SAUL TAKES HIS LIFE 1 SAMUEL 31:1-13

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1 1 Commentary by Ron Thomas Questions by John C. Sewell SAUL TAKES HIS LIFE 1 SAMUEL 31:1-13 Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Avenue, Nashville, TN., 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor

2 2 Text: 1 Samuel 31:1-13, Saul Takes His Life Commentary By Ron Thomas 1. Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2. The Philistines pressed hard after 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.

3 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 of what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12. all their valiant men journeyed 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. (NIV) Commentary: 1 Samuel 31:1-7, Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. 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. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day. 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. (NIV) I. Mount Gilboa.

4 4 A. 1 Samuel 31:1, Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. (NIV) B. In summary form, the Holy Spirit speaks of the demise of Saul s army on Mount Gilboa. C. On the Jezreel plain (1 Samuel 29:1; 2 Samuel 1:6) Saul and his sons meet their death Samuel 29:1, 11, The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel. (NIV) 2. 2 Samuel 1:6, "I happened to be on Mount Gilboa," the young man said, "and there was Saul, leaning on his spear, with the chariots and riders almost upon him. (NIV) D. Mount Gilboa rises to just under two thousand (2,000) feet height (above sea level), not very big (as far as mountains go), but one that is remembered, mostly, as the place of Saul s death. II. The death of Saul s sons and Saul. A. 1 Samuel 31:2-6, The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. 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 5 When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day. (NIV) B. Saul s three sons: Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 1. Jonathan has been mentioned a number of times. 2. Abinadab is also called Jishuri in 1 Samuel 14:49 and 1 Chronicles 8:33; 9:39. a. 1 Samuel 14:49, Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal. (NIV) b. 1 Chronicles 8:33, Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal. (NIV) c. 1 Chronicles 9:39, Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal. (NIV) 3. Malchishua is also mentioned in 1 Samuel 14:49 and 1 Chronicles 8:33; 9:39. a. 1 Samuel 14:49, Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal. (NIV)

6 6 b. 1 Chronicles 8:33, Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal. (NIV) c. 1 Chronicles 9:39, Ner was the father of Kish, Kish the father of Saul, and Saul the father of Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab and Esh-Baal. (NIV) 4. Interestingly there is no mention of Ishbosheth in any of the mentioned passages. C. Saul was wounded. 1. Youngblood mentioned that though Saul was not dead as a result of this wound, he was as good as dead because he could not recover from it (p. 799). 2. Saul must have felt the same way because he told his armor bearer to finish him off so the Philistines do not come and abuse (torture) him. D. The armor bearer refused to kill Saul presumably because he feared the stigma of being remembered as the one who had killed the king. 1. But as the armor-bearer would not do this, because he was very much afraid, since he was supposed to be answerable for the king s life, Saul inflicted death upon himself with his sword; whereupon the armor-bearer also fell upon his sword and died with the king (Keil and Delitzsch, E-Sword).

7 7 E. The consequence of seeing the nation s leader dead resulted in the army being scattered and in disarray. III. Israel scattered. A. 1 Samuel 31:7, 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. (NIV) B. Saul had been anointed king of Israel to deliver the Israelites from the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 9:16). Actually he died at their hands Samuel 9:16, "About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him leader over my people Israel; he will deliver my people from the hand of the Philistines. I have looked upon my people, for their cry has reached me." (NIV) C. The cities from which the Israelites had fled and which the Philistines had subsequently occupied were in the Transjordan area (eastern side of the Jordan river). D. John Gill said: or rather on that side ; for the phrase will bear to be rendered either way, and may mean that side of Jordan on which the battle was fought; for as for the other side, or that beyond it, the Israelites there could not be in such fear of the Philistines, nor do we ever read of their inhabiting any cities there; though as the phrase is used of the valley, as well as of the river, it may be rendered about the valley, and about Jordan, and so describes such that dwelt near to each of them (E-Sword).

8 8 The Philistines Plunder 1 Samuel 31:8-13, The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 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. They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men journeyed 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. Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. (NIV) I. The battlefield was cleaned and Saul s body was paraded. A. 1 Samuel 31:8-10, The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 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. They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and fastened his body to the wall of Beth Shan. (NIV) B. The dead were stripped. 1. The irony, David cut off the head of the Philistine champion (Goliath), and the Philistines cut off the head of Israel s champion (king). C. The dead bodies of Saul and his sons were located.

9 Saul and his sons would have been easily identified by the apparel they had on. D. Youngblood brings out another irony of First Samuel (p. 800). 1. The book opens with an historical narrative relative to God s temple and a despairing woman praying to the Lord for a child. 2. The book ends with Israel despairing the death of its leader and the idol-god of the Philistines receiving the head of Saul. 3. This emphasizes the single point that God needs no one, but all need God and the Lord God will bless the ones who recognize they need Him and who come to Him. a. Saul did not do this. b. Israel paid for it. II. The men of Jabesh Gilead gave some dignity to the deceased. A. 1 Samuel 31:11-13, When the people of Jabesh Gilead heard of what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men journeyed 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. Then they took their bones and buried them under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. (NIV) B. Saul s one shining moment (Arnold p. 401) was when he led the Israelites to victory in overcoming the Ammonites who attempted to subject Jabesh-Gilead (chapter 11).

10 Samuel 11:1-11, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to him, "Make a treaty with us, and we will be subject to you." But Nahash the Ammonite replied, "I will make a treaty with you only on the condition that I gouge out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace on all Israel." The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue us, we will surrender to you." When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept aloud. Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, "What is wrong with the people? Why are they weeping?" Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said. When Saul heard their words, the Spirit of God came upon him in power, and he burned with anger. He took a pair of oxen, cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel, proclaiming, "This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who does not follow Saul and Samuel." Then the terror of the LORD fell on the people, and they turned out as one man. When Saul mustered them at Bezek, the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and the men of Judah thirty thousand. They told the messengers who had come, "Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, 'By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be delivered.' " When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated. They said to the Ammonites, "Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do to us whatever seems good to you." The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions; during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together. (NIV)

11 11 C. Now the men of Jabesh-Gilead go to recover the degraded bodies of Saul and his sons for a more proper disposal. 1. The proper disposal of the bodies was cremation. D. The reason for the burning of the bodies in the case of Saul and his sons is to be sought for in the peculiarity of the circumstances; viz., partly in the fact that the bodes were mutilated by the removal of the heads, and therefore a regular burial of the dead was impossible, and partly in their anxiety lest, if the Philistines followed up their victory and came to Jabesh, they should desecrate the bodies still further. But even this was not a complete burning to ashes, but merely a burning of the skin and flesh; so that the bones still remained, and they were buried in the ground under a shady tree. Instead of under the (well-known) tamarisk (eshel), we have (under the strong tree) in 1 Chronicles 10:11. David afterwards had them fetched away and buried in Saul s family grave at Zela, in the land of Benjamin (2 Samuel 21:11). The seven days fast kept by the Jabeshites was a sign of public and general mourning on the part of the inhabitants of that town at the death of the king, who had once rescued them from the most abominable slavery (Keil and Delitzsch, E-Sword) Chronicles 10:11-12, When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of everything the Philistines had done to Saul, all their valiant men went and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones under the great tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days. (NIV) 2. 2 Samuel 21:11-14, When David was told what Aiah's daughter Rizpah, Saul's concubine, had done, he went and took the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. (They had taken them secretly

12 12 Conclusion: from the public square at Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them after they struck Saul down on Gilboa.) David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up. They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul's father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land. (NIV) I. Thus, we come to the close of a book that starts from the time of the Judges with a High Priest (Eli) who does not do as he should have; with a prophet who is a standard bearer of what a prophet does; to a king who starts well and spirals downward after that, to God s anointed king (not yet enthroned) who is continually chased by God s rejected king, to finally the destruction of God s anointed, but ultimately rejected king.

13 13 Questions 1 Samuel 31:1-13 (Questions based on NIV text) 1. Now the against ; the before them, and many on. The pressed hard after and his, and they his, and. The grew around, and when the overtook him, they him. 2. Geographically locate Mount Gilboa, Beth Shan, Jabesh Gilead and Jabesh. 3. What request did Saul ask of his armor-bearer?

14 Define abuse me as used in verse When the armor-bearer refused to comply with Saul s request, what did Saul do? 6. What people in the Bible are said to have committed suicide? Why were there not more? 7. Is suicide ever justified? Is suicide always sinful? Give logical and biblical reasons for your answers. 8. What did Saul s armor-bearer do when he saw that Saul was dead?

15 So and his and his - and all his that. 10. Why did the town s people who lived near the battlefield do when they learned of Israel s defeat? What was the Philistine s response? 11. What happened the following day? (see verses 8-10). 12. Tell all you can about the Ashtoreths. Refer to other references before answering. 13. What behooved the valiant men of Jabesh Gilead to go to Beth Shan for the bodies of Saul and his sons especially in view of the danger involved?

16 What does the Bible say about cremation? 15. had been of to deliver the from the hands of the. Actually he at their. 16. Another irony: off the ( ), and the off the of. 17. List high points in the reign of Saul. 18. List low points in the reign of Saul.

17 Why were the bodies of Saul and his sons burned instead of buried? 20. Dream a little. Imagine Jesse had been Jonathan s father instead of Saul. How might his life have been different instead of so very tragic?

18 18 Sources A Harmony of the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, William D. Crockett, Baker Books Bible Study Textbook, First and Second Samuel, Willard Winter Bible Commentary, 1 Samuel Job, E. M. Zerr Commentary on First Samuel, James B. Coffman (electronic Theophilos). E-Sword: Albert Barnes, Adam Clarke, Keil and Delitzsch, JFB (Jamison, Fausset, and Brown), John Gill First and Second Samuel by Robert P. Gordon Josephus Lands of the Bible, J. W. McGarvey Living word Commentary series, First and Second Samuel, John T. Willis Pulpit Commentary, volume 4, 1 Samuel, R. Payne Smith The Expositor s Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy 2 Samuel; Samuel by Ronald F. Youngblood The NIV Application Commentary, First and Second Samuel by Bill T. Arnold

19 19 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (4 Volumes), Eerdmans (N-ISBE) The Interpreter s Bible; Leviticus Samuel, Exegesis of Samuel by George Caird The Wisdom of History, Volume 1, J. Rufus Fears, University of Oklahoma (The Teaching Company) Word Biblical Commentary, volume 10, 1 Samuel by Ralph Klein

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