1 Samuel 31

1 Samuel 31

1 Samuel 31

Shawn Bumpers / General

1 Samuel

Introduction:

Last week we completed chapters 29 & 30 in which David and his 600 men were sent away from the battle with the Israelites and back to Ziklag by King Achish.

They discovered that  Ziklag had been burned and their wives and children taken away as captives by the Amalekites.

Saul was no military light-weight.

1 Samuel 14:47–48 NKJV

So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them. And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.

1 Samuel 28:17–19 NKJV

And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.”

And rather than be captured and made the object of ridicule, Saul falls on his sword. 

So,Israel’s first king, chosen to meet the desires of  a people who wanted a human king like all the other nations, has failed and by his disobedience to God led them to a crushing defeat.

But God has His chosen man David, trained in the wilderness and having a heart after God’s own.

V1

In the beginning of Saul’s reign, the Philistines had fought against Israel.

And now Saul’s reign will end in battle against the Philistines.

1 Samuel 9:16 NKJV

“Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him commander over My people Israel, that he may save My people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have looked upon My people, because their cry has come to Me.”

v2-7

No matter the advantage of higher ground, the Philistines had the advantage of God’s judgment against Saul.

And so the armies of Israel fled before the Philistines, leaving Saul and his sons exposed.

1 Kings 22:31 NKJV

Now the king of Syria had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Fight with no one small or great, but only with the king of Israel.”

Back to our text, Saul’s sons died in battle first.

We don’t know how they were killed.

Revelation 3:11 NKJV

Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Revelation 2:7 NKJV

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

So, back to our text, the battle was a total victory for the Philistines.

We knew that Saul’s reign was a tragic one that would not end well, but how sad is it that three of his sons should die with him on the battlefield. 

v8-10

Humiliating the prisoners and the dying … and stripping the dead were what a victorious army did after the battle.

Most soldiers were not paid a wage, but were guaranteed a part of the spoils of war.

v11-13

While the Philistines were celebrating their defeat of Israel and humiliating Saul and his sons, the men of Jabesh Gilead heard about the tragedy and came to the rescue.

That name Jabesh Gilead might ring a bell with you.

After the death of Joshua, Israel gradually became a divided nation.

Instead of trusting the Lord, the Israelites began to learn the customs of the Canaanites.

Saul is one of the most powerful O.T. examples for believers.

We are each flawed, and each of us have our own weaknesses.