Saul’s Ignominious Death


1 Samuel 31
1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul.
3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.
4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.
6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
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.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people.
10 They put his armor in the temple of Ashtoreth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what 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 they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

We all hope that at the end of our lives, people will say good things about us. We want to be remembered as someone who made a difference to at least a few people and that the good comments outweigh the bad. One of my great fears is that all people will say of me is that I could cook. I hope for more. What would be great is if God’s name would be mentioned ahead of mine as people think about my life. Yeah, that would be cool.

Now we come to the end of 1 Samuel and the end of Saul’s life. Along with him die 3 of his 4 sons and also dies the continuation of Saul’s family on the throne. It should be noted that chapter 30 and 31 probably happen on the same day. David is in the south of Judah, routing the Amalekites; and Saul is in the north, losing a battle to the Philistines. The Amalekites flee from David as he take all their stuff and the Philistines end Saul’s life. Saul was placed on the throne by God in order to deliver Israel from the hands of the Philistines. Instead, he dies at their hand and the Philistines over-run Judah and inhabit her cities. We also get to read about the terrible brutality of the people as they do indeed abuse the body of Saul after he commits suicide in order to avoid such treatment. On a side note, Saul’s first act as king had been to rescue the people of Jabesh Gilead and they are the ones who risk death or capture in order to get the bodies of Saul and his sons back from the Philistines where they were on display in pagan temples. They burn the bodies in order to prevent them from being taken again and their ashes are buried under the tamarisk tree. Saul is mourned with fasting for seven days as was customary for God’s people.

1 Chronicles10:13-14 tells this same story (almost verbatim) and ends with these verses. “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.” The bottom line for God seems to be that Saul “broke faith” with Him. He ceased to believe that God would care for him or provide for him. Instead, Saul struck out alone and tried to take care of himself. That did not go well for him, and 1 Chronicles would indicate that God was responsible for his ultimate demise. What a tragic epitaph.

So, back to the original question. What will people say of you after your death? Will God figure prominently in what is said of you or will He merely be a footnote to your life? The time to take charge of that is now!

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