his cleverness. Instead, his encounter with David becomes a sobering reminder that while people judge by appearances, God sees the heart. This passage calls each of us to ask a searching question: Am I walking in the light, or am I simply trying to look like I am?

EXPOSITION

Twin Falls Verse 1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. 

This one verse perfectly sums up the legacy of these two kings. While David was striking down the Amalekites, Saul was being struck by the Philistines. 

This was not just a transitional statement. It was a typical Old Testament rhetorical device to indicate a significant moment in the history of Israel. We see this with the death of Moses and the death of Joshua and now Saul. With the death of the leader, the fate of the people is up in the air. Will they continue in the ways of their former leader? Will they walk in faith? Will they rebound?  

Verse 2 And 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. 

The description of the man would have immediately signaled to an ancient audience that this man was wearing the traditional apparel of one in mourning. 

Verses 3-5 David said to him, “Where do you come from?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” ⁴ And 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.” ⁵ Then David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 

This is serious intel so David seeks validation. The reader knew this was coming in chapter 28. We’ve been anticipating this for some time now. But David left Aphek with no clue how it would go between the Philistines and Israel. He had no reason to believe Saul would not come out victorious. 

WE KNOW WHAT DAVID DID NOT

The reader has to be mindful of the fact that we know how the story ends and remember that David was getting this information in real time. His world was about to change drastically. He’s been on the run for years, fighting for his life. 

\Facing trouble from his adoptive father, King Saul, from fellow Judahites, Nabal, Achish, Philistine commanders, Amalekite raiders, and from his own men. He’s lost his spiritual father, Samuel. He occasioned the death of the entire priestly village of Nob. 

His wives were kidnapped and had to be rescued. He’s lived in caves. He’s killed cities and pillaged them. He’s likely suffered from identity issues, fatigue, grief, terror, & shame. We could rightly describe him as a deeply traumatized man.

And now the man responsible for nearly all of that is dead, along with his best friend. This was the pivotal moment for David.  

Verses 6-10 And 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. ⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁸ And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ ⁹ And he said to me, ‘Stand beside me and kill me, for anguish has seized me, and yet my life still lingers.’ ¹⁰ So 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.”

This story contradicts what the author told us in chapter 31:4, which says Saul took his own sword and fell on it and died. While our bible has first and second Samuel divided, it was originally just one book with one author. It is unlikely that the author contradicted himself from one chapter to the next. Therefore, we’ve got to figure out another reason for the contradiction.

LIES I TELL YOU! ALL LIES!

I don’t think it’s hard to decipher, though. You’ve got a sojourner, a foreigner trying to live in Israel, who “happened” to be on Mount Gilboa the day Saul died. Who goes about a battlefield that’s not involved in the fight? Looters. People trying to get something from dead bodies. It’s a dangerous task, but clearly has its paydays. 

Now this sojourner strikes gold as he happens upon the bodies of Saul and Jonathan. He claims that chariots were upon Saul, insinuating a sense of urgency to put Saul out of his misery. But the narrator says the Philistines didn’t strip Saul’s body until the next day. If they were so close that they were upon him, they’d not have waited until the next day to do what they did. 

Here’s what I believe happened. The Amalekite was scavenging the battlefield collecting whatever he could find when he hit the motherlode – Saul’s dead body. Then, so as not to come across as a grubby looter, he concocts a story that has him simultaneously putting an end to David’s nemesis while skirting the line of treason. 

I think he worded the story in such a way as to endear David to him without running the risk of being found guilty of murdering the king. He tore his clothes and put dirt on his head to pretend to be in mourning and presented himself as a weary, grieving innocent and loyal subject who simply put the king out of his misery. 

No doubt he expected a hefty reward for coming straight to David with the crown.  

DIVINE COMMEDY?

I concur with Peter Leithart, who sees something really intriguing in this story. He sees this as the third and ultimate time the Lord used Amalekites to deliver the kingdom to David. 

“This was the third time Amalekites helped bring the Kingdom over to David: Because of Saul’s sin with the Amalekites, Saul lost the kingdom; David’s victory over the Amalekites was the last of his battles before becoming king; and the Amalekite brought Saul’s crown to David.” 

Saul loses the kingdom because of Amalekites. 

David secures the kingdom defeating Amalekites. 

An Amalekite literally brings David the crown.

I marvel at the Lord! I wonder if He chuckles a little every time people discover little nuances like these. Like, “Yeah, I did that.” It’s just so like Him to move even people who hate Him and achieve His purposes through them. Once again, we’re reminded who was really in control in this story, and it’s not David. 

SURPRISING GRIEF

Verses 11-12 Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. ¹² And 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. 

This is somewhat surprising to me. Not only did David mourn for Jonathan, which I could understand. But David and his men all mourned for Saul, too. Saul had made their lives a living nightmare for the last several years. And how he’s dead and the guys have a hard time with it. That’s just surprising to me. But it does convey David’s integrity. 

He wasn’t trying to ascend to the throne. He didn’t cause it, nor did he rejoice in Saul’s and Jonathan’s deaths. Again, this story was likely circulated to help heal a divided nation and bring Israel under the reign of King David who demonstrated sincere grief and respect for the deceased king and his lineage. 

RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

Verse 13 And 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.” 

It is just now that we learn the man is a foreigner, an Amalekite. His people, who had recently raided Ziklag and surrounding areas and taken David’s wives captive, had just been decimated by David and his army. Perhaps thousands of them wiped off the face of the earth in David’s total victory. 

Here’s one more who would take with his own hands spoil from the land of Israel. But he made a critical mistake in believing David was cunning and shady like him.  

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

Recall from chapter 31, the armor bearer refused to take Saul’s life for he feared greatly. He feared the Lord, not Saul. He knew that the Lord’s anointed king was not to be touched, even when the king asked him to kill him himself. This man had no excuse. He was a resident alien in Israel and would have known that Saul was the king, the Lord’s anointed. 

So while David knew nothing about the armor-bearer, we do. And we know that David, given the opportunity to strike Saul, twice, refused, twice. So we’re left with this impression: the foreigner of the people who raided Ziklag has no regard for the life of the Lord’s anointed. 

Unlike both David and the armor-bearer, the life of the king meant nothing to this foreigner. Now, I do not believe he actually took the life of Saul. But he lied about taking it. He thought his story would win him points with David. Critical mistake.

A TALE OF TWO MEN

Verses 15-16 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go, execute him.” And he struck him down so that he died. ¹⁶ And 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.’”

A tale of two men. One takes what was not his and creates a story to make him appear like someone he is not. The other refuses to take what does not belong to him and is given what the other had. 

This story is full of irony. 

The Amalekite strips the slain Saul of his crown at about the same time as David slays the Amalekites and retrieves what was taken from him.  

The Amalekite brings David the crown and boasts of something he didn’t do to promote himself as a selfless servant of the kingdom. He is exposed in his lie and suffers the fatal consequences of his purported actions.  

The Amalekite capitalizes on tragedy and tries to use the crown for his own gain.

David mourns the tragedy even though through it, the Lord delivered to him the throne with the crown.  

EXPOSED IN THE LIGHT

I so appreciate Dale Davis’ insight when he says, “On the first page of another biblical book, we run straight into the God who exposes us, who ‘delights in truth in the inward parts.’ Psalm 51:6…who ‘sets our secret sins in the light of His presence,’ Psalm 90:8.” 

He concludes, “What you see in 2 Samuel 1 in the Amalekite’s case is a preview of what will be true for all at the last day.” He then cites Romans 2:16, “on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” 

One must be careful if he thinks he has evaded the exposure of man. God sees all and knows all and will expose all. Afterall, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Hebrews 4:13

SHOULD WE BE FRIGHTENED?

The question becomes, should this frighten us or comfort us? It all depends upon the posture of your heart before the Lord. For those who have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the light, the light has already shone into the dark places and continues to shine. 

The light of revelation of the glory of Christ initially brought you to a place of deep contrition and repentance over the deeds of darkness in your past. And as you continue to walk in the light, it continues to expose darkness, and you continue to repent. 

Persistent, hardened refusal to repent calls a person’s profession of faith into serious question. Repentance when sin is exposed is essential fruit of the Holy Spirit’s presence in a person’s life. It’s one of the clearest evidences of genuine conversion. Christians aren’t people who never sin. They’re people who continually return to Christ when their sin is exposed.

The truth is believers have nothing to fear when sin is exposed and we know this, which is why we can so quickly own it and repent. When sin is exposed, either by the Holy Spirit or by other people, we can own it because we know it, too, is covered by the blood Jesus. We know that His grace applies not only to sin we committed before our salvation, but the sin we will ever commit thereafter. 

GRACE BIDS US COME INTO THE LIGHT

Does this very story not highlight the magnitude of God’s grace?! Consider the outcome for David. Though he did plenty of dark deeds, here he is inheriting the kingdom. David knew God’s grace. 

If we learn nothing else, let it be that. Let it be that the God who sees all, and knows all, and exposes all, is a God who also extends unbelievable grace. “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” Psalm 145:8

If you’re feeling a bit exposed this morning, I would invite you to enter the light of God’s grace. 

How do you do that? Let Jesus tell you, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” John 8:12

What does this story convey to us about a man’s heart? 

One was patient. The other predatory.  

One was just. The other opportunistic. 

One walked in the light. The other wanted people to think he did. 

One feared the Lord. The other met His judgment. 

One day there will be nothing hidden. 

Repent. Enter the light of life in Christ today.