SCRIPTURE: 2 Samuel 1
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
Saul and Jonathan– in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. [2 Samuel 1:23] It is not uncommon after someone dies that their loved ones mostly remember the good things. Rarely during a eulogy will someone describe the deceased one’s faults. As we listen to David remember Saul and Jonathan, we wonder whether this is the same Saul that we met in 1 Samuel. Loved and gracious? Swifter than eagles and stronger than lions? Is David for real, or is he just being nice?
Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” [Luke 23:47] Are the memories of Jesus just as one-sided? In Saul’s case, we have the record of his life to make us question David’s words. In Jesus’ case, we have four witnesses who support the claim of this centurion, that He was a righteous man. And the movement that grew from Jesus only confirms this – a movement of grace, mercy, peace and love. Most people today still say that Jesus was a righteous man.
The reality is no one is as good as our eulogies suggest. We are flawed, selfish, deceitful. In this passage we also see this Amalekite lying about Saul and Jonathan’s death, trying to leverage the situation to his own favour; he ends up dying. We may shake our head at him, but are we that different? Details and circumstances may be different, but at root we are often working the situation to our own favour, twisting the details to make ourselves look better. Our memories are also flawed, like David’s, and we usually see our own lives through rosy glasses.
If we were to write our own eulogies, what would we say? And if God were to write our eulogy, what would He say? The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.” [Jeremiah 17:9-10] Only of Jesus can it be said that He was a righteous (i.e. sinless) man. And He died to break the power of sin, death, and hell, and to bring us into a new relationship with God, one not based on our perceptions of ourselves, but on His perception of us through Jesus. Through Jesus, when God remembers us, He sees us as loved and gracious, swifter than eagles and stronger than lions!
PRAYER:
Lord, as I am, I am not who I ought to be. But as You see me, I am all that I can be, and will one day become all that I was meant to be.
Upon receiving the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan, David and his men fasted and mourned. A;though the throne was promised to him, he did not rejoice since Saul was still God’s annointed and thus David had the Amalekite killed.
The ‘song’ of lament for Saul and Jonathan told of their past victories – how they were remembered.
Ever walked through a cemetery reading tombstones? What important facts are written upon then. Name. Birth date. Died date, And father of. . . son of . . . And Does it ever say Disciple of Jesus Christ? A follower of Jesus? A walker in the Way?
I have bought my box. I will buy the plot this summer. I will be putting on paper how I desire to be remembered. That’s tough, but that puts all in the right perspective. A son of His Father walking in His Sonshne always.
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
Refrain
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me.
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne.
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calvary my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.
Refrain
Living for Jesus, wherever I am,
Doing each duty in His holy Name;
Willing to suffer affliction and loss,
Deeming each trial a part of my cross.
Refrain
Living for Jesus through earth’s little while,
My dearest treasure, the light of His smile;
Seeking the lost ones He died to redeem,
Bringing the weary to find rest in Him.
Refrain