Gilboa

At its highest point, Mount Gilboa is more than 1,600 ft above sea level. Since the area east of the mountain range is below sea level, the actual height is nearly 2,000 ft.

For Israel, the mountain has a special significance. It was the site of a battle against the Philistines in which Israel’s first king, Saul, and his son Jonathan both died. Saul’s successor, David, composed a moving dirge about their death, which the Israelites were supposed to learn by heart. To this day, its text is often recited at funerals or at a day of mourning for a fallen Israeli soldier.

Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 2:21-27
Then Abner said to him, ‘Turn aside to the right or to the left; take on one of the young men and strip him of his weapons.’ But Asahel would not stop chasing him. Again Abner warned Asahel, ‘Stop chasing me! Why should I strike you down? How could I look your brother Joab in the face?’ But Asahel refused to give up the pursuit; so Abner thrust the butt of his spear into Asahel’s stomach, and the spear came out through his back. He fell there and died on the spot. And every man stopped when he came to the place where Asahel had fallen and died. But Joab and Abishai pursued Abner, and as the sun was setting, they came to the hill of Ammah, near Giah on the way to the wasteland of Gibeon. Then the men of Benjamin rallied behind Abner. They formed themselves into a group and took their stand on top of a hill. Abner called out to Joab, ‘Must the sword devour for ever? Don’t you realise that this will end in bitterness? How long before you order your men to stop pursuing their fellow Israelites?’ Joab answered, ‘As surely as God lives, if you had not spoken, the men would have continued pursuing them until morning.’

Reflection: Driven by envy, Saul repeatedly tried to kill David. And yet, after Saul’s death, David writes a song about him, praising him and publicly defending him as God’s anointed. Instead of becoming bitter, he decided to focus on God behind Saul. What helps you not to become bitter?