The King is Dead
1 Samuel 31 The King is Dead
Introduction
I wonder if you are the kind of person who always likes your stories to have a happy conclusion.
Well, as we have read Chapter 31, today you may feel you are in for a disappointment. This is story with tragedy and cruelty. However, it does end with a wonderful act of bravery and devotion.
And Chapter 31 is fitting conclusion to this extraordinary account of the reign of Israel’s first king. It is brief but presents us with a great deal to ponder. There are numerous links back into the story that has been told as many threads are brought together.
In one sense, Chapter 31 brings no surprises. The death of Saul had been a long time coming-since Chapter 14 in fact. And yet Chapter 31 is thrilling and deeply moving. The events of the day unfold in four scenes:
The Real Tragedy
A Horrible Cruelty
An Act of Loyalty
The death of Saul will point us not only to the coming kingdom of David, but also to the kingdom of the one descended from David. And while king Saul dies in disobedience, defeat, and disgrace, King Jesus, the Righteous and Faithful One, defeats death in His glorious resurrection, and brings gracious reconciliation for all who would proclaim Him King of their lives.
Let us see this, firstly, as we ponder… The Real Tragedy
The previous two Chapters have focused on David enjoying God’s gracious blessing. Now the action returns to Saul, taking in what will prove to be his last stand on Mount Gilboa. The narrator has carefully crafted these chapters to emphasise the contrast between faithful and repentant David and Saul who is lost in his disobedience and pride.
The story of the battle is told in just one verse. In verse 1 a great tragedy is presented with supreme brevity. As is often the case in Biblical narratives, the following verses will fill out the details and give us much to ponder.
In verses 2 to 7 we are told about battle, and the tragedy that results from it, in greater, graphic detail. In verse 2 the Philistines pursue Saul, killing three of his sons, including Jonathan. In verse 3 our attention is focused more intently on the lonely, tragic figure of Saul- the Philistine archers position themselves and critically wound Saul.
In verse 4 we hear a terrible conversation between Saul and the only companion left to him:
Saul said to his armour-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.”
You will remember that a long time ago Saul’s armour-bearer had been a young man named David. Through Saul’s mad, jealous, and wicked hatred, David was now many miles away, dealing with the Amalekites.
Saul, accepting that death must now be a certainty, feared what would become of him if he fell into the hands of the despised Philistines- later we see his fear was justified. So, Saul now asked his present armour-bearer to take his life. Saul’s present armour-bearer was not willing to lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed- he, like David, knew that it was not for him to strike down God’s king.
And so, Saul found himself utterly alone. The tragedy of this moment is deeply moving. The one who had once stood hand and shoulders about the rest, the one who was the great hope of Israel against the Philistine threat, now lay crumpled on the ground at the mercy of the Philistine horde.
In this scene we witness the obvious tragedy of Israel’s idolatry. Remember how they had chosen Saul because they desired to have a king ‘…like all the other nations…’. God’s People had forsaken God and sought security and salvation in the things of this world, in a man who looked impressive but flattered to deceive.
Let us be careful to learn from this tragedy. We must pause and ponder: In what or in who are we trusting today?
Back to the passage. Utterly alone, Saul took the only course of action he could see; in verse 4 we read:
…so Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
Saul’s death is equally tragic and symbolic.
Notice, the Philistines did not remove him from his throne. And David did not remove him from his throne (he refused to do so). No, Saul fashioned his own downfall through his faithlessness and disobedience.
In verse 5 we read of yet another death. Then, in verse 6, there is a solemn summary of what had happened on Mount Gilboa that day:
So Saul and his three sons and his armour-bearer and all his men died together that same day.
Nothing speaks more powerfully of the effects of sin and the Fall than death. As we witness Saul’s death and that of Jonathan and his brothers, not to mention the many others who lay on the slopes of Mount Gilboa that day, it is appropriate to pause and recognise the tragedy of human death.
We will think a little more about Saul’s death when we have taken in the remaining scenes of this chapter. But for now, let us ponder the truth that Saul was the king who died in faithlessness and disobedience. However, as Believers, we follow the King who died (in faithfulness and righteousness) and then rose again- defeating our ultimate enemies of Satan, sin and death. King Jesus is the King we can put our trust in for every day and into eternity.
This is a tragic account. And there is obvious tragedy here- Saul is defeated and dead, the army is routed and flees, and the Philistines now occupy the towns of the Jordan River valley and everywhere along its eastern side. However, in the fog of war we may have missed another tragedy it would be wise to pause and ponder before we move forward.
We go back to verse 2 and we read that Jonathan is the first reported casualty on Mount Gilboa. And his passing is worthy of note.
Jonathan is the son of Saul with whom we have become most familiar through 1 Samuel. His death at this point is a tragedy. Jonathan, remember, had been a faithful friend to David (risking his own life to support him) and had faithfully followed God’s purposes throughout his life. To lose a man of this calibre at this point in the story is a tragedy.
But perhaps it wasn’t a tragedy after all. Jonathan lived and died remaining faithful to the calling God had assigned him. And Jonathan laid aside a kingdom he could not have to enter a Kingdom He could not lose.
In the story of Jonathan, we are reminded of the word of Jim Elliot, the missionary-martyr, who said:
He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.
The greatest tragedy is a life wasted seeking security and satisfaction and salvation in anything or anyone apart from Christ. The second greatest tragedy is not embracing the fullness of life that is found in following Christ completely and wholeheartedly, forsaking all else for Him.
So, there is a real tragedy. Then, secondly, there is… A Horrible Cruelty
I wonder have you ever watched ‘Braveheart’. It is the epic movie which recounts (largely fictionally) the story of Scottish hero William Wallace. There are several memorable scenes in the film- for example, that great ‘FREEDOM!’ speech before the battle (as well as the battles themselves). And then there is the ending, Wallace is captured and (as was the custom) he is hung, drawn, and quartered. It is a scene that is poignant and painful to watch- it is a display of horrible cruelty.
In verses 8 to 10 we witness something similar. In these verses we see the brutality of the Philistine army. Here we witness the horrible cruelty of these enemies of God’s People and God’s king.
As the scene unfolds, we see Saul decapitated, disgraced and displayed. This is payback time for these Philistines, and they delight in the victory they have won over their ancient enemies. Every act is ceremonial and symbolic as well as gruesome and cruel.
In verse 8 we read:
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
The practice of stripping the bodies of defeated soldiers was common. It may have been only now that the Philistines realised that Saul and his sons were dead.
Their attention, naturally, focused on the dead enemy king; in verse 9 we read distressing and disturbing words:
They cut off his head [just as David had once done to a very large Philistine] and stripped off his armour…
Notice the symbolism behind the brutality. This was the final divestment of Saul’s royal garments. He had unwittingly offered his armour to David once. Most recently on the night before his death he had removed his royal garb to go to Endor. Now his royal armour was gone forever, and the body of Israel’s king lay naked on the hillside, completely vanquished.
As we continue in verse 9, we see that the Philistines have a message, and they get the message out as loud as they can:
…and they sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temple of their idols and among their people.
In other translations they send messengers to proclaim, ‘the good news’. So, we could say that the Philistines proclaimed the ‘gospel’ of Saul’s death.
Now this may make us a little uncomfortable- we talk of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ- but that is the language used. And, in fact, it helps us to understand what proclaiming a gospel means. It is to announce momentous news to people with gladness.
I wonder: Is that how we see The Gospel of the Lord Jesus? Do we want to shout it from the rooftops?
That day there was a gospel for the Philistines and a gospel for their idols! The king of the people of the God of Israel was dead! It was clear, to the Philistines at least, that their gods had at last defeated the God of Israel.
The Philistines were not ashamed of their gospel that day. What great news for the temple of Dagon! The humiliation of an earlier day had been overturned at last
In 1 Samuel 5 we remember how the Philistine idol, Dagon, had fallen flat on his face before the captured Ark of the Covenant- this was most embarrassing episode for the Philistines. But now the Philistines, and their gods, had defeated Israel, Israel’s king, and Israel’s God- and they wanted everyone to know this ‘good news’.
What a gospel that must have been for the Philistine people! The many defeats they had suffered at Saul’s hands were now a thing of the past.
The news having been carried through the land, by whatever means, the signs of the victory were appropriately displayed in verse 10. Just as they had once put the captured ark in the temple of Dagon, now the armour of the dead king was put in the temple of Ashtaroth.
The body of the king was another matter. Saul had feared being abused by the ‘uncircumcised’ Philistines. His death did not spare him that indignity. His headless corpse was impaled on the wall in Beth-shan, a public object of horror and disgust.
The humiliation could hardly be more complete. It was a great day to be a Philistine!
Thinking about it, we could say that the Philistine gospel is still to be heard today. You see, whenever human beings believe they have triumphed over God they are echoing in the Philistine gospel. Every time humanity declares they know better than God- when it comes to gender roles, so called ‘marriage-equality’, or assisted suicide- they are echoing the Philistine gospel
Every mockery of God and His People, every expression of contempt toward the Lord Jesus- His Way and those who follow Him and His Followers- is a version of the Philistine gospel. But we rejoice that our King will not be mocked- His Way is best and, ultimately, He will have the victory. And so, we endure the contempt with our Lord because we know that in His time He will make all things right and all things new.
There is tragedy. There is cruelty. But notice, finally… An Act of Loyalty
Our passage, and 1 Samuel, closes with a rather surprising scene. In a passage filled with tragedy and cruelty, here was an act of wonderful loyalty and gratitude.
In verses 11 to 13 witness the actions of the men of Jabesh Gilead. They remember how Saul had helped them in Chapter 11 and, presumably at some risk to themselves, recover Saul’s body from its public humiliation on the wall of Beth Shan. Their appearance reminds us of the early promise of Saul’s reign- and how different the circumstances were now.
In verse 11 the Philistine gospel had reached the ears of the men of Jabesh Gilead. But what was good news for the Philistines was a very different kind of news to them. In verses 12 and 13 we read of the stamina and courage of these men.
Their all-night march through Philistine-occupied territory would have been dangerous and long. Taking the bodies (and now we learn that Jonathan and his brothers had suffered the same degradation as Saul) from the wall would have required stealth and courage.
This little story describes the sort of stealth mission that any Special Forces unit would be proud of- the skill required to pull it off and the courage to even dare are exemplary. In the midst of disgrace and degradation these men act with loyalty because they remembered what Saul had done and they were filled with gratitude.
I wonder if they knew how fitting it was to bury Saul under a tamarisk tree. At Gibeah, remember, he used to sit under the tamarisk tree, spear in hand, powerful, surrounded by servants. His story ends with his bones buried under a tamarisk tree, stripped at last of any shadow of power. The king was dead.
And so the book of 1 Samuel ends where it began, with the Philistines winning a victory and the death of Israel’s leader along with his sons.
Conclusion
As we close, we dare not move on too quickly from Chapter 31. We would be wise to reflect again on the tragedy of Chapter 31. Death reigned that day- the Lord’s anointed was slain.
Many years later another who was called the Christ- the Lord’s Anointed- was defeated by his enemies, or so it seemed. He, too, was handed over to His enemies. His body was also hung as a public object of horror and disgust. In His case, too, there was someone who cared and came, at some risk to himself and took down His body and gave it an honoured burial.
The similarities between the death of Saul and the death of Jesus serve to highlight the stark difference. Saul died for his own failure to ‘…fear the LORD and serve him faithfully…’. Jesus died as the Righteous and Faithful One, in complete obedience to His Father’s will.
The story of Saul has been a story of the failure of human power and the failure of human schemes. It has been a story that ended in death. God’s People put their faith in Saul- the man of their choosing- but 1 Samuel has made clear that Israel’s hope was David. Saul’s failure was not the failure of God’s purpose. The Lord had provided another who would be king over His People and establish His Kingdom.
All of this would turn out to be a shadow of the things to come. Israel’s hope was David. In due course, however, David also failed, and David died.
Israel’s hope, and the hope of all mankind, in the face of the futility of human power and the inevitability of death is Jesus. Jesus’ death was not the failure of God’s purpose. In this case the Lord brought to life the one who had died, raised Him up, and exalted Him as both Lord and Christ. Here is the gospel that answers the false gospel of the Philistines:
21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behaviour. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation…