“Then David and all the men with him took hold of their clothes And tore them. They mourned and wept and fasted till evening for Saul and his Son Jonathan.”
David’s enemy is finally been killed and he is upset and mourning his death. I’m thinking to myself, why? You think he would be glad it was over and he can get on being the new king. Yet his response reveals a very powerful principle that I need to keep in mind. Honor and mercy. Though Saul was weak in many ways he knew that he had been chosen by God and no matter what Saul had done there would be no rejoicing over his enemies’ death. David had already experienced plenty of hardships and it would seem that the Lord took his good ole time removing Saul and installing David as king. God had a plan though and it was working the principle of honor and mercy into his own life and he used Saul to do it.
Just like David I never want to rejoice over the lose of someone else even if they’ve been trouble to me. I want to understand in a deeper way his revelation of justice and that God is fair even trying circumstances. Maybe somehow David was holding out hope for Saul and his family this tragedy was something that he wanted to avoid in his own life. The bible says mercy triumphs over judgment. I always seem to experience more life in my soul when I can live by this principle. I hope that no matter who I think my enemies are that I can extend grace and also mourn if they fall.
