We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27
1 After the death of Saul, when David had returned from defeating the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag.
17 David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan. 18 (He ordered that The Song of the Bow[a] be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:
19 Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
20 Tell it not in Gath,
proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon;
or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,
the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.
21 You mountains of Gilboa,
let there be no dew or rain upon you,
nor bounteous fields![b]
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.
22 From the blood of the slain,
from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
nor the sword of Saul return empty.
23 Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles,
they were stronger than lions.
24 O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
who clothed you with crimson, in luxury,
who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
25 How the mighty have fallen
in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.
26 I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.
27 How the mighty have fallen,
and the weapons of war perished!
Scripture
King Saul—Israel’s first king—and three of his sons have been killed by the Philistines. Israel experiences the loss of an ideal, of national identity, and of confidence in God’s protection. David laments the loss on behalf of the community. The lament is punctuated by a three-fold refrain: How the mighty have fallen! David teaches the lament to the people of God. Many years later, the lament may have been re-performed by Babylonian exiles who had also lost a king and a kingdom.
David’s example of collective lament serves as a pattern for the people of God throughout time. In our context, the Church must take up the song. The Church must be a safe place for honesty, expressions of grief and loss, and longings for the kingdom. “It should be a place where we dare to speak of kingdoms we hoped for that have suffered defeat and have left us despairing of justice or peace or hope” (Birch, New Interpreter’s Bible, vol II, p. 1209).
The human temptation is to deny loss and brokenness. But collective lament draws on, strengthens, and reveals the unity of a faith community. Lament holds a healing power as important as our songs of joy and triumph. Loss must be acknowledged before moving into God’s new future. Lament is a deeply human moment (Birch, 1205), but it is more than that. It is worship. It supersedes personal interest and gives value to what is lost. David’s expression of Israel’s loss approaches the divine expression of grief over Saul’s fall from honour (1 Sam 15:11). Lament as worship expresses grief and longing for what is not. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” We cannot spend too long here in this honest place of lament. Other things can wait. There is a worshipful, healing, transforming power in expressions of brokenness and in yearning with God for the fullness of the kingdom.
Prayer: God, we acknowledge with you the many expressions of the “not-yet kingdom” in our world. Whether it be an out-of-control virus or our own failures to promote justice and protect the vulnerable, we ask for your mercy. We yearn for the fullness of your kingdom and pray that you would use us as willing partners in the increase of your kingdom on earth.
Rev Dr Linda Stargel
NTC Academic Dean