How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!
– 2 Samuel 1:27
This verse is the very last verse in 2 Samuel 1, and it closes a lament from David over Saul and Jonathan, his son. So verse 17 in 2 Samuel 1 says, “David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan.” Saul, who had been the king of the people of Israel, and he gets to the end of this lamentation and says these words, “How the mighty have fallen.” And I read this and I think about that reality in the world for all of us, including everyone who has any power in this world. Just think about the most mighty countries and mighty leaders of those countries. In the end, their might will be brought to nothing.
2 Samuel 1:27 teaches us that earthly power is fleeting.
I think about a conversation that another one of our pastors and I had with a very powerful leader of a very mighty country. And we just had a couple of brief moments alone with this leader, and I was holding a Bibl,e and this other pastor just went for it.
He just said to this leader, looked him in the eye and said, “This book,” pointing to the Bible, “Says that every man is destined to die and face judgment. And the only thing that will matter on that day is whether you have Jesus.” He said, “None of this other stuff in this world, including position and power in this world, is going to matter. The only thing that will matter is if you have Jesus.” And he looked at this leader and said, “We want you to have Jesus on that day more than anything else. We want you to have Jesus.”
And it’s true, the mighty will fall. That includes all of us, which should change our perspective on our lives. And it includes everyone in the world, which should change our perspective on everyone in the world. Do not put your hope in the might of people or the might of countries or position or power that you might see in any way in this world. Do not put your hope, their hope, in Jesus alone. He alone has all authority in heaven and on earth. He has it all.
2 Samuel 1:27 teaches us to trust in the unfailing reign of Jesus.
So look to him, trust in him, follow him, obey him, and proclaim him. Lead people to see him. He’s the only one that’s going to matter ultimately, and he will never fall. This is the beauty and the glory of Jesus. He has died and conquered death. He has conquered sin. Christ has conquered Satan. He is the Lord who has authority over all things, and he will never fall. Everyone else will fall. Every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that he is Lord.
So God, we pray that you would help us to live with this perspective today in each of our lives. Help us not to put hope ultimately in our power, our position, or what we can do or what we might, can acquire. God, we pray that you’d help us to humbly submit to Jesus today, to live as servants of Jesus, to live under the Lordship of Jesus in every facet of our lives. And God, help us to have a proper perspective on the world around us. We are so thankful, Lord Jesus, that you are sovereign over it all. You’re sovereign over nations. You are sovereign over leaders.
This verse reminds us to intercede for those in authority.
God, we pray then, we pray for leaders in high positions, that you bring them to humility before you. God, we pray for their salvation. We pray that they would have you, Jesus, that they would trust in you, submit to you. God, we pray that over them and we pray that over all kinds of people around us, everybody we’ll interact with today. Knowing that every single person we look at today, tomorrow will one day bow and call you Lord. The question is, will they do that now or when it’s too late?
So God, help us to share the gospel with urgency. Help us to speak that Word to somebody today, tomorrow, that every person is destined to die and face judgment and the only thing that will matter on that day is if you have Jesus. God, help us to be bold in sharing the gospel today. And God, we pray for the spread of this gospel to the ends of the earth.
Prayer for the Jat People
God, we pray for the Jat people, over 15,000,000 of them, Muslim men, women, and children who need this good news of how Jesus has conquered death on their behalf, risen from the grave. God, we pray that the Jat people would be reached with the good news of Jesus. Oh God, we pray that you would help us to point people to Jesus today around us, and to spend our lives pointing people to Jesus around the world through the resources you entrust to us. Time, money, gifts, opportunities, experiences.
God, we pray you’d help us to point people to the one whose might will never, ever fall. And we are so thankful, Jesus, that your might will never ever fall. We pray this in light of your Word in 2 Samuel 1:27. In the name of Jesus the Lord. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder of Radical, an organization that makes Jesus known among the nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Don’t Hold Back, and How to Read the Bible.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
