2 Samuel 1:27: “How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!”

June 10th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

When David said the mighty, he meant King Saul and Jonathan his son. It is interesting that David was careful not to speak against the dead king. He obviously looked at both Saul and Jonathan as war heroes, and therefore worthy of respect and honor. David was being honest and truthful, but he didn’t use this time to say all the negative things he knew about Saul. This is another noble characteristic of David’s that we should try and emulate in our lives today.

We are surrounded by voices telling us that every frustration should be vented, every grievance aired, and every thought expressed. But God does not agree. A reoccurring principle in the Book of Proverbs is that the wise man or woman of God is careful to choose what they say, how they say it, and when they say it. In fact, it counsels us that some things simply ought not to be said at all. David didn’t say anything about Saul that was untrue, but he didn’t tell everything. That is the way it should be. We can sometimes build people up by speaking out and sometimes by remaining silent.

Back in 1 Samuel 24 and 26, when Saul was still living, David confronted Saul about his sin. There is certainly a time to speak to the sinner about his sin. But Saul was dead and drawing attention to his sins would serve no useful purpose, and in fact, would probably bring hurt to Saul’s descendants. Besides, the nation already knew well about Saul’s sin. At this point David wanted the king to be honored for the positive contribution he had made to his nation.

“LORD, help us to speak words of life to others today. May the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD.”