1 SAMUEL 31

1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.

• Remember last week that David wanted to be part of this army that fought against Saul and the army of Israel. It was the Lord’s mercy that did not allow David to take up arms and go to battle with these enemies of the Lord.
• Many commentators are of the persuasion that this attack took place immediately after Saul returned from his visit to the witch of Endor.

2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.

• Jonathan, Ishui, and Malchishua were named as Saul’s sons in 1 Sam 14:49, but Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua are named here; Ishui and Abinadab are thus one and the same. The fourth son, Eshbaal, would later be referred to as Ish-bosheth, meaning “man of shame,” an appropriate designation in light of his apparent absence from the battlefield (cf. 2 Sam. 2:8ff.).
• The deaths of Saul and his sons fulfilled Samuel's prophecy.
• 1Samuel 28:19 Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
• Somehow Saul's son Ish-bosheth survived and was later made king by Abner (2 Samuel 2:8-9).—Ryrie Study Notes
• In taking the logical heirs to Saul’s throne, God cleared the way for David to become the next king of Israel. We know that if Jonathan had survived, he would have gladly yielded the throne to David (1 Samuel 18:1-4). But the same could not be said of Saul’s other sons, so God was merciful to the nation and to David in taking Saul’s sons in battle. God was also merciful to Jonathan, sparing him the ordeal of having to side with David against his own brothers. David Guzik

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.

• Uncircumcised men. A common term of derision used among Israelites to designate non-Israelites. By calling these men uncircumcised, Saul was either indicating that they were non-Israelites, or he may have been implying that his spiritual condition was better than theirs, because he had received the rite of circumcision.If the implication was that he was “better off” than them in the eyes of God because he was circumcised, then that is similar to what John the Baptist said when
• Matt 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: 9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
• Scripture is very clear that religious pedigree has no saving value at all (Phil 3.3-7)
• Scripture is also abundantly clear in stating that any external rite apart from a changed heart is meaningless.
• Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.
• Galatians 6:15 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
• Saul took a sword and fell upon it-The meaning is that Saul, finding himself surrounded by these archers, ordered his armor bearer to kill him, that he might be spared the degradation of being slain by “uncircumcised” heathen.

• There are only four examples of suicide in the Bible, those of Ahithophel (2 Sam 17:23), Zimri (1 Kgs 16:18), Judas (Mt 27:5), and Saul, here.
• We are wrong if we regard suicide as the unforgivable sin. However, anyone who does commit suicide has given in to the ultimate lies and deceptions of Satan, whose purpose is to kill and destroy (John 10:10).

5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him.

• It is the established tradition of the Jewish nation that this armor-bearer was Doeg. and if so, then
• At the command of Saul he slew the high priest Ahimelech (q.v.) at Nob (1 Samuel 22.18), together with all the priests to the number of eighty-five persons. (Comp.. Ps 52:1 <<To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.)
• How ironic would that be if the very sword which they had used to kill the priests of God, was the same one that was used to kill themselves!

6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men (his household servants, his bodyguard, allies, and a great part of his army), that same day together.

• 1 Chron 10.13,14 tells us the spiritual reason why Saul died.
• 1Chron 10:13 So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; 14 And enquired not of the LORD: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.
• The events of this chapter happened some 20 years after Saul first heard the announcement of judgment against him from the prophet Samuel. One has to believe that the longsuffering of God had given Saul many opportunities to repent. Perhaps Saul thought that time was on his side, because God’s announced judgment did not happen immediately.
• Eccl 8:11 Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
• But time was against him, because in the 20 years since, his heart became harder against God.
• Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.
• Never misinterpret the longsuffering of God as meaning that He approves of sin.
• Whatever else was in his soul, repentance was not there. He may have been seared by remorse, but he was not softened by penitence, and was fierce and proud in despair as he had been in prosperity. Alexander MacClaren
• Though the grace of God is never meant to embolden us to sin, it does make provision for confession and repentance of sin. This too is how we grow in grace and the knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ.

7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

• The victory of the Philistines was so complete that even those on the other side of the Jordan fled in terror before the Philistines. So thorough was the defeat, especially as Saul and the royal house were slain, that they abandoned their homes, and the Philistines took possession.

• With the Philistine army occupying territory on the other side of the Jordan, they have cut Israel in half, drawing a line from west to east.

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 mount Gilboa.

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.

• Cut off his head- Probably in retaliation for the treatment given Goliath (17:54). —Wycliffe Bible Commentary, The
• The bodies of the fallen warriors were hung on the wall along the open square of the city —Ryrie Study Notes
• Saul told the armor bearer that he did not want his body to be abused by the Philistines, but by killing himself, the very thing that he feared the most came to pass. After he was beheaded, his head was passed around from city to city and his naked corpse was nailed to the wall of a Philistine city as a spectacle for all to see.
• Military victory was attributed to the gods, since the belief was that military encounters were ultimately battles between the deities of rival nations. Thus, Saul’s death was an occasion for the Philistines to “worship” their false gods and mock the True and Living God.

10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.

• Ashtaroth was the fertility goddesses of the Canaanites, to whom the Philistines gave homage by placing the weapons of their defeated foe in the temple of the Ashtoreths. As the sword of Goliath was put in the house of the Lord behind the ephod (1 Sam. 21:9), so the weapons of Saul were taken by the Philistines and put in the temple of the Ashtoreths.
• Bethshan is located in the Jordan Valley, approximately 16 miles south of the Sea of Galilee.

11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.

·      Cremation was not the general Hebrew practice except in the case of criminals (Joshua 7:25). The bodies may have been burned because they had been badly mutilated; even so, the bones were preserved and buried.—Ryrie Study Notes

• After the exile, burial was the sole method of disposing of the dead among the Jews, and in the Talmud cremation is condemned as a heathen practice.
• The men of Jabesh Gilead showed kindness and respect to Saul, a Benjamite, by rescuing his body from the wall of Beth Shan because Saul and his sons had saved Jabesh Gilead from the Ammonites (11:9–12) just after he had been chosen as king of Israel. By this act, they honored Saul for his faithfulness to them.

·      Glory to God, He always has His valiant men! When one servant passes the scene, another arises to take his place. If Saul is gone, God raises up a David. If the army of Israel is utterly routed, God still has His valiant men. God’s work is bigger than any man, or any group of people.

13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

• Upon taking the throne, David rightly thanked these valiant men for their kindness to the memory of Saul, Jonathan, and Saul’s other sons (2 Samuel 2:4-7).
• A week of fasting and mourning was typical for a king of Israel.

Closing comments This book began with the birth of Samuel, and ends with the death of Saul. The comparing these together will teach us to prefer the honor that comes from God before all the honors of the world. Seek above all things to obtain in life and death the honor that comes from God.

The truth concerning the 20 years between the sin of Saul and his death is this. We see in Saul the sad case of the consequences of compromise and failure to own up to one’s sin. He is an example of those who make shipwreck of their faith. The longsuffering of God is often misinterpreted as meaning His approval of sin. Though judgment is often for unrevealed reasons long deferred, yet events are so disposed as to concentrate irresistibly on the enforcement of the penalty of sin. Men pursue a crooked and unholy course for years, during which time justice seems to linger; but the time comes on when, as by infatuation, they go straight into the concurrences of events which Providence has permitted for their downfall. Pulpit Commentary

As far as Saul’s eternal destiny, it is not for any of us to say whether there was not in those last sad moments, as he lay on the earth, a melting of that heart which had so long striven against God. The Scriptures shed no light thrown on what went on in his soul in those last earthly moments. The case of the thief on the cross may suggest the possibility of a cry from the heart to which Christ responded with mercy and grace.

Following Jesus Christ is a deliberate choice that we must make every single day. Proverbs 1 tells us that the fear of The Lord is a choice. Hebrews 11 tells us that God rewards those who diligently seek Him. There is no standing still in moral life; if men do not deliberately seek to grow in grace and in the knowledge of The Lord Jesus Christ by using the various means that He has given unto us, the inevitable law of attrition sets in and they unfailingly become worse. There is no such thing as a passive, fruit bearing follower of Jesus Christ beloved.