Context No. 3214 of 4322 · 2 Samuel

2 Samuel 1:6-10: in context

6The young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance on Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul was leaning on his spear; and behold, the chariots and the horsemen followed close behind him. 7When he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8He said to me, ‘Who are you?’ I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9He said to me, ‘Please stand beside me, and kill me, for anguish has taken hold of me because my life lingers in me.’ 10So I stood beside him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”

A young Amalekite comes to David with news of Saul's death, claiming he came upon the wounded king on Mount Gilboa, and that Saul, in his anguish, begged to be killed, and he did it, taking the crown and armlet to bring to David. He clearly expects a reward for delivering David's rival.

But the man has badly misjudged David. Whether his story is true or a lie invented to gain favor, he assumes David will rejoice at Saul's death and reward the one who finished him off. Instead, as the next verses show, David grieves deeply and has the man executed for daring to lift his hand against the LORD's anointed. The Amalekite's fatal error was assuming David valued the throne more than righteousness, that he would celebrate a shortcut to power gained by another's blood. He read David's heart by the light of his own, and it cost him.

Do I ever assume others share my lower motives, misjudging the righteous by projecting my own desire for advantage onto them?

Sources

2 Samuel 1:10: "I stood beside him, and killed him... I took the crown that was on his head... and have brought them here to my lord."
2 Samuel 1:14: "How were you not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?"
Proverbs 24:17: "Don't rejoice when your enemy falls."