The Death Of Saul Series

Earlier in Israel’s history, they were governed by judges. However, the people Israel demanded a king “like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:5). God agreed to give the people of Israel a king (8:7). But he also warned them that a king would eventually deal harshly with the people and oppress them (8:10-18). So, Saul was chosen to be king over Israel (9-10). Saul started off well, but very quickly showed that he was disobedient and unrepentant. He was not a believer and he was unfaithful to the Lord. In fact, in the parallel passage in 1 Chronicles 10:13–14, we read, “So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the Lord in that he did not keep the command of the Lord, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. He did not seek guidance from the Lord. Therefore the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.”

Lesson

First Samuel 31:1-13 shows us what happens to one who is unfaithful.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. The Defeat of God’s People (31:1-3, 7)

2. The Certainty of God’s Judgment (31:4-6)

3. The Dishonoring of God’s Name (31:8-10)

4. The Help of God’s Men (31:11-13)

I. The Defeat of God’s People (31:1-3, 7)

First, let’s look at the defeat of God’s people.

While David was defeating the Amalekites 100 miles to the south, the Philistines were defeating the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley. In fact, the catastrophic defeat is summarized in verse 1, “Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.” Presumably, the men of Israel moved on to Mount Gilboa to escape the chariots of the Philistines. But, there were far too many Philistines, and the army of the Israelites was defeated on Mount Gilboa.

The author of First Samuel zooms in and focuses on Saul and his sons. He writes in verse 2, “And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.” We know Jonathan, of course. He was David’s closest friend. He understood that God had selected David to be the next king over Israel, and was wonderfully supportive of David. But, now, on Mount Gilboa, Jonathan was killed by the Philistines.

Saul had another son named Ishvi (in 1 Samuel 14:49). He was not named in verse 2, which means that he either escaped or, more likely, was not present for this battle against the Philistines. He will appear later by the name Ish-bosheth (in 2 Samuel 2:8-10).

The author zooms in yet closer in verse 3, “The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.” The chariots might not have been able to get up the mountain, but the archers certainly could. And one of the arrows found its way to Saul and, as the text says, “he was badly wounded by the archers.”

Then, zooming back out so as to get a wide-angled view, the author notes in verse 7, “And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.” The defeat of God’s people was now complete. The Israelites ran away from the Philistines, and the Philistines came and occupied their homes and their cities in the northern part of Israel.