The song of David: Sing the bow that didn't turn back!
[2 Samuel 1:17-27]
There is a Korean movie called “War of the Arrows” that even Netflix shows. It was released in Korea in August 2011, and the bow is the main weapon. And the hero of the movie named ‘Namyi’ comes out as the best bow arrow shooter in Joseon. He lives as a descendant of a traitor and hopes for the happiness of his sister, Zain, who is the only blood-related family member. But on his sister's wedding day, the happiest moment, she and her bridegroom are taken captive by the attack of the Qing Dynasty elite (Niru). At that time, the hero of the movie Namyi relies on the bow left by his father to kill the Qing elites one by one with his ghostly bow skill. He wages the greatest war of bow ever to protect his most precious sister (Internet). In the end, the hero of the movie Namyi kills Jushinta, the boss of the Qing Dynasty, and protects his most important sister. The movie ends with the happy ending.
The reason I mention this movie is because we see “the song of the bow” in 2 Samuel 1:17-27. Look at verse 18: “and he told them to teach the sons of Judah the song of the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar.” Isn't it interesting that the name of the song is “the song of bow”? This bow song in 2 Samuel 1:17-27 is written by David and it isn’t a joyful song, but a “lament” (v. 17). The reason why it is lament is because the David's best friend Jonathan and his father, King Saul, were killed in the battle against the Philistines. So David grieved over the death of Saul and his son Jonathan, and wrote this lament song to teach the people of Judah (vv. 17-18). And it is called “the song of the bow” (v. 18). Why the song is titled “The song of bow”? Look at verse 22: “"From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty.” David sang that “The bow of Jonathan did not turn back.” What does it mean? It means that the Jonathan's bow had spilled the blood or fat of his enemies. In other words, Jonathan had triumphed each time he wages a war (Park). Based on this, under the heading “The song of David: Sing the bow that didn’t turn back!” I want to think about how we can live a victorious life like Jonathan in two ways.
First, in order for us to live the victorious life like Jonathan, we must be “the mighty”.
When we look at the David's song in 2 Samuel 1:17-27, the word “the mighty” comes out five times (vv. 19, 21, 22, 25, 27). In other words, David refers to Saul and Jonathan, who were killed in the war against the Philistines, as “they mighty” five times in this passage. David said that Saul and Jonathan were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions (v. 23). In other words, the two mighty were skilled at war and courageous (Park). Here, one of the meanings that both Saul and Jonathan were skilled at war is that they were able to use their weapons well. For example, King Saul seems to have used his sword well in war, and Jonathan used his bow well as a weapon (v. 22). When we think about “bow”, I think it has special meaning to David. This is because when David had previously fled from his friend Jonathan's father, King Saul, Jonathan used his bow when he was helping David to flee from his father King Saul (1 Sam.20:35-42). Do you remember the story? When David was remaining by the stone Ezel (v. 19), Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him (v. 35). And Jonathan said to his lad, “’Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.’ As the lad was running, he shot an arrow past him” (v. 36). Then, when the lad reached the place of the arrow with Jonathan had shot, Jonathan after the lad and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?" (v. 37), “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” (v. 38) The reason why Jonathan said like that was to tell David to “go, for the Lord has sent you away” (v. 22). So when lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times to Jonathan, and they kissed each other and wept together (but David wept more) and David rose and departed (vv. 41-42). David would have thought of this when he thought about the Jonathan’s bow. And when we look at 1 Samuel 18:4, the Bible says that because Jonathan loved David as himself (v. 1), not only did he strip himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, but he also gave his armor, including his sword and how bow and his belt (v. 4). So when David heard the news of Jonathan's death and sang the song of the bow as a lament, I am sure that these precious memories of Jonathan's bow mad him to contemplate Jonathan's love. In this way, Jonathan loved David so much that he gave his beloved bow to David, but when David thought of Jonathan's bow, he knew that he used it very well as a weapon. Look at 1 Chronicles 8:40 – “The sons of Ulam were mighty men of valor, archers, and had many sons and grandsons, 150 of them. All these were of the sons of Benjamin.” Here, the sons of Ulam are the sons of Benjamin. And the Bible says that the sons of Benjamin are “mighty men of valor, archers.” And Saul and Jonathan were the sons of Benjamin. And it seems that Jonathan was also a mighty man of valor and archer. Therefore, Jonathan fought against the enemies of Israel with his bow and shed their blood (2 Sam 1:22). He won every battle.
We must fight spiritual battle while we live on this earth. We must fight against ourselves, sin, the world, and Satan. In order to do that, we all must be soldiers of the cross and fight the war bravely and boldly. Let’s sing “Stand Up for Jesus” to the Lord: (v. 1) “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus, Ye soldiers of the cross; Lift high His royal banner, It must not suffer loss: From vict'ry un-to vict'ry His army He shall lead, Till ev'ry foe is vanquished, And Christ is Lord indeed.” (v. 2) “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, The trumpet call obey; Forth to the mighty conflict In this His glorious day: Ye that are men now serve Him Against unnumbered foes; Let courage rise with danger, And strength to strength oppose.” (v. 3) “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, Stand in His strength alone; The arm of flesh will fail you, Ye dare not trust your own: Put on the gospel armor, Each piece put on with pray'r; Where duty calls, or danger, Be never wanting there.” (v. 4) “Stand up, stand up for Jesus, The strife will not be long; This day the noise of battle, The next the victor's song: To Him that wins the battle A crown of life shall be; He with the King of glory Shall reign eternally. A-men.”
Second and last, in order for us to live victoriously like Jonathan, we must fight together with our lives.
Look at 2 Samuel 1:23 – “"Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions.” When David sang this song of bow, he used the word “the mighty” five times referring to Saul and Jonathan (vv. 19, 21, 22, 25, 27), that means the both the father Saul and the son Jonathan fought bravely in war with their lives. Look at verses 19 and 25: “Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! … O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.” Although King Saul and Jonathan were defeated in the battle against the Philistines and killed on Mount Gilboa, the two mighty men didn’t fear death and fought the Philistines over their lives. So Saul and Jonathan fought not only with their lives, but they also died together (v. 23). At that, David sang this lament, saying, “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted. …” (v. 23). Two mighty men fallen together in the midst of the battle (v. 25).
The Lord's church is a church of victory and at the same time a militant church. The church is now at war. Now the church is fighting the Satan, and the Satan’s antichrist and the Satan’s idols which idolized humans. And only the last victors who endured all persecution and tribulation to the end will come before the throne of God and will sing “The song of Moses, the song of the Lamb” (Rev. 15:2-4). Therefore, we should not be guilty of idolatry, as Daniel’s three friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego didn’t bow down to the golden idol of King Nebuchadnezzar, even though they were about to be thrown in the fiery furnaces. We must be determined to believe and not to commit sins of idolatry by violating God's commands, even though we may have to give up our lives. Our church, like Daniel's three friends, should keep our faith with our lives. And we, like Apostle Paul, should not consider our lives of any account as dear to ourselves, so that we may finish our course and the ministry which we received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24). This reminds me the hymn “There’s a Royal Banner” verse 1 and the chorus: “There's a royal banner given for display To the soldiers of the King; As an ensign fair we lift it up today, While as ransomed ones we sing. Marching on, marching on, For Christ count everything but loss! And to crown Him King, Toil and sing Neath the banner of the cross!”
The song of David is not a happy ending, like the movie “War of the Arrows.” Rather, the David's song of bow ends with a sad ending. David's friend Jonathan is killed in a war with the Philistines. Knowing this, David sang in 1 Samuel 1:26: “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women.” David grieved deeply. The reason was because he lost his very beautiful friend Jonathan. In particular, he mourned because of the Jonathan’s love, which was more wonderful than the love of women. We, too, will mourn over the death of our dear spouse as our family members and friends die. In particular, we may face a triumphant death as we bleed and fight in spiritual warfare, like Jonathan's bow that didn’t turn back. At that time, let us not forget. Let us remember Jesus, our true Friend, who loves us more than His life. Let us not forget the Lord's grace of salvation, bearing all our sins and die on the cross in order to forgive our sins and then resurrected from the dead in order to make us righteous. Let us also hold up the old rugged cross until the day of our final victory through our Lord Jesus Christ who triumphed over death and Satan by the death of the cross. Victory!
Eager to sing the song of Moses, the song of the Lamb, before the throne of God,
Pastor James Kim