II Samuel 1 Intro
David was a shepherd at heart. He didn't force himself on the people, but shepherded them.
David was in exile for 10 years, running for his life...there's single incidents from a decade ago I'm still holding onto. that's amazing. He broke into a sad song when he heard of Saul's death and never mentioned all of the horrible things that Saul did.
That didn't happen because of who David was, but because of who God is. When you're walking in the Spirit of God, nothing else matters. You see people as His, and offenses don't carry a sting.
There are three accounts of Saul's death and they differ. The author of I Saul's account, the messenger's, and apparently one coming in I Chronicles. Logic dictates that the messenger was lying. Especially since Samuel was originally one book, so one author. These are the "contradictions" that skeptics use, but to me this makes it real. These contradictions could have been smoothed over somewhere in history. But they are still there for us to wrestle with.
AT the end of it, the messenger probably thought he was bringing good news and when he saw everyone grieving, he worked up a story he thought would gain him a reward.
The word "fallen" is found six times in this chapter. The man bigger than all around him in his youth, fell and died in shame.