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Answer
At the end of 1 Samuel, Saul and Jonathan are killed in Israel’s battle against the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:4-6). When David hears of their deaths, he sings a song of lament, called “the Song of the Bow” «(Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.) », (2 Samuel 1:18, BSB), that includes the words, “How the mighty have fallen!” «The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: How are the mighty fallen! », (2 Samuel 1:19 and 27). The rest of the song, against the backdrop of David’s relationships with Saul and David, illustrates the significance of those words.
Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, was chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to be Israel’s first king «And Samuel said to all the people, See ye him whom the LORD hath chosen, that there is none like him among all the people? And all the people shouted, and said, God save the king. », (1 Samuel 10:24). Saul’s administration was still young when he disobeyed God and was rejected by God as king (1 Samuel 15:22-23). Still, he had been anointed as king, and even though David was chosen by God to replace Saul as king «And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. », (1 Samuel 16:12), David did not want to raise his own hand against the Lord’s anoint.Ted said, “And he said unto his men, The LORD forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the LORD’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the LORD.” (1 Samuel 24:6). It appeared that David cared for Saul, despite Saul—feeling increasingly threatened by David’s popularity—trying to assassinate him. While David showed respect (at least) for Saul, he cherished Saul’s son Jonathan.
David and Jonathan were extremely close, “And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” (1 Samuel 18:1), and Jonathan—although by lineage he was heir to Saul’s throne—established a covenant with David. Jonathan loved David as himself, “Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.” (1 Samuel 18:3). Saul and Jonathan achieved many mighty feats and victories in battle, but David swiftly rose to fame and was given command over Saul’s men of war, “And David went out whithersoever Saul sent him, and behaved himself wisely: and Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.” (1 Samuel 18:5). As David’s popularity increased, so did Saul’s suspicion of him, “And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.” (1 Samuel 18:9). Nevertheless, David would not challenge Saul’s rule due to his respect for Saul and for the God who had appointed Saul in the first place.
Perhaps also because of David’s love for Jonathan.
As David sang his memorial lament for Saul and Jonathan, he three times repeated that “the mighty have fallen!” «The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: How are the mighty fallen! », (2 Samuel 1:19, 25, 27). He referred to the king and prince as Israel’s beauty «The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: How are the mighty fallen! », (2 Samuel 1:19). He did not want the Philistines to rejoice in the deaths of Saul and Jonathan «Tell it not in Gath, Publish it not in the streets of Askelon; Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. », (2 Samuel 1:20). In the song, he even cursed the mountains of Gilboa, where they had died «Ye mountains of Gilboa, Let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: For there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, The shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil. », (2 Samuel 1:21). The two were valiant and successful in battle «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. », (2 Samuel 1:22). David expressed that many loved them and thought them pleasant, and that they were “swifter than eagles” and “stronger than lions” «Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, And in their death they were not divided: They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. », (2 Samuel 1:23).
(2 Samuel 1:23). He reminded the people how much Saul was a blessing to them «Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, Who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel. », (2 Samuel 1:24) and added—as a woeful refrain—“How the mighty have fallen!” «How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. », (2 Samuel 1:25). After expressing how much he loved Jonathan (2 Samuel 1:25-26), David repeated the refrain, “How the mighty have fallen!” «How are the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!», (2 Samuel 1:27).
David introduces his song by exclaiming, “How the mighty have fallen!” «The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: How are the mighty fallen! », (2 Samuel 1:19), repeats the refrain after a specific acknowledgment of Saul, and then again after direct reference to Jonathan. “How the mighty have fallen!” seems to be a sort of eulogy to two mighty men in Israel’s history, and David uses it poignantly. David’s respectfulness and love are an excellent reminder that, even when someone tries to harm us (as Saul did David), it is still right and beautiful to treat him with respect as someone created by God. It seemed that David always saw Saul through God’s eyes, rather than through his own hurt at being hated and even harmed. Even when his nemesis was killed, David took no joy in the occasion, but rather wept and sang sincerely, “How the mighty have fallen!”
