Where (How) Will You Die?

“How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.” (2Sa 1:25 AV)

 

What is interesting about the above phrase is it is only said of Jonathan and not of Saul.  They both fell at the same spot.  On the hill of Gilboa, Saul and his son, Jonathan met their end. Yet it is only said of Jonathan that he died in his high place.  Don’t misunderstand.  In David’s eulogy for Saul and Jonathan, he has incredibly nice things to say about Saul.  Saul was a noble leader and a great warrior.  He faithfully fought for Israel as the LORD would lead him.  Saul was David’s father-in-law.  That made him family.  Never once did David mention the failures of Saul.  It was not the time to do it.  It was the time to remember someone who had served the nation with his life despite not wholly following the LORD.  But one thing he could not say was that he died in his high places.  Jonathan did.  Why wasn’t it said of the one who died by his side?  Verse nineteen has a similar statement.  But the statement is directed at the high place of Gilboa and the subject is the beauty of Israel which was Saul and/or Jonathan.  Some speculate the high place was the mountain of Gilboa which was the inheritance of Saul and Jonathan and is a mere reference to where they died.  However, according to some, Saul disinherited Jonathan because of his friendship with David.  The high place of the mount of Gilboa may have been the high place of Saul and his family, but it could not have been considered the high place of Jonathan.  It was taken from him.  So, what is this high place that belongs to Jonathan?

How we choose to live determines how we die.  Everyone is honored upon their death.  Or, almost everyone.  No matter what kind of life he or she has lived, negative words are rarely spoken of the recently dead.  Speaking kind words is one thing.  Speaking words of high praise is quite another.  Here is a tale of two funerals.  The first was of a well-known Christian celebrity.  The deceased was known among those who shared a common calling and ministry with the deceased.  This person had a large family and wherever this traveler went in life, people usually made somewhat of a fuss.  The funeral was pretentious.  It was bigger than life.  It was expensive and over the top.  This funeral affected the entire town regardless of how less well-known the deceased was in the immediate community.  As pretentious as this event was, there were equally negative feelings regarding the passing of this individual.  Many had less than admirable feelings toward the departed.  The deceased was not hated, per se.  It was the case of a person who made their mark in several areas of life and not all marks were good ones.  There were tears.  There were accolades.  There were great words for the one who passed.  As there should be.  However, there was another funeral.  This devout saint was not well known.  He didn’t really make as huge an impact as the other.  He was a man who never made it in life.  He didn’t own cattle on a thousand hills.  If you mentioned his name in passing, very few would know the name.  The funeral was simple.  Just a few flowers, a simple coffin, and a grave in an out-of-the-way place with a headstone that was barely bigger than a loaf of bread.  He served as a deacon and would often take lumps for his pastor.  He would suffer undue criticism, misuse, and sacrifice for the needs of others even to the point he would go without.  Not many people came to his funeral.  There were empty seats all around.  His family was there.  The preacher preached a gospel message of hope.  There were more tears of joy than there were of sorrow.  One of these individuals died on a high place.  The other died on his high place.

This is the difference between how Saul died and how Jonathan died.  Jonathan died supporting his father unto death but still honoring his brother-in-law and friend, David.  He refused to surrender David but did not abandon his father.  Jonathan died in a high place of honor that belonged to him and him alone.  It was a place of honor above that which his own father could accomplish.  The servant dies better than his master.  I think what David was saying was that even though Jonathan may have been disinherited by his own father and lost the physical high place in Gilboa, he still died in his high place.  He died with great honor.  A second man who was willing to die for someone who wasn’t worth his devotion.  For the sake of Israel, Saul, and David, Jonathan served and died with no earthly inheritance.  This does not mean he died without honor.  He died with the highest honor possible.  He died in HIS high places.