Like Time Itself Has Stopped

# 411 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 1:17,18, “Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, 18 and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher: (2 Sam 1:17,18) I don't think we can grasp the depth of what David was feeling here. Lamenting is not part of our funeral culture. Oh, we grieve the loss of loved ones, and typically, the deeper the love the more intense the expression of our grief. But it's not the same as David's outward display I will never forget my father-in-law's response to the death of his wife. There was such a display of tears and a frantic kind of a clutching and embracing to what was now her shell of a body. The two who had become one, were now torn apart. Oh the emotional pain that accompanies this rending whenever and however it occurs. The words lamenting and lamentation here are a literal chanting and wailing and beating on the breast. This was how David vented his grief over the loss of his king, and his best friend Jonathan. We will look at the “Song of the Bow” in detail over the next couple of days, and perhaps get some ideas of how to express our own feelings at the loss of loved ones. Maybe you, like David, are gifted with words. Perhaps writing a poem about your dearly departed and sharing it with others would be helpful. This is what David did and he felt so strongly about what he had written that he ordered it to be taught to children, lest the legacy of Saul and Jonathan be forgotten. This lamentation even found it's way into the Book of Jasher. This book is mentioned in one other place in Scripture. Jos 10:13 “So the sun stood still, And the moon stopped, Till the people had revenge Upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher?” There it is, the Song of the Bow, right next to an account of the very sun and moon standing still. How fitting. For the one who has felt the loss of a loved one, it often seems like time itself has stopped. How good to know that this is just a natural part of the grieving process, and knowing that one day our faithful God will set things in motion once again. Father, bless those who are mourning the loss of loved ones today.