THE DEATH OF A KING
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Opening Prayer
As I begin these readings in 1 Chronicles, open my heart, Lord, to hear your voice and respond in ways that make a difference, not only in my life, but in the lives of others.
Read 1 CHRONICLES 10
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Saul Takes His Life
10 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.
4 Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come 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. 6 So Saul and his three sons died, and all his house died together.
7 When all the Israelites in the valley saw that the 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 sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news among their idols and their people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of their gods and hung up his head in the temple of Dagon.
11 When all the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 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.
13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14 and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
What ‘lessons learned’ have you gained by listening to the stories of older family members or friends?
Welcome to a challenging set of readings! The context is the exile and the subsequent restoration of the chronicler’s own time. His readers would quite likely have found it a dead book, just as we might on initial reading. So many names—and they had all died long before— several hundred years before.1 It depicted an age gone by. We may ask what relevance it had for them. And for us? But they needed the message—and so do we!
The chronicler was a preacher, not a historian. He aimed to foster a right relationship between God and his people. His writing was therefore selective; he minimized the baddies and emphasized the goodies. After nine chapters of names and genealogies which hint at Israel’s history so far, he devotes only one chapter to the renegade Saul and quickly passes to David. Despite many achievements during his reign, Saul had failed, in the chronicler’s eyes, and had come under judgment. He was disobedient and had shown disloyalty to God. He therefore faced catastrophe. He died because of his unfaithfulness (v. 13).
Sadly, Saul’s sin affected others too, including his son Jonathan who died in the battle along with his father and many others. Jonathan was a good guy and a sore loss to David.2 ‘No man is an island, entire of itself,’ wrote John Donne. Our actions and attitudes can affect others more than we might think. Is this perhaps a wake-up call for us? Is there anything that you’re currently involved in that is perhaps riding roughshod over other people? Perhaps a decision affecting the family? Perhaps the way you travel or shop?
Apply
Allow the Lord to put a searchlight on your attitudes and actions. Take time to reflect on how they are affecting others around you.
Closing prayer
Father, it’s so easy to act first and think afterward. Help me to be aware of the effect of my actions on others and be willing to change when needed.
1 Michael Wilcock, The Message of Chronicles (IVP, 1987), 13 2 See David’s lamentation in 2 Sam 1:17–27
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