ISRAEL DEFEATED
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Opening Prayer
Father God, thank you for the power of your Word—power to restore, to heal, and to save. Thank you for the peace, the hope, and the joy it gives me.
Read 1 SAMUEL 31
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1 Samuel
1 Samuel 31
1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
2 The 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.
Reflect
Be still and quiet before God. Settle your heart in his presence. Use the words of Samuel as your prayer: ‘Speak, for your servant is listening’ (1 Samuel 3:10).Defeat is never easy to take, and the battle of Gilboa is a dark day in the history of Israel. Not only are Saul and his sons dead, but the Philistines have occupied cities abandoned by the Israelites. At the end of Saul’s life, Israel is weaker and more vulnerable than before.
We might conclude that the monarchy has been a failure, and certainly, there is an important lesson for Israel to learn: the monarchy would never by itself save Israel. The essential thing is to have the right king, who fears God and will himself be subject to God, the true King of Israel. The way is opened up for David to be that person, but it will still be some years before he is recognized as king over all Israel.
Saul’s life ends tragically, and his story is a sad one, beginning well yet ending in humiliating defeat. That does not mean his reign has been entirely bad, and he is clearly still honored by those who knew him in his early days, such as the men of Jabesh Gilead, who risked their own lives to give him a decent burial.
Apply
What lessons can we learn from Saul’s life? How can we ensure we not only start well, but finish well?
Closing prayer
Thank you, Father, for the history in the Bible. Through it, help me to learn from the errors your people made in serving you and be challenged to follow you with greater sincerity and constancy.
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