The Life and Times of

Distressing News
(1:1-10)

1 Now it came about after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, that David remained two days in Ziklag. 2 And it happened on the third day, that behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and dust on his head. And it came about when he came to David that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself. 3 Then David said to him, “From where do you come?” And he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.” 4 And David said to him, “How did things go? Please tell me.” And he said, “The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.” 5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead?” 6 And the young man who told him said, “By chance I happened to be on Mount Gilboa, and behold, Saul was leaning on his spear. And behold, the chariots and the horsemen pursued him closely. 7 “And when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I said, 'Here I am.' 8 “And he said to me, 'Who are you?' And I answered him, 'I am an Amalekite.' 9 “Then he said to me, 'Please stand beside me and kill me; for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.' 10 “So I stood beside him and killed him, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”

David and his men are certainly grateful for the defeat of the Amalekites and the recovery of their families and possessions. But this victory must be overshadowed by David’s concern for what is taking place in Israel. When David left Achish to return to Ziklag, the Philistines had mounted a massive fighting force to attack Israel. David knows very well how awesome this military effort was, because he and his men marched in review at the end of the procession. From the time he parted paths with the Philistines, David must have been greatly concerned for Saul and his beloved friend Jonathan, not to mention the rest of his countrymen. During his pursuit of the Amalekite raiding party and the ensuing battle, David has little time to think about how things are going back in Israel. Now, for three days David and his men have been back in Ziklag wondering how the war is going, or perhaps, how it has already gone.

It is his third day back in Ziklag when a young man rushes into David’s camp all out of breath because he has been running for several days. He must have run something like 100 miles to reach David at Ziklag. His clothing almost tells it all, for it is torn and dust is upon his head. It is a sign of mourning. The news is not going to be good. Reaching David, this young man falls on the ground before him, prostrating himself as though approaching royalty, as though he is in the presence of a king.

David immediately begins to question the young man, first wanting to know from where he has traveled. David probably assumes the worst, but he asks a question to determine whether this man has news about Saul. The young man responds that he has come from the camp of Saul.¹ Actually his words are more foreboding than this. He tells David he has escaped² from the camp of Saul. This does not bode well. David then asks how things went in the battle. The young man now reveals what David must have already surmised. Israel has been defeated -- badly. Many Israelite soldiers have been killed, and the rest fled. Included among those killed in battle were Saul and his son Jonathan.³

David is unwilling to accept this man’s report without some verification. Is the messenger absolutely certain that Saul and Jonathan have been slain? The young man goes on to explain. I am not certain that he originally intends to tell David what he now reveals. From all the details this man provides, I believe he was indeed there with Saul, and that he does kill him in his final moments of life. When combined with the facts of the previous chapter (1 Samuel 31), we can arrive at a fairly clear picture of what happened.

This young man just happens to be on Mount Gilboa when he comes upon Saul. He does not really tell us what he is doing there. If I were to guess, I would say it was not to go down fighting to defend Saul from the Philistines, but rather to loot Saul’s post before the Philistines arrive. He certainly is not defending Saul from the Philistines. He comes across Saul while he is still alive.⁴ Saul is on the ground, or as the text reads, “he had fallen” (1:10). Saul’s body, riddled with Philistine arrows, is now run through by his own sword. Nevertheless, he is not yet dead. He seems to be propping himself up by leaning upon his spear, which probably relieves some pressure and pain from the arrows and the sword.

Looking around, Saul sees the young man arrive and size up the situation. Saul calls out to the fellow, and he responds, “Here I am.” He then asks this young man who he is. He may wonder if he is a Philistine, since they are pressing their attack and will soon be closing in on him (verse 6). The young man informs Saul that he is an Amalekite. Saul then appeals to this fellow to put him out of his misery.

I am indebted to the insight of my friend and fellow-elder, Hugh Blevins, at this point. Hugh points out that the author makes much of the fact that the young man is an Amalekite. Saul seems to take courage in this fact. He seems more confident to ask this fellow to kill him because he is an Amalekite. After all, he has just asked his armor bearer, who declines. An Amalekite will not have such scruples about killing the king of Israel. Indeed, when Saul ordered his servants to kill Ahimelech and the other priests, they declined, and so Saul turned to Doeg, the Edomite, who willingly complied with his orders (see 1 Samuel 22:16-19). Thus, even if an Israelite will not put Saul to death, the king feels relatively certain that an Amalekite will.

Saul asks the young man to come and “stand over” him and put him to death. The NASB renders it more generically: “Please stand beside me and kill me” (verse 9). The King James Version is more starkly literal when it renders these words, “Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me. . . .” The young man then says, “So I stood upon him, and slew him” (verse 10, KJV). My point in emphasizing these words is that the young man must have “been there and done that” to be so precise in his description of Saul’s last few moments and death. Saul is lying on the ground, partially propped up by his spear (not his sword). Saul begs the young man to come and stand over him because he is on the ground, and the young man would have to do this to kill him. The young Amalekite obliges Saul by killing him. We are not told what weapon he uses or how he uses it to dispatch Saul. The irony is that Saul would have been dead in a few moments anyway. This “murder” (recounted as though it was a mercy killing) deprives Saul of but a few minutes of life. Nonetheless, it is murder.

The Amalekite confesses to killing Saul, and then rationalizes his actions in verse 10. He did stand over Saul and kill him, but this was because he knew that having fallen, Saul would never get up again. He would have died anyway, right there in that place. Besides this, he did for Saul exactly what Saul begged him to do. Saul wanted to be put out of his misery, and this young man obliged him. Isn’t this the compassionate thing to do? He thinks a reward might be given for this, but he ends up getting much more than he expected. He did what Saul wanted, and he did what he supposed David wanted. He believed he could not be faulted for doing what Saul and David desired. He removed the crown and bracelet from Saul’s corpse and rushed with them to David, his “lord” (verse 10). Is it not the time for David to assume his place as king?

Before we turn to David’s response to the Amalekite’s report, it might be helpful to sum up some of the key elements of this event:

(1) The messenger seems eager to make this journey to find David and tell him of the death of Saul and Jonathan. Like Ahimaaz in 2 Samuel 18:19-23, he seems to want to bring David the news because he expects David to be pleased with what he hears (see 2 Samuel 4:9-10). Also like Ahimaaz, he does not understand the depth of sorrow and sadness this news will bring to David.

(2) It appears he expects to be rewarded by David.

(3) He knows exactly where to find David.

(4) David questions the Amalekite thoroughly and seems to learn more from him than the messenger intends. Far from lying to David about Saul’s death or his role in it, this messenger seems to tell all.

(5) For some reason, the messenger makes a point of Jonathan’s death, but fails to mention that Saul’s other sons are also killed in battle.

(6) The messenger seems to assume that Saul and Jonathan are David’s enemies, obstacles to his ascent to the throne. He appears to believe that killing Saul is getting him out of David’s way, and thus believes he is doing David a favor (again, see 2 Samuel 4:9-10).

(7) The text emphasizes that this messenger is an Amalekite, which is no coincidence. Saul was to have killed the Amalekites (see 1 Samuel 15). It was Amalekite raiders who sacked Ziklag and kidnapped the families of David and his men. Only three days earlier David had returned to Ziklag, after pursuing these Amalekites and slaughtering them (2 Samuel 1:1).

(8) This messenger knows David is designated to be (or expected to be) Israel’s next king. He brings the crown and bracelet he took from Saul’s body and gives them to David, as the king.

(9) This man almost proudly admits to having killed Saul, God’s anointed.