Column: As It Is Written . . .
King David & the Amalekite
by Patrick Henry Reardon
When—apparently in the third century before Christ—the Sefer Shemuel was divided into First and Second Samuel, its editors found a more-than-satisfactory division point at the death of Saul.
Thus, the first book ends with the Battle of Mount Gilboa, and the second begins with David learning of that battle, and thereupon realizing that he, not Saul, is now the king of Israel. The messenger bearing this news is an improbable Amalekite straggler, who presents David with Saul's crown and armband, boasting that he had given the dying Saul the coup de grace on Mount Gilboa. The messenger evidently expects David to welcome the news and receive him with gratitude.
The reader at this point, already familiar with the circumstances of Saul's death, knows the Amalekite is lying. David, too, has his suspicions; if this Amalekite had time and opportunity to abscond with Saul's crown and bracelet, why did he not remove the king's body from the battlefield and save it from desecration?
Instead, according to the man's own account, he presumed to lay a violent hand on the Lord's anointed, a thing, the reader knows (1 Sam. 24:1–7; 26:4–11), David has twice refrained from doing. Indeed, a man who would murder Saul would likely feel free to kill any king, including David himself. As far as David is concerned, then, such a one has forfeited his own life.
Different Moral Worlds
The reader should appreciate the deeper significance of this scene, which represents the first trial of Israel's new king.
This story continues, in fact, a sustained thematic contrast between David and Saul, inasmuch as it stands in opposition to a parallel story in 1 Samuel 16. In that earlier account, Saul was commanded to slay the Amalekites, specifically their king, Agag. It was partly for his failure to obey that order that the Lord rejected Saul and sought out a new king for his people. Now this new king is subjected to a similar trial, also involving an
Amalekite.
The problem with this Amalekite is his serious misunderstanding of David. Expecting the new king's -response to be positive—even enthusiastic—he lies through his teeth, in graphic detail, to brag about how he put the tragic Saul to death. In this respect the reader recognizes a further contrast, this time between David and the Amalekite himself. The latter's is a darkened mind. He is the carnal man, the self-serving moral imbecile, who unwittingly involves himself in matters beyond his grasp.
David has met this kind of individual before. Perhaps he was reminded of Doeg the Edomite, the treacherous friend of Saul and the scoundrel who slew the priests of Nob.
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
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