The
Book of First Samuel
Chapter 31
[1]
Now the Philistines fought against
1) Depth of the
Conflict with the Philistines (world)
The camp of the Israelites in Gilboa (28:4)
The two sides square off and many of
The attack is deep into Israeli
territory and they are now dying in their own camp
Conflict with flesh
King Saul was told to utterly destroy Amalek and he did not (I Sam 15:3) destroy all
Many times he hardened his heart towards God
and did things his own way.....depth of rebellion
I Sam 15:23,28 God
rejected him from being king over his rebellion, the throne given away
He also had a hatred for David
and tried to kill David numerous times, he killed priests
I Sam 28:19 King Saul is
told that tomorrow he will die along with his sons
Knowing death is coming, the host
of the enemy is approaching, he does not repent
[2] And the Philistines followed hard
upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul's
sons.
[3] And the battle went sore against
Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers.
[4] Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through
therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me.
But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore
afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
[5] And when his armourbearer
saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.
[6] So Saul died, and his three sons,
and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day
together.
2) Deaths
in the
A. Abuse..........the casualties are heavy
and mounting ..............Vs 1 (Many
fell down slain)
Noteworthy casualties are the 3 sons of King
Saul.......... Jonathon, Abinadab & Melchishua
Jonathon (the best friend of David)
died fighting for God and country to the end)
In taking heirs, God is clearing
the way for David to be king
Jonathon would have given throne
to David, but is spared from siding against his family
B. Archers with arrows flying and severely wound
King Saul......(Eph 6:16 fiery darts of wicked)
Saul notes the injuries and the surety of
death
C. Armorbearer asked to finish the life of
the King, terminating his pain and die before he is captured
BUT the armorbearer
would not
D. Accounting he would not be able to survive the
wounds, King Saul draws his sword & falls upon it
E. Absence of repentance, the absence of
prayer is noteworthy
Knowing he would die, yet he did not prepare
himself to meet God
All of us will one day die, knowing all have
sinned and we will meet God......why not repent?
If
not now, when?
F. Amalek..........II Sam 1:4-10
(told to destroy Amalek, would not, so an Amalekite destroyed him)
[7] And when the men of
3)
Defeat in the
Why is
The remaining men of
The enemy came and took over
The sin of leadership effect self, family and others (here an entire nation is endangered)
[8] And it came to pass on the morrow,
when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his
three sons fallen in
[9] And they cut off his head, and
stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of
the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and
among the people.
[10] And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth:
and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
[11] And when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done
to Saul;
[12] All the valiant men arose, and
went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the
wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh,
and burnt them there.
[13] And they took their bones, and
buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven
days.
4)
Desecration in the
The enemy came and stripped the bodies of the
dead, taking the spoil
Here they find the bodies of the King and his
sons
To celebrate victory, the enemy desecrates
the bodies
They mutilate the body of King Saul, by
chopping off his head and carry it through the streets
They take his armor and place in the house of
their idolatrous god....ascribing victory to their god
They fasten the bodies of the royal family to
the wall of Bethshan (high upon a hill)
In this culture the desecration of a body was
more of a disgrace than death itself
Upon the news of humiliation to the royal
family, valiant men of Jabeshgilead arise and fight
They win victory enough to take down the
bodies of the royal family
They burn the desecrated bodies, bury them and fast seven days out of respect and
mourning