Sermon Tone Analysis

“David chanted this lament over Saul and his son Jonathan.

(He gave instructions that the people of Judah should be taught “The Bow.”

Indeed, it is written down in the Book of Yashar.)

“The beauty of Israel lies slain on your high places!

How the mighty have fallen!

Don’t report it in Gath,

don’t spread the news in the streets of Ashkelon,

or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice,

the daughters of the uncircumcised will celebrate!

O mountains of Gilboa,

may there be no dew or rain on you, nor fields of grain offerings!

For it was there that the shield of warriors was defiled;

the shield of Saul lies neglected without oil.

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of warriors,

the bow of Jonathan was not turned away.

The sword of Saul never returned empty.

Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved during their lives,

and not even in their deaths were they separated.

They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.

O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,

who clothed you in scarlet as well as jewellery,

who put gold jewellery on your clothes.

How the warriors have fallen

in the midst of battle!

Jonathan lies slain on your high places!

I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan!

You were very dear to me.

Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

How the warriors have fallen!

The weapons of war are destroyed!”[2]

Saul and Jonathan had been slain in battle.

David and the brave men allied with him were all that stood between the overthrow of the Kingdom by the Philistines and continuation of Israel as a people.

The lament that David composed is an example of mourning that honours the memory of those who are fallen.

It is appropriate at this Remembrance Day service for us to review this lament, learning how to honour the dead who have given their lives so that we may continue in freedom as a nation.

*It Is Appropriate that Christians Honour Fallen Warriors* — War is ugly business; it is the result man’s fallen nature.

Jesus warned that as we approached the end of days we would “hear of wars and rumours of wars” [*Matthew 24:6*].

He also warned that “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom [*Matthew 24:7*].

With war comes death, and with death comes sorrow and mourning.

“*/War is hell/*,” said General Sherman.

The statement was made spontaneously at the conclusion of a technical speech to military cadets at the Ohio State Fair in 1880.

The entire quote was, “*/Boys, I’ve been where you are now and I know just how you feel.

It’s entirely natural that there should beat in the breast of every one of you a hope and desire that some day you can use the skill you have acquired here./*

“*/Suppress it!

You don’t know the horrible aspects of war.

I’ve been through two wars and I know.

I’ve seen cities and homes in ashes.

I’ve seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies.

I tell you, war is hell./*”[3]

A great general on the other side of the last great conflict in which Sherman fought was General Robert E. Lee.

In a letter to his wife, Lee wrote, “*/What a cruel thing is war: to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbours, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world./*”[4]

All who are familiar with the history of Israel as recorded in the Word of God will undoubtedly recall the account of the death of Saul.

Saul, the first king of the united Jewish Kingdom, had disobeyed God.

His disobedience resulted in a prophecy by Samuel that the kingdom would be torn from him [*1 Samuel 15:28*].

The Saulide dynasty would end with the first and only ruler from that family because of his cowardice and wanton disregard of the will of the Lord.

God pledged that He would place another king on the throne—one who would prove to be better than Saul, who would obey God and seek Him in all his ways; the one whom God chose was David.

Though Saul ruled as king for over forty years, he moved inexorably toward his date with destiny.

A sword hung over his family, and every action of the mad king moved both him and his family closer to death.

His disobedience, his wanton disregard of the will of God in order to do what was convenient, brought him into repeated conflict with the Lord and subjected Israel to sorrow that should never have been theirs.

At last, the day he dreaded came, and Saul led the armies of Israel to defeat at the hands of the Philistines.

As God had foretold, Saul and his sons were slain.

The armies of Israel were scattered before the enemy.

The nation was defenceless, and the threat of occupation by a brutal and merciless enemy hung over the land.

Saul had been so focused on himself that he had taken his own life when he was wounded in battle.

After the battle, the Philistines scavenged the field, and finding Saul and his three sons, beheaded them.

They placed their heads and their armour on the walls of Beth-shan in homage to their gods and in order to ridicule the perceived weakness of Israel’s God.

David received a report of Saul’s death from an Amalekite who sought to ingratiate himself to David.

This man, who claimed to have been a part of Saul’s camp, assumed that telling David that he had rendered the fatal blow to Saul would earn a reward.

Of course, it did not turn out the way he had envisioned.

David had him killed, because he had killed the king of Israel, usurping the place of God in punishment.

However, David, having received the sorrowful report, mourned.

As an integral part of his mourning, he composed a lament, and commanded that it was to be taught to the people so that throughout the remainder of time allotted to the Kingdom, people would remember Saul and Jonathan.

Reading the dirge that David composed, I observe neglected truths that must be remembered, for we do live in a world in which tears and sorrow will continue until the Master has returned and at last conquered evil.

If character was the basis for mourning, Saul did not deserve the honour of David’s lament.

Saul’s character failed to reflect the righteousness we should have expected from God’s anointed.

He was self-centred—unable to tolerate praise ascribed to anyone other than himself.

He was unreliable—incapable and~/or unwilling to obey God’s commands when they were inconvenient.

He was paranoid—imagining intrigue and collusion in all his loyal subjects.

Nevertheless, he was a warrior, and according to the divine text, he fought against Israel’s enemies on every side and “wherever he turned he routed them” [*1 Samuel 14:48b*].

The text continues by stating that “he did valiantly … and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them” [*1 Samuel 14:48*].

David honoured Saul, not because he was an honourable man, but because he had served his nation, risking his life for the benefit of the people.

David noted Saul’s abilities as a warrior in his lament.

He speaks of Saul as the glory of Israel (verse 19).

He speaks of the sword of Saul as having repeatedly returned in victory (verse 22).

He acknowledges that as king, Saul had brought prosperity to Israel (verse 24).

He speaks of Saul and Jonathan as “the mighty” (verses 25, 27).

He is not praising him for his character—he could not; David is lamenting the loss of a warrior.

Similarly, we remember that men and women have served and died at the call of the nation.

We who now live in this great land are the beneficiaries of their sacrifice, and we honour them for their willingness to risk their lives for our welfare.

We do not glorify them, but we do honour their sacrifice and remember they were our warriors.

On Remembrance Day, we must not glorify war or imagine that it is noble to die.

Neither dare we allow ourselves to slip into maudlin sentimentality by exalting the virtue of those who served.

Rather, we remember the sacrifice of comfort and ease in order to serve the nation; we honour the memory of such deeds.

Many were killed, and we say they made the ultimate sacrifice; others were wounded in the battles they fought.

However, José Narosky has sagely noted, “*/In war, there are no unwounded./*”

Thus, we do not err if we contend that all who serve merit our gratitude because they did serve, hazarding their lives and jeopardising their comfort for the benefit of those who remained at home.

All who live in this great nation today owe so much to the men and women who have served and who are now serving under the flag of our nation.

It is in this spirit that we remember those who gave their lives in service to the nation.

In doing this, we are but following the example provided by David when he remembered the death of Saul and Jonathan, together with those who died with them at Mount Gilboa.

A German proverb states, “*/A great war leaves the country with three armies—an army of cripples, an army of mourners, and an army of thieves./*”[5]

With war comes the sorrow of wounded men and women who will never fully recover.