‘And They Mourned and Wept’

‘And They Mourned and Wept’

 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

II Samuel 1:11-12

Christlike behavior is not natural. It behaves in a way which is utterly contrary to human nature. The Philistines defeated Saul at Mount Gilboa. Saul came, in God’s Time, to his appointed end. All his plots against David failed.  For his part, David did nothing to bring Saul down. His reaction to the news of the death of Saul, his enemy, is very instructive for its’ Christlikeness. This is a reaction born of the work of the Holy Spirit, working Christlikeness in David. It is utterly in keeping with the spirit of the Scripture, ‘Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles.’ It reflects the Spirit of God, even toward those whom He judges. ‘For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord God.”‘  We understand that Christ is ‘The Judge of all the earth.’ We furthermore understand that He will, as ‘the Judge of all the earth,’ infallibly, unerringly ‘do right.’ When He does, it means that some people will inevitably fall. Those may be our enemies. For us to imitate Christ in this matter means that we will not rejoice in their failure and demise. David had this Christlike spirit. The demise of Saul was inevitable and necessary in order for David to fulfill God’s Purpose for Him to be the king of Israel. Having said that, when Saul fell, David deported himself in a wise, holy, and truly Christlike manner. Let us desire that God would so work this Christlikeness in us, that even when our enemies fall, we will imitate Him.

Our most Holy and Wise God,
we rejoice that You do all things well.
Make us both wise and Holy,
that we may deal in a Christlike manner, with both friend and foe.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning