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9/7 Reading Portions: 2 Samuel 1; 1 Corinthians 12; Ezekiel 10; Psalm 49
2 Samuel 1:14
David said to him, “How is it you were not afraid to put out your hand to destroy the LORD’s anointed?”.
AMALEKITE
When Saul was wounded in battle, and many Israelites were already dead or fled from the Philistine army at Mount Gilboa (1 Sam 31:1-3), Saul commanded his armor-bearer to put him to death (1 Sam 31:4a). Saul favored immediate demise over foreseen torture and slow, agonizing death at the hands of the enemy (1 Sam 31:4b). His armor-bearer feared God and would not take his king’s life (1 Sam 31:4c). So, Saul fell upon his own sword (1 Sam 31:4d). The Amalekite must have been a servant nearby, knowing the king was wounded, hearing him ask his armor-bearer to thrust him through, and seeing Saul fall on his own sword, took Saul’s crown and bracelet, signifying it truly was the king of Israel. This Amalekite was one of possibly several, that Saul did not destroy when he was commanded by the LORD to utterly destroy all the Amalekites (1 Sam 15:3); a command to which Saul was disobedient (1 Sam 15:9, 21). This Amalekite lied in order to receive gain from David. It was not unknown in Israel that Saul had been seeking to kill David; and that the LORD anointed David to be king. The Amalekites have always represented a type of fleshly worldling. In this Amalekite’s case, he is a type of reprobate who gives lip service to the gospel. While he was certainly there at the death of the king, he had no part in his death. Saul, falling on his sword was a type of Jesus Christ; for Jesus laid down His own life for His sheep (John 10:15, 18; Rom 5:8; as mentioned in yesterday’s devotional). David, on hearing the words of the Amalekite, is a type of risen, ascended, and glorified Jesus Christ; as all will give account to the Lord Jesus in that Day when He returns. While all are guilty of the death of God’s Messiah because of the sins we have committed against an infinitely holy God, only those who trust in Christ, covered by the blood of His atoning grace, will be spared. All those, like the Amalekite, will die for a lie. For Jesus said,
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and cast out demons in Your name, and do many mighty works in Your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23