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 Ashtaroth, 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.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The story returns to Saul where Israel is under attack from the Philistines. The Philistines overpowered Israel leaving many dead on Mount Gilboa. Among the dead were three of Saul’s sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua (Ish-bosheth survived, 2 Sam 2:8). Saul was badly wounded by archers. Saul asked his armour-bearer to kill him in order to avoid being tortured to death. When his armour-bearer refused, Saul took his own life. Death by suicide was a climax to a life lived independent of God. So it came to pass that Samuel’s prophecy was fulfilled as “Saul died, and his three sons, and his armour-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together” (1 Sam 28:19). When the Israelites living in the Jezreel valley area learned of Saul’s death and saw the army flee, they abandoned their cities and fled as refugees. The Philistines moved in and lived in their cities.
When the Philistines moved through the battlefield and stripped the fallen soldiers they came across Saul and his three sons. This shows the enormity of their defeat because usually efforts would have been made to remove prominent members from the battlefield so the enemy couldn’t get to them. The Philistines decapitated Saul and sent messengers to proclaim their victory. They put Saul’s armour in the temple of the goddess Ashtaroth probably as a thanks offering for their victory. Then they pinned Saul’s body and those of his sons to the wall of Beth-shan, a former Israelite city in the Jezreel Valley area.
Though the Israelites of the area had reacted in fear and fled, the valiant men of Jabesh-gilead went by night and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons. They returned home, burned their bodies and buried their bones there, and then fasted for seven days. Jabesh-gilead was the city that had been rescued from humiliation by Saul at the beginning of his reign (1 Sam 11:1-11). David would later commend them for their loyalty to Saul (2 Sam 2:5-7).
Saul’s end was a tragic conclusion to a life lived up to the worldly calling on him to be a king like the other nations. As believers, we are called to live set apart from the world, not like it. Are you living up to the world’s calling on your life, or God’s calling?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
In the Beginning Was the Word: John 1-2