2 Samuel chapter 1, please. The book of 2 Samuel opens up where the last chapter of 1 Samuel chapter 31 left off. David was still unaware of Saul and Jonathan's death, and he's been himself very busy in the battle with the Amalekites. 2 Samuel 1, verse 1.

Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag. And it came even to pass on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp, from Saul with his clothes rent and earth upon his head. And so it was when he came to David that he fell to the earth and did obeisance, bowed in respect. And David said unto him, from whence comest thou? And he said unto him, out of the camp of Israel am I escaped. And David said unto him, how went the matter?

I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, that the people are fled from battle. And many of the people also are fallen and dead. And Saul and Jonathan, his son, are dead also. David had returned to Ziglag after slaughtering and recovering all that the Amalekites had stolen from them. They took their possessions. They took their wives and their children. You remember the story out of 1 Samuel chapter 30. And on the third day after his return, a man arrives here at David's home with torn clothes and dirt upon his head, according to verse three. And this man comes with the news of Saul and Jonathan's death.

Now in ancient Israel, I know many of you know this, torn clothes and dirt on the head was just an outward sign of grief and mourning. Oftentimes when someone heard bad news, they would rent their clothes, they would say. They would tear their clothes. And tearing one's garment was just a public expression of sorrow and distress and even outrage. And it indicated that something, quote, tragic had occurred.

And this also signaled to David that this man had come with some bad news when he saw the man's clothes torn and dirt upon his head. And it ought to make David want to see and talk with him. Earth upon the head was just another sign of mourning. You'd take dust, dirt, and sprinkling on your head. And people would do that, dust or ashes, to express their grief. It symbolized brokenness and loss and despair.

And this communicated to David the seriousness of the message that this man had brought and his intentions were to evoke a response from David. And this man came looking for a reward. I'm convinced of that. Most of the commentators, he was looking for a favor. for his message and supposed actions, and he wound up getting a much different result, as we'll see, than what he had bargained for.

Now in verse three, David asked him where he came from, and the man responded that he had escaped out of the camp of Israel. And in verse four, David inquired and said, why were you there? And how do you know that Saul and Jonathan are dead? It crossed my mind that this man could have been one of those 400 men that fled and escaped from the slaughter of the Amalekites that David had just completed. Remember 400 men escaped, said 400 young men. And this man is called a young man in this chapter. And this is the third day after David's victory, so the timeline leaves some room for this man to have possibly been in the proximity of the region of battle after the escape from David and his men.

And after all, he knew where to find David. He was an Amalekite. He knew where to find David in Ziklag, because if he had been with those Amalekites, He was with them when they stole and had taken David's and his men's wives and children from Zieglein.

If that's the case, now we don't know, it's just speculation, but it reminds us again that our sins always find us out. They always do. We get pretty good at hiding things from folks. Sometimes we get pretty good hiding things from our own selves, convincing ourselves, but we never pull the wool over God's eyes. God knows and sees everything. And though this man had escaped the judgment of God the first time, if he was with that group, as we'll see, he will not escape God's judgment this time.

The Amalekites, this is, useful to know. They were known enemies of Israel and they were also known to be losers and opportunists. After a battle like that just occurred between the Philistines and Saul and his men, where Saul and Jonathan died, there would be many dead and wounded soldiers on the battlefield. And oftentimes these Amalekites would go and plunder valuables and kill any survivors that were still alive and take their stuff.

And we see a lot of that in our day. Or like this man, they would report news to others for reward. Now look at verse six, and the young man that told," David said, "'As I happened by chance upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his sword, and lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.

And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and he called unto me, and I answered, Who am I? And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered to him, I am Amalekite. And he, he said, saw unto me, stand I pray thee upon me and slay me for anguish has come upon me because my life is yet whole in me.

So I stood upon him and slew him because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen. And I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm and have brought them hither unto my Lord." Now in these verses, the man told him that he was there by chance. Well, we know that's not so. He was there according to the will and purpose of God.

And he was there by chance just at the very time that Saul was dying and Saul asked him to finish him off. Well, we already know from 1 Samuel chapter 31 that Saul fell upon his own soul. He asked his arm barrier to do it, arm-bearer to do it, and he wouldn't do it. So Saul fell upon his sword, committed suicide, and the armor-bearer did the same thing.

So, either this man is giving us more of the true story, or he's lying. And I believe, according to Scripture, he's lying, because in 1 Chronicles, it talks about this too, and it says that Saul committed suicide. But this man, he's out to get a reward, and he presents Saul's armlet or bracelet or whatever it was, and his crown to David, proving his death to be so.

And he thought his appearance of mourning, I guess, would manipulate David's emotions. And undoubtedly, it was part of his strategy that he was a righteous and trustworthy person. But I believe he overplayed his hand Why would he mourn a man that he killed? That doesn't make sense. He's coming to David because he thinks David will rejoice over this news.

The very man, King Saul, who had pursued David all this time to do him in is dead, and I don't know why he would rent his clothes and spray dust on his head. He just tried to paint a pretty picture, but it made him look, I think, more manipulative than mournful. And what a reminder here that things aren't always as they seem. Not always as they seem, are they? What a picture we have here of how outward appearances can be deceptive. and why David saw through it. Now, I want you to pay close attention to how David responds to the story that this man gives.

And here we again see David's true fear of the Lord. Verse 11, then David took hold on his clothes and rent them, tore them. And likewise, all the men that were with him, they all just started tearing their clothes, mourning. They're not rejoicing that Saul is dead. And of course, David is truly mourning over the death of Jonathan, whom he loved dearly. And it says, as they mourned, verse 12, and wept and fasted unto evening for Saul.

He's not happy about this. He's heartbroken over it. The man that was out to do him in, He's mourning over him for Jonathan's sake and for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel because they were fallen by the sword. This was a bad thing. This was a bad day.

And instead of rejoicing, David and his men rent their clothes and they mourn and they weep and they fast until evening for Saul and Jonathan and they weep for the people of the Lord. This was their kindred. This was their people. They weep for the house of Israel because they'd been killed.

And this is astonishing because Saul is, I've already said it, repeatedly tried to kill David. But David doesn't celebrate his downfall, he mourned because of it. Why? Why did, why? If I'd had a man that'd been chasing me for years and out to kill me, and somebody brings me the news that he's gone, I, you know, I believe I'd rejoice. Well, the reason he didn't was because David loved God more than he hated Saul. Saul had been anointed and appointed by God. David said that on more than one occasion. He called Saul the anointed of the Lord. God put him there.

Now, I know the people wanted a king, and God told them he's not going to be a good king. But God went ahead and gave them what they wanted. And we've said so many times that the believer learns to pray, Lord, don't give us what we want. We don't know what's best for us. But regardless of all that, the giving of Saul as a king was of the Lord.

You know how I know? Because Saul became king. Somebody asked me one time, how do you know you were called to pastor Bible Baptist Church? I said, because I'm pastoring Bible Baptist Church. And that's how we know things. Now, the Lord may change that and most definitely will at some point because we're not going to live forever.

But anyway, it's the purpose of the Lord that Saul is king. And David trusted God to handle the problem with Saul. Time and time again, he did. He could have killed Saul on more than one occasion. I read a verse in Proverbs 24, verse 17 that says, Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth. God caused it. God caused it.

To rejoice in Saul's demise would be to treat God's will and purpose with contempt. I haven't arrived, but God help us to have mercy even on those who may hate us without a cause. The thing is with us, they hated the Lord Jesus without a cause, but there's not really anything that you could probably accuse me of or that I am not guilty of, in some way, shape, or form. But you know what I'm saying.

David didn't lift a hand against Saul when he had the opportunity. Remember the time in the cave when he took just a piece of his garment? And he even said then, he said, I could've taken, you know, Saul, I could've taken your life, but you're the Lord's anointed. I'm not gonna touch the Lord's anointed.

Life is bigger than you and me. My mom used to tell me that often. Life's bigger than you. You know, we think the world revolves around us. That's just us by nature. But it's bigger than you and I. It doesn't revolve around us. We're insignificant in the overall scheme of things. God does all things for his own glory, not ours.

We spent pretty much one whole study on this, but it once again, I believe, proved profitable for us to consider David's reaction here in verses 11 and 12. When David mourned the death of Saul and Jonathan, he had to think about God's divine providence and intervention in his life. David, as you remember, was living among the Philistines. He had taken refuge with Achish, the king of Gath. Achish expected David to fight against Israel. Remember that? And the amazing thing is that David was going to.

And even more surprising, he was disappointed when the lords of the Philistines said they didn't trust him and Achish sent him back home. He was disappointed. He went with Achish to fight against Israel in the very battle where Saul and Jonathan were killed. Now you think about that just for a minute. The other Philistine leaders didn't trust him. They wanted him gone. Achish reluctantly dismissed him and he went to Ziglag And then in that very battle that he wanted to fight in, his dearest friend in the world and his king were killed. Jonathan and all his brethren and I'm sure many of his friends were killed.

Saul was mortally wounded, fell on his own sword, and God preserved David from two terrible possibilities. The first being fighting against a nation that he would soon be king over. Secondly, being responsible for Saul's death. This would have prevented him, naturally speaking, from being king. You fought against your own people? You killed the previous king? You're not worthy to be king. And God preserved him from both of those things. Isn't God's providence amazing? We don't have any clue the things that God has prevented us and prohibited us from doing.

You know, we get upset when we get, I'm talking about me now. I'm just including you because I figure you ain't much different. We get upset when traffic holds us up. You know, we're late getting somewhere because people ain't driving like we should. And a lot of people don't, do they? They don't drive the way I think they should. But we don't have any idea what the Lord might be saving us from. And when this man brought the news of Saul's death, David didn't celebrate. He tore his clothes and he wept and he fasted. And look what he does next in verse 13.

And David said unto the young man that told him, whence art thou? And he answered, I'm the son of a stranger and a Malachite. And David said unto him, how was thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord's anointing? If you really did kill Saul, and I'm pretty sure he saw through the man's charade, how could you stretch your hand to destroy God's anointing king?

And David called one of the young men and said, go near and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died. And David said unto him, verse 16, thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee, saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed. That's amazing, isn't it? David executed the man who claimed to have killed Saul.

He thought he was going to get a reward. He thought he was going to be honored. It cost him his life. Oh, I think about those words there often. Thy blood be upon thy head, for thy mouth has testified against thee. I hear people in religion today say things and I just shake my head and I say, boy, that just reveals what's in your heart. People tell on themselves, and this man did.

So, what observations can we make from this story and this passage? If we don't see the gospel in stories like this, then it's just no more than a biblical history lesson. So we always strive to find the gospel truth in a story like this, and it's here.

And the first thing we see is the reality of sin and its consequences. We've considered that many times in the study of the life of Saul in 1 Samuel, before there can be any true appreciation for life in Christ. We've got to see the reality of sin's consequences. We've got to see what sin has done to us. We've got to see what sin has made us. wretches, depraved wretches, capable of doing anything and everything. It won't be until we see who and what we are that we'll see our desperate need of a savior and a substitute.

Saul's death wasn't simply the end of a king. It was the consequence of his disobedience. God had said long before this day came that he would be stripped of his kingship and that he would die such a death. The wages of sin is always death. The wages of sin is death. But, but, oh, I love those divine buts of the scripture. But the gift of God is eternal life through Christ. The only way you and I are gonna escape sin's wages, which is death, and not just physical death, we're all gonna, We're all gonna deal with that. But eternal spiritual death is through the Lord Jesus Christ.

Saul had rejected God's command. He's walking in pride and rebellion. His life displays the grave consequences of sin. And without Christ, friends, you and I too are under the judgment of God. Yet the gospel offers us hope. Being in Christ gives us great hope. Though sin brings death, God provides His people with a Savior.

He didn't have to. Sure didn't. He'd have been just. He would have been right. He would have been righteous to just let us go to hell, because that's what we deserve. But, but, but God, who is rich in mercy, loved us and gave us a substitute. One who did for us all that God required, all that we could not ourselves do. Secondly, we see the suffering of the righteous. It is with much tribulation that you and I will enter the kingdom of God.

This life is not easy. It's not a bed of roses. It's just not. Anybody that's lived on this earth for any time at all knows that. Jonathan was a faithful, loving man, and loyal to David, but he too dies in battle. The righteous suffer in this world. Job endured suffering despite his innocence, and in all that Job did, he sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. Remember that statement?

According to Isaiah 53.3, Christ, the perfect, and the righteous one suffered as a man of sorrows who was despised and rejected and acquainted with grief. And he is the ultimate example of what true suffering is.

Jonathan, again, I remind you, he was the rightful heir of Saul's throne. He was the rightful heir to be king. Yet he willingly surrendered that right to David. That's an amazing thing, isn't it? In 1 Samuel 18 verse 4, Jonathan gave David his robe, his armor, his sword, his bow and his belt, and they were all symbol of royal status. They were emblems of military authority. And what Jonathan was doing, he was saying, You're the rightful king. You're the anointed of God. I want you to have this thing.

He preferred David over himself. He bowed to God's choice of David as king. That's what God's gonna do to every believer. We're gonna bow to Christ, our king. All God's people are gonna bow to Christ. And those who do not will perish. And this, mirrors Christ in a special way. Jonathan laid aside his royal claim for David and Christ laid aside His heavenly glory to save His people from their sin. Isn't that something? We've got to remember who Christ is. He's God the Son.

He left His throne on high to come for sinful men and women to die. What a great condescension that was. God became a man. What a condescension that was. And He suffered the death of the cross. What a condescension. He was killed as the worst criminal that ever lived. God was. God the Son was. Why? Why? So that you and I might have life eternal. The most amazing story I ever heard. Most wonderful story ever told.

Christ, who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. He made himself of no reputation. He took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men. God was. and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." Philippians chapter two, verses six through eight.

Now, that's what your Lord and Savior did for you, if you're one of His. Jonathan's death foreshadows Christ's suffering. Jonathan suffers because of the sins surrounding him. Christ suffered and died for the sins of others. He had none of his own. He knew no sin. Jonathan risked his life to protect David from Saul, and Christ gave his life for his people to save them from divine justice. John 15, 13 says, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. That's the ultimate sacrifice, for someone to lay down their life for you. and the Lord Jesus Christ was wounded for our transgressions.

He was bruised. Why was He bruised? For our iniquities. Why do you and I have peace? Because the chastisement, the punishment for our peace was upon Him. That's substitution right down the line. By His stripes, who was healed? We are healed. Lord, let us never take that for granted. Thirdly, we see God's sovereignty in the midst of tragedy. David mourned deeply. He didn't rush to take the throne. He didn't say, oh boy, Saul's gone, Jonathan's gone. Now it's time to get on back home, get on the throne. No, no, not in the league.

He wept, he mourned, he fasted. He waited for God's providential timing. God is in control, friends, of even tragedy. Things that happen in this world that we don't understand and we think, oh, that's just horrible. God did it. God did it. And according to Romans 8, 28, He did it and caused it to work together for our good. I don't understand that.

Well, neither do I. And there's a lot of things we won't ever understand. But that's what faith is, isn't it? Faith's believing the things that we don't understand. Do you believe things that you don't understand? When it comes to this book we do, we better. Because we'll never understand them. God's ways are past finding out. These are things that we'll never understand. But we believe them.

God's working all things together for His people's good and glory of His own great namesake. The death of Saul and Jonathan was God's sovereign purpose and it was to establish David as king which foreshadows Christ the greater King, the King of Kings, whose reign is eternal. And we say it all the time because it's true.

Nothing happens by happenstance. There are no mistakes. There are no accidents. Everything comes to pass according to God's omnipotent will and purpose and after the counsel of what? His own will. The Lord of hosts has sworn, saying, surely as I have thought it, so shall it come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand. That's why everything happens the way it does. God thought it, God purposed it, it comes to pass.

And then fourthly, we see the heart of Christ reflected in David. David punished the Amalekites, killed them. saying, how can you say I killed the Lord's anointed? Well, how can we say that? That's what we did. If we'd have been there, we would have cried with the rest of them, crucifying, crucifying. Let His blood be upon us and our children.

Now, there are some prideful people that will say, well, I wouldn't have done that. Yeah, you have yet to see the depths of your depravity. Because you would have. You would have probably heard your voice over all the rest of them. How could you say you killed the Lord's anointing?

David honors God's authority and purpose. David shows great mercy and integrity. And this reflects the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord submitted fully to His Father. As a man in the garden of Gethsemane, as he sweat as it were, great drops of blood, he said, Lord, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, I don't even believe he took a breath there. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. He submitted fully to the Father. He died righteously for sinners. In Christ, God is just and the justifier.

To declare, I say at this time, his righteousness, that he might be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus Christ, Romans 3.26. And let me remind you of what you already know. We need to be reminded. I need to be reminded.

His holiness requires that sin be judged. God's gonna judge sin. If God overlooks sin, he'd cease to be just. Justice demands punishment. How can a holy God justify guilty sinners without becoming unjust himself? There's only one answer. There's only one way. Christ. He alone satisfies God's holy justice. The way is the cross. Christ is the only sacrifice that satisfies the wrath of God. On the cross, Christ bore the penalty that sin deserves. You want to see what you deserve? Look to the cross. That's where you should have been hanging. That's where I should have been hanging.

God's justice was fully executed on the God-man who knew no sin and did no sin. Why? Because you and I did plenty. Sin was not ignored, but punished in the substitute. God is the justifier of believers. Because Christ paid the penalty, God can now declare sinners who believe and trust in Christ righteous. Righteous. Perfectly righteous. No sin. Perfectly holy and righteous. How good does all righteousness have to be? Perfect. Holy. without spot, without blemish.

Christ is punished and I was pardoned. That's the gospel. The guilty was set free and the innocent was condemned. That's substitution. That's the good news. There's justice and mercy in Christ. Did you hear me? There's justice and mercy in Christ. It's the only place both can be found. Mercy and truth have kissed one another. David pronounced justice.

He told the man, your blood be on your head. And even if the Malkite lied about killing Saul, claiming to have killed him, it was seen by David as a direct attack on God's sovereign choice. And it was. And to those who reject Christ and to those who say in their heart, I will not have this man rule over me. When God sends them to hell, it will be just and right. David wasn't gonna allow someone to boast about killing the Lord's anointed, even if it wasn't true. And this reminds us that God's holy justice is unbending and it's inflexible. But in the gospel, Christ takes the judgment that we deserve on Himself so that mercy and forgiveness can be extended to us. So what does that mean for us today? Let's just bring it right to a head. What does that mean to, well, just what we've said.

Sin leads to death, but Christ brings life. Suffering and loss are real, yet God is sovereign. Whatever comes our way, in the way of suffering and pain, God sent it, and He sent it for a reason. He sent it for our good. God's going to wean us from this world. We're going to be glad when it's time to leave it. That's a great mercy in and of itself. He's going to break our grasp on this world. And we're going to say, I don't want that. We're going to be ready to let it go. And we're called to respond with humility and integrity and hope in God's promises to us.

Why do you believe that? God said it was so. That's what God said. Do you understand it? No. Why would God be merciful to a wretch like you? I don't know. Well, I do know because He wanted to. He was pleased He would do so. That's good enough for me. That's good enough for me. Now, it's my intention to deal with this next statement in closing in the next study, but look down at verse 19.

David said, The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places, and how are the mighty fallen? This points forward to the believer's only hope. The true Mighty One, our Lord Jesus Christ, has fallen in our place and risen to reign forever. That's the beauty of this thing. God requires what we can't provide and Christ provides what we can't and everything God required of us. So may God enable us to grieve rightly and let us trust fully and most importantly, let us always look to Christ. Keep looking to Christ. Look to Christ, look to Christ. He's the righteous King in whom we find life, in whom we find mercy and victory over sin and death.