2 Samuel 1:1-4, 11-12, 17-27
One of my favorite movies of all time is “Brian’s Song,” starring James Caan as Brian Piccolo and Billy Dee Williams as Gale Sayers, two players for the Chicago Bears in the late 1960s. Brian Piccolo was white and Gale Sayers was black; they were assigned to be roommates, which was controversial and groundbreaking in those days. Both received hate mail and were criticized for it. But they became good friends, especially as Piccolo helped Sayers recover from a serious leg injury in 1968.
Brian Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer in November of 1969 at the age of 26. He had several surgeries, but the cancer kept spreading. He died in June of 1970. The month before Piccolo died, Gale Sayers received the George S. Halas Award for Most Courageous Player, for his comeback from his leg injury. In his acceptance speech, Sayers said, “I’d like to say a few words about a guy I know, a friend of mine. His name is Brian Piccolo, and he has the heart of a giant and that rare form of courage which allows him to kid himself and his opponent – cancer. He has a mental attitude which makes me proud to have a friend who spells out ‘courage’ 24 hours a day, every day of his life. Now you flatter me by giving me this award. But I say to you here and now. Brian Piccolo is the man of courage who should receive the George S. Halas Award. It’s mine tonight – and Brian Piccolo’s tomorrow. I love Brian Piccolo. And I’d like all of you to love him too. And tonight, you hit your knees, please ask God to love him.”
That movie – that true story – showed us a wonderful friendship between two men, where each gave the other support through the most difficult time in his life. Brian Piccolo helped Gale Sayers recover from a leg injury that might have ended his football career. And Gale Sayers walked with Brian Piccolo through those months of cancer, with one bit of bad news after another, until his death.
The Bible contains an account of such a friendship between two men – David and Jonathan. David was a man who loved deeply, not only Jonathan, but also King Saul. And we see that love when David learned of the deaths of both Saul and Jonathan, who were killed in battle against the Philistines. He immediately began to grieve and lament, along with the men with him. But let’s get some of the back story that makes this grieving even more remarkable.
After David killed Goliath, David and Jonathan became very close friends. You might even call them soul mates. The scriptures say that “the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” And the two of them made a covenant with each other. Their friendship would last over a period of years, even when the two men couldn’t be together. They would remain loyal to each other even when their loyalty was seriously jeopardized.
Saul was so impressed with David’s killing of the giant, that he took David into his service. Wherever Saul sent David, he was successful, and so Saul set him over the army. All the people approved of David. In fact, when they returned home, some women came out to sing and dance and greet the king. They sang that Saul had killed his thousands and David had killed his tens of thousands. This did not please Saul; in fact he became very angry and jealous of David, and watched David closely from that day on. In fact, he soon made an attempt to kill David by throwing his spear at David while David was playing his lyre, but David was able to get out of the way. Saul became afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but had departed from Saul.
Nonetheless, Saul made David a commander and sent him out to fight. Again, David had great success because the Lord was with him. Saul was in awe of him. And all of the people of Israel loved David. Saul decided to offer his daughter, Michal, to David to be his wife; but only if David killed 100 Philistines and brought him their foreskins. He was hoping that the Philistines would put an end to David, but instead David did as Saul had asked. And so Saul gave his daughter in marriage, and was even more afraid of David than before. The Bible says that Saul was David’s enemy from that time on. You will notice that it never says that David was Saul’s enemy; David apparently had no animosity towards Saul, even after Saul made attempts on his life.
The Philistines came out against Israel in battle again, and as often as they attacked David had more success against them than Saul did. So Saul spoke to Jonathan and his servants about killing David. Jonathan warned David about what had been said, and then he went and spoke to his father about David and how he had always served Saul faithfully. Saul agreed to spare David’s life. But an evil spirit came on Saul, and he tried to kill David with a spear again; again David managed to escape. This time he ran away and spent some time with Samuel.
Eventually, David met up with Jonathan and asked him if he knew why Saul wanted to kill him. Jonathan said that he didn’t think Saul was after David, but agreed to talk to Saul about David and ask about his intentions. When Jonathan brought up the subject, Saul became very angry. And when Jonathan asked why his father wanted to kill David, Saul threw a spear at Jonathan. Jonathan then went to warn David, and they wept together before parting ways.
David fled and eventually others rallied around him, until he had about 400 followers. Saul pursued David and his men all through the wilderness, but was not able to locate him. One day Saul went into a cave to relieve himself. It just happened that David and his men were hiding deeper in the cave. David snuck up and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe. Then when Saul went out of the cave, David followed him. He bowed face down on the ground, and then asked Saul why he thought he wanted to harm him. David showed Saul the piece of his cloak and said that he could have just killed him if he wanted to, but he didn’t. Saul broke down in tears and said David was more righteous than he was, and then went back home.
This peace between the two didn’t last long, however. Saul again took his army in pursuit of David. David and another of his men snuck into Saul’s camp at night, after the Lord caused them to be in a deep sleep. They took Saul’s spear and water jug, but spared Saul’s life. In the morning, David called out to the camp. He told Saul that if he had wanted him dead, he could have killed him. Saul said that he would not harm David. They again parted company.
About that time, the Philistines made war against the Israelites. Saul and his army were overwhelmed. Jonathan and Saul’s two other sons were killed in battle, and Saul was badly wounded. He fell on his own sword to end his life. The Israelite army fled.
And that brings us to the passage for today. David had heard the news that Saul and Jonathan were dead. And he was filled with grief. He did not gloat over the death of the man who had been his bitter enemy for so many years. It seems like David did not even consider Saul to be his enemy. He tore his clothes, a sign of his grief. He fasted until evening, and mourned and wept for Saul and Jonathan, for the army of the Lord, and for the house of Israel. And then David recorded his lamentation for Saul and Jonathan.
David remembered Saul as a soldier. He had been consistently effective and had brought prosperity to Israel. The Philistines were not totally defeated yet, but Saul had pointed the way and shown courage and dedication to the fight. While Jonathan was also a fine soldier, David remembered him as a friend. That was the most important relationship he had, even above any relationship with a woman. They were true comrades and David would miss him greatly.
David would soon become king. And it is important to me that he was a man capable of great love. Because a king should have great love for the people over whom he has charge. Without love for his people, a king may lose sight of his responsibility to care for their needs, perhaps even ahead of his own. A king may become self-indulgent, or even use his people for his own enrichment. A godly king, a shepherd king, has genuine concern and compassion for those who depend on him for protection and the opportunity to create good lives for themselves. Clearly, David had the capacity for that kind of deep love. It is just another reason that we can see why David was a man after God’s own heart.
