Killing the LORD’s Anointed

2 Samuel 1:1-16
    1 Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, 2 on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul's camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself.
    3 And David said to him, “Where have you come from?”  So he said to him, “I have escaped from the camp of Israel.”  4 Then David said to him, “How did the matter go? Please tell me.”  And he answered, “The people have fled from the battle, many of the people are fallen and dead, and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.”  5 So David said to the young man who told him, “How do you know that Saul and Jonathan his son are dead?”  6 Then the young man who told him said, “As I happened by chance to be on Mount Gilboa, there was Saul, leaning on his spear; and indeed the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7 Now when he looked behind him, he saw me and called to me. And I answered, ‘Here I am.’ 8 And he said to me, ‘Who are you?’ So I answered him, ‘I am an Amalekite.’ 9 He said to me again, ‘Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, but my life still remains in me.’ 10 So I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.”
    11 Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. 12 And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
    13 Then David said to the young man who told him, “Where are you from?”  And he answered, “I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.”  14 So David said to him, “How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the LORD'S anointed?” 15 Then David called one of the young men and said, “Go near, and execute him!” And he struck him so that he died. 16 So David said to him, “Your blood is on your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the LORD'S anointed.’ ”

Saul and his were sons were killed in battle, and David was resting from a successful battle of his own against the enemy Amalekites, when a survivor from Saul’s camp came to him.  He recounted how Israel was routed and everyone left alive ran away from the slaughter.  He also told David that the royal family members were all dead.  Then he told how he came across the LORD’s anointed who was still alive and in great pain after trying to take his own life to keep the enemy from mitigating and gloating over him (1 Samuel 31:4-5).  This witness brought the crown to David as proof and probably because everyone knew that David was anointed to be king after Saul.  David and his band mourned for them and all Israel who had perished in the battle, then took vengeance on the messenger for killing Saul as the LORD’s chosen king without consideration or fear and pit the blame for his death on the man himself because he should have known better than to kill Saul, no matter that the chances for his life were nonexistent; he should have let him die at God’s hand, not by man’s.   How opposite from Jesus Christ the Anointed King over all who was killed by man’s hand!  Of course this demonstrates how Jesus allowed this to point out that we all are guilty of His death by our sin which He took on Himself (Acts 2:23, 1 Peter 3:18) and died by the hands He appointed to do the deed that we might be atoned for.  How unsearchable are His ways (Romans 11:33, Ephesians 3:8) of grace in His death for our life!  The hands used to take His life are pardoned and justified by the willing death as the price paid for us to be granted justifying forgiveness!