1 Chronicles 10: 1 – 14
Decidophobia
10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore, Saul took a sword and fell on it. 5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together. 7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; then the Philistines came and dwelt in them. 8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people. 10 Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. 11 And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh and fasted seven days. 13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore, He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
Have you ever spent so long trying to decide where to go for dinner that you end up missing the opportunity entirely? It's annoying, of course to experience this failure to choose, but I want to say that there's a world of difference between simple indecisiveness and decidophobia. This psychological term means ‘A paralyzing fear of making decisions.’
It's natural to worry over a huge life decision, someone with decidophobia is so terrified of making choices that they go out of their way to avoid them.
Let's see if you might have decidophobia.
1. You Go Out of Your Way To Avoid Choices
Phobias are characterized by avoidant behavior. The fear is causing actual avoidant behavior, so there are things occurring that the person might want to do but can’t do because of the fear. The fear is so distressing that people will go far out of their way to avoid deciding.
2. You Depend on Others to Make Decisions
People with decidophobia frequently want others to make decisions for them. Over time, this may lead to the development of unhealthy dependence on other people.
3. You Put Stock in Psychic Guidance
Similarly, to putting decisions in the hands of other people, individuals with decidophobia may place heavy emphasis on otherworldly forms of guidance: Tarot cards, psychics, astrology, and so on. These are all forbidden by our Holy Father God.
4. Making Decisions Inspires Intense emotional and physical issues
Phobias are characterized by intense fear, which may manifest in physical and emotional problems.
5. Your Indecision Interferes with Your Life
Like most psychological disorders, phobias cause distress. That's what elevates simple indecisiveness into decidophobia.
If you have personally studied 1st and 2nd Samuel, then you are familiar with the decline of Saul as the king of Israel. You will somehow tend to agree that this man had decidophobia as he seemed to have each of the 5 issues just listed.
For you and me though there is good news as our Holy Master instructs us here in this chapter. We need to learn from Saul’s errors and not repeat them. Our Lord said Saul’s problem of decidophobia is ‘he did not inquire of the LORD.’
The great emphasis of the Chronicler is on the house of David which he sees as the foundation of the hopes and worship of Israel. But to introduce his reign, and in order to contrast him with his predecessor, he first introduces us to the final days of Saul, whose genealogy has just been provided, ending it with an explanation for his downfall as a man whose failures before God had meant that God gave the kingdom to David, the son of Jesse. He wanted it to be quite clear that Saul’s dynasty was over.
It is this explanation for his downfall which makes it quite clear why the Chronicler retold a story which was already given in the book of Samuel. It was to bring out that when a man rebels against God, and in his own decision turns to the occult, he brings on himself God’s rejection and judgment. In the Chronicler’s mind Saul failed, not because of the might of the Philistines, but because God had deserted Saul. And it is almost certain that in his mind he paralleled this failure and consequence with the later failure of Judah/Israel and the consequences that it brought.
10 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
The account begins with the final battle between Israel and the Philistines which resulted in the complete subjugation of Israel west of the Jordan. The battle was fierce and hard fought, and the men of Israel either died or fled. It was total disaster. (1 Samuel 31.1.)
2 Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.
Having described the slaughter of Israel we now have described the slaughter of the three sons of Saul. It was the end of the influence of his house. Saul’s three sons were clearly leading the units that had been deployed to hold back the Philistines while the remainder retreated. They were not lacking in courage. Saul with the main force was further back. But even this force was not to escape.
3 The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was wounded by the archers.
Now it was the time for Saul himself to face his destiny. The story is told in detail. We are faced up to his final agonies before his death as he flees from the enemy, while fighting a rearguard battle. But his flight was in vain for the archers ‘overtook’ him, letting loose their arrows at the fleeing Israelites, thus bringing on him great distress and making him realize that his end was near.
4 Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore, Saul took a sword and fell on it.
In a slightly abbreviated version of 1 Samuel 31.4 Saul calls on his armor-bearer to draw his sword and kill him because he does not want his body to be abused in death as the Philistines made the most of killing him. They would gloat over the fact that they at last had him at their mercy and express their joy of the moment by mutilating his body. He had been an obstacle to them for years. And now they had him at their mercy. There is a hint here of what was to come, for Saul’s body will be abused.
His armor-bearer would not kill him. Perhaps he was fearful of killing ‘the Lord’s Anointed’
5 And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died.
Seeing Saul kill himself, his armor-bearer, also surrounded by the archers, similarly fell on his sword and died.
6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.
Excluding the reference to the armor-bearer and ‘all his men’ (1 Samuel 31.6) the scripture concentrates on the house of Saul. It is they on whom retribution is coming for the sins of Saul. It is the end of his dynasty.
7 And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they had fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities and fled; then the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
All the men of Israel who were in the valley, who had fearfully been watching the battle, saw Saul’s army fleeing before the Philistines in total disarray, and themselves then fled. They knew that the Philistines, full of blood lust, would show no mercy. Saul’s sins had affected the whole of Israel.
8 So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
By his suicide Saul had avoided a miserable end, for the battle clearly passed by him but it did not mean that his body escaped abuse. For on the next day when the Philistines, as was usual collected valuables, and armor, and weapons from the dead they came across the bodies of Saul and his sons.
9 And they stripped him and took his head and his armor and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among the people.
In a variation of 1 Samuel 31.9 we have their treatment of his body described. They stripped him of his armor and cut off his head. What follows may indicate that they sent it back to their own land to be driven round and displayed to the people, and to their idols (1 Samuel has ‘the house of their idols’), because they wanted their people to be able to celebrate their triumph and to see with their own eyes the head and armor of their long time enemy.
10 Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon.
Here the scripture leaves off 1 Samuel 31.10 to the displaying of Saul’s body on the wall of Beth-shan.
11 And when all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons; and they brought them to Jabesh and buried their bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh and fasted seven days.
The men of Jabesh-gilead had good reason to be grateful to Saul, for in his early days he had saved them from a terrible fate (1 Samuel 11.1-11). Thus, out of the love and gratitude that they had for him they determined to save his body from humiliation. But the ‘taking down of his body from the wall of Beth-shan’ (1 Samuel 31.12) is deliberately omitted in his description of the noble act of the people of Jabesh-gilead, in accordance with what we have seen above. They are simply described as taking away the bodies of Saul and his sons and giving them a decent burial. It would be at some risk to themselves, and was no doubt carried out secretly. (1 Samuel tells us that they travelled through the night to accomplish it). The reference to the burning of the bodies is also omitted. To the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead it was a necessity to ensure that the Philistines could not find the bodies. All the attention is to be on the fact that Saul was dead at the hands of God. (‘He who sins will die’).
13 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the LORD; therefore, He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
The reason for Saul’s death, and the reason for the end of his dynasty, was the trespass he had committed against YHWH. This lay in the fact that ‘he did not observe the word of YHWH’, and also in the fact that he sought counsel from one who had a familiar spirit, rather than enquiring of YHWH. That was why he was slain by God and his dynasty was ended.
We know, of course, that Saul did at first seek to enquire of YHWH after his failures, only to receive no answer. But his point is that instead of repenting deeply, as he should have done, Saul then turned away from enquiring of YHWH and sought to enquire of the occult. One of David’s greatest points was that he knew how to truly repent. He really cared that he had let God down.
Please take note of the final reason for the death of Saul. It was to ‘turn the kingdom over to David, the son of Jesse’. It is this which is the main emphasis as it becomes apparent throughout 1 Chronicles. The direction of this report is to display David as God’s man who would observe the word of YHWH and who would arrange for true worship on a grand scale, and would finally arrange for the building of a truly holy Temple. This is the important fact because he was the forerunner of the coming ideal king.
