2 Samuel 1:17–27 (ESV)

And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he said it should be taught to the people of Judah; behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar. He said:

“Your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places!
            How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
            publish it not in the streets of Ashkelon,
lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
            lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

“You mountains of Gilboa,
            let there be no dew or rain upon you,
            nor fields of offerings!
For there the shield of the mighty was defiled,
            the shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

“From the blood of the slain,
            from the fat of the mighty,
the bow of Jonathan turned not back,
            and the sword of Saul returned not empty.    

“Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely!
            In life and in death they were not divided;
they were swifter than eagles;
            they were stronger than lions.

“You daughters of Israel, weep over Saul,
            who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet,
            who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.

“How the mighty have fallen
            in the midst of the battle!

“Jonathan lies slain on your high places.
            I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
very pleasant have you been to me;
            your love to me was extraordinary,
            surpassing the love of women.

“How the mighty have fallen,
            and the weapons of war perished!”

David isn’t just mourning the death of two men; he’s mourning the death of Your glory, O Israel. Three times he says, “How the mighty have fallen!” He’s referring to Saul and Jonathan when he says at the end, “the weapons of war perished!”

Over and over, we have seen David show seemingly undue respect for Saul. It’s not about who Saul is, but what he is. The death of Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest reigning monarch, occasioned great mourning too. But hers was an inherited crown. That’s nothing compared to an anointed one.

Saul gets what he does not deserve. That seems odd until we remember that’s what we get in the gospel.

This respect for the anointed one factors in to David and Jonathan’s relationship too. In this passage, David calls Jonathan’s love extraordinary.

But Jonathan knew that the kingdom had been taken from Saul and that David had been anointed by Samuel to be the next king.

So, while David deserved some respect, what he got from Jonathan was extraordinary.