1 Samuel 31:1-13

It is a great tragedy when a man, like Saul, who started so well; has such a terrible ending.  Saul started his reign as a humble man who feared God and sought to serve the people.  When his life ended he was proud, fearful of men and manipulated other into serving him.  Saul acts much more like a lunatic than a king and his life ended together with the life of his sons all on the same day.  When Saul began to take matters into his own hands and do things according to his own way of understanding instead of doing them according to the will of God; his life began to unravel.  He would constantly make excuses and shift the blame for his sin instead of repenting and asking for God’s forgiveness.  He would make promises and not keep them and was controlled by his jealousy and desire to stay in power as opposed to faithfully and humbly serving the Lord.  The story of Saul is truly a tragedy.

SAUL AND HIS SONS ARE DESTROYED AND DEFILED: The Philistines overtake the army of Israel and Saul, together with all of his sons are killed on the battlefield.  It is truly sad to see that Jonathan dies, for he was a great man who would have very likely been a great king.  Israel loses the battle and the Philistines take control of that part of the nation of Israel.  It is truly a sad day in the nation and marks the end of a very tragic story.  Saul is mortally wounded and ends up falling on his own sword to avoid being tortured by the Philistines.  When the Philistines find his body and the bodies of his sons, they take off their heads and put them on poles like trophies and then hang their bodies up on a wall in their city.  This is a means of humiliating their enemy and showing complete disrespect for Saul and his sons.  

SAUL AND HIS SONS ARE BURNED AND BURIED  A group of valiant men from Jabesh-gilead hear what has happened they take their lives into their own hands and they go and steal the bodies away.  Saul and his sons are burned and then their bones were buried under a tree in the land of Gilead.  When Saul was anointed king, I am sure that he never imagined that his funeral would be like this.  However, the choices that he made in his life lead to this tragic ending.  He could have been buried in Jerusalem by his sons and placed in a tomb by his son, the new king that succeeded his father.  Saul’s sins and hard heartedness prevented all of that from happening.  Instead he and his sons had to be removed from a wall and then buried under a tree.  Our choices in life have a great impact on our death and, more importantly, our lives after death.