1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines were in hot pursuit of Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
7 When the Israelites along the valley and those across the Jordan saw that the Israelite army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and fled. And the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his armor, and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan.
11 When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan. They took down the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
Points of Interest
- ‘killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua’--if you feel that the death of such a major character as Jonathan deserves more attention than this, don’t worry, we’ll have the chance to properly mourn him in tomorrow’s passage. Today’s passage is the mess of battle; tomorrow we deal with the aftermath.
- ‘when the archers overtook him’--with the Israelite front lines collapsing, the Philistine archers can get within range of Saul, even in his protected position.
- ‘Draw your sword and run me through’--it seems that having already been mortally wounded by the archers, Saul wants to deny some random soldier who comes along the bragging rights for dealing him his death blow. He feels that someone should only be able to call himself ‘Saul-slayer’ if they’ve truly earned it in a fair fight. Another possibility is that, anticipating torture, he’s trying to avoid being captured while he’s still alive. The armor-bearer, on the other hand, doesn’t want his last living act to be killing the king he serves; so Saul has to do it himself.
- ‘and all his men died together’--’all his men’ would be his bodyguard, the king’s company we mentioned yesterday (Saul’s bodyguard, by the way, were his close relatives rather than foreign troops. You may remember him ranting at these ‘men of Benjamin’ in chapter 22). Every one of them dies still standing beside their king. In other words, Saul and his bodyguard die bravely and honorably in battle, as good soldiers. The latter part of Saul’s reign may have been something of a mess, but he ends well.
- ‘they abandoned their towns and fled’--not only does the bulk of the army break and run, but the civilians abandon their towns in a panic. This is a major disaster.
- ‘proclaim the news in the temple of their idols’--they’re reporting back the news of their great success to their citizens and to their gods.
- ‘all their valiant men marched through the night to Beth Shan’--Saul and his sons deserve as honorable a burial as can be given to their mutilated and arrow-riddled bodies. So, a few brave men execute a night raid, to rescue their dead king from humiliation. The people of Jabesh Gilead probably feel particularly that they owe this final service to Saul; one of his first acts as king was to lift a siege of their city (ch.11).
Taking it home
- For you: Despite being the ‘bad guy’ in most of our narrative, Saul still dies a war hero, fighting to protect his people. His nation still honors him and takes time to mourn. Who is someone in your life who you kind of view as the ‘bad guy’--someone who seems to be out to get you or who just plain makes your life more difficult? Pray for that person today, setting aside the list of things you don’t like and blessing whatever good they bring. How might you show this person honor today?
- For your six: It seems like the average ancient Near Eastern citizen of his day, looking at things from the outside, probably thought of Saul as a fine king. The story we’ve been reading paints a contrasting picture between his internal world and his external appearance. It’s striking that Saul’s inner world of jealousy and rage that consumes so much of his time and effort. Pray for your six today in whatever ways they might similarly be experiencing turmoil deep beneath the surface. Ask God to protect them from being derailed by this inner tension, and pray for a deep peace for them.
- For our church: Pray that God would bless our church as a place where people find answers, healing, and breakthrough with regard to things going on in their inner world. Pray that God would give us the resources to do this. Ask God to make us a unique place that equally values things going well in people’s lives on the outside and on the inside.
- For families: Talk about what it means to honor someone. Have you ever felt it important to honor a person even when you do not particularly like them? Is there anyone in your life whom you could show honor to today? How? What difference do you think it might make to them? What difference could make for you in your relationship?
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