1 Samuel 30; 2 Samuel 1; 2:4; 5:1-3
And this is the promise that He hath promised
WHERE did David at last go to hide himself from Saul? To the land of the Philistines. You remember hearing of the Philistines; they were wicked people, who worshipped idols, yet God made them kind to David, and to his men.
When Saul heard that David was gone to the Philistines, he went to look for him no more; because if Saul had gone to them, they would have tried to kill him.
The time was now almost come when Saul must die. I will now tell you how he died.
You know that the Philistines hated the people of Israel, and used to fight against them. One day the king of the Philistines called a great many of his soldiers together, and took them to a place in the land of Canaan, where they might fight with the Israelites. When Saul heard they were come, he took his soldiers, and went to fight against them. Saul's good son Jonathan went with his father to the battle.
The Philistines and the Israelites fought together upon some hills. Who do you think conquered? The Philistines conquered. God was angry with the Israelites, and He did not help them to conquer. The Israelites ran away from the Philistines; and the Philistines ran after them, and they killed Jonathan. And did they kill Saul? This was the way in which Saul died. Some men with bows and arrows shot at him, and some of the arrows went into Saul's body, so that he could not run away any more; yet Saul was not killed by the arrows; he was only very much hurt.
When Saul found that he could not run away, he was very unhappy, for he was afraid that the Philistines would soon get hold of him, and treat him very cruelly; so he wished very much to die before they overtook him. Then Saul said to one of his soldiers, 'Take your sword and run it through my body.'
Would it have been right of the soldier to have killed Saul? If your brother were to ask you to kill him, might you kill him? No; you might not. God has said, 'Thou shalt not kill.'
Saul's soldier would not kill Saul. Then Saul took his own sword, and fell upon the point of it; so it ran through his body, and he died. Was it right of Saul to kill himself? O no, he should have waited till God made him die. It is very wicked of people to kill themselves. People who love God, wait till God takes away their breath.
When Saul was dead, the soldier who would not kill Saul when he had asked him, fell upon his sword and died with him. The soldier saw Saul do a wicked thing; and he did the same.
The Philistines went on running after the Israelites all that day, and they killed a great many.
The next day the Philistines went to the hills, where they had been fighting, to look at the dead people who were lying there. They found Saul's dead body, and Jonathan's dead body. How pleased they were to find that the king and his brave son were dead! But how shamefully they treated their bodies! They cut off Saul's head: they stripped off Saul's clothes of iron and brass (his armor), and they sent his head and his armor to all the places where the Philistines lived; and they praised their idols, and said that their idols were greater than the God of Israel; because they said their idols had helped them to conquer the Israelites. Then they took Saul's armor, and put it in one of the houses where they worshipped idols: and they fastened his body to the wall of the city, that everybody might see it. And they fastened Jonathan's body to the same place. Was not this a sad thing to happen to poor Jonathan? But God loved Jonathan. Where was Jonathan's soul? It was with God. But Saul's soul was not with God; and his body was on the city wall.
Some of the Israelites heard where the Philistines had fastened the bodies of Saul and Jonathan: and these kind men traveled all night to the place, and took their bodies down from the wall and burned them, and buried their bones under a tree.
Where was David all this time? He was in the land of the Philistines. He knew that Saul and Jonathan had been fighting a battle, and he longed to know who had conquered. At last a man who had been at the battle, came to David, to tell him about it. The man bowed down to David, and David said, 'Where do you come from?'
And the man said, come from the tents of Israel.'
Then David said, 'Pray tell me what has happened.'
And the man said, 'The Israelites have run away, and many are dead: and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.'
The man thought that David would have been very glad to hear that Saul was dead. But was David glad? No: he still loved Saul, and he was sorry too that the Philistines should have conquered him; because he knew that the Philistines would praise their idols, and speak against the God of Israel; and David loved God so much, that he wished everybody to praise Him. And David was very sorry for Jonathan his friend. He would never see his face again in this world.
David sang a sweet song about Saul and Jonathan. He said that Saul and Jonathan had been like eagles and lions, they had been so brave; he said they had lived together, and had died together. And then he said in his song, 'I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan; Thy love to me was wonderful.' He called Jonathan his brother, because he had been so very kind to him.
David did not speak of Saul's wickedness, he only spoke of his bravery: for he did not like to speak against the king.
Now the time was come when David was to be king. God put it into the hearts of the Israelites to ask David to be their king. And David said he would be their king. God had promised that David should be king, and God kept His promise, and made him king.
God always keeps His promises. What did God once promise Abraham? That he should have a son, and that his children's children should live in the land of Canaan. Did God keep these promises? O yes! What has God promised you, my dear children? He has promised to give you eternal life, if you believe on His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and then He will give you His Spirit. And I know He will keep His promise to you. He will keep all His promises. He has promised, if you love to see Him, to give you a crown. I hope, dear children, that you will believe in the Lord Jesus.
David praised God on his harp for keeping His promise to him; for taking him from keeping sheep, to make him king over all the land. David wished to be a good king, and to do all that God told him, and to teach all his people to love God. He knew that God would bless him, and keep him from all harm.
The Brave Shepherd
Good David, whose Psalms have so often been sung,
At first was not noble, or grand;
But only a shepherd-boy, when he was young,
Though afterward king of the land.
He tended his flocks in the pastures by day,
And kept them in safety by night;
And though a poor shepherd, he did not delay
To do what was holy and right.
For while he sat watching his sheep in the fold,
To guard them from danger abroad,
It then was his greatest delight, we are told,
To think on the words of the Lord.
He gazed on the moon and the stars in the sky,
Which God has appointed to shine;
And, 'Lord, what is poor sinful man,' he would cry,
'Compared with these wonders of Thine.'
Thus seeking so early for knowledge and truth,
His childhood in wisdom began;
And therefore the Lord was the guide of his youth,
And made him so mighty a man.
When ready for battle Goliath appear'd,
Young David first offer'd to go;
He knew that his God, Whom he trusted and fear'd,
Would help him to conquer the foe.
In war or in fighting he had not been skill'd,
Yet ventured to meet him alone;
And this mighty giant he presently kill'd
With only a sling and a stone.
So he soon was made king, for the prophet foretold
That God meant to honor him thus;
And, if we will serve Him like David of old,
The Lord will be mindful of us.
—Original Hymns, by Ann and Jane Taylor.
Questions on Lesson 13
Who shot King Saul with their arrows?
How did Saul kill himself?
Why is it wicked for people to kill themselves?
What did the Philistines do with Saul's head and his armor?
And what did they do with his body, and with Jonathan's body?
Whom did the Philistines praise after they had conquered Saul?
Was David glad when he heard that Saul was dead?
Whom did the Israelites make king, now Saul was dead?
Had God ever promised David that he should be king?
What promise had God once made to Abraham? Did God keep that promise?
What promises has God made to you?