I SAMUEL 31:1-10

Q: Why did the messenger lie about killing Saul. The commentary I have states the Amalekite was lying to ingratiate himself with David. I thought the Amalekites were enemies. Why would David listen to one, especially since 2 Samuel 1:1-11 states "...David returned from defeating the Amalekites..."?

Since the messenger's version of Saul's death in 2 Samuel 1 contradicts the accounts found in both 1
Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10, we can assume that he is lying in order to gain favor with the now 
powerful David. He has every reason to think that David will believe his story and reward him since he
has possession of Saul's crown and armlet as evidence. And, in fact, David does believe him 
completely, and has him executed for his supposed part in the killing. 

Although the messenger had an Amelekite background, he was a second-generation resident-alien
whose family had earlier allied their fate with the Jews (2 Samuel 1:13) unlike the raiding Amelekite
tribes that David was pursuing. Kyle McCarter (II Samuel, p. 60) explains that such a resident-alien, or 
sojourner, “was neither a native nor a foreigner in legal status, but he had some of the privileges and 
responsibilities of each.  He was...accepted and protected by the community among whom he lived
more or less permanently...Pertinent here is the fact that a sojourner...was not exempt from the laws of
the community or to the penalties prescribed by them.” 

Because of the above reasons, David had even more reason to trust the messenger than he did the
servant of a raiding Amelekite he had earlier encountered in 1 Samuel 30:11-16, and David trusted that
servant with his life and the lives of all his men.