1 Chronicles 10:1-14

The entire reign of Saul is summed up in this one chapter.  This period of history was covered in much greater detail in the books of Samuel and Kings.  At this point we only see the very end of Saul’s life, how he died and why the Lord allowed him to suffer such a tragic and violent death.  Saul could have been a great man, but disobedience and pride caused him to be weak and one of the most tragic characters in Scripture.  His sin not only cut his life short but the lives of his children as well and many of the soldiers who fought by his side.  When leaders fail the ramifications are always much larger than we would ever imagine.  Unfortunately temptation always looks so nice at first, but that is because we are blinded to the consequences of sin by our desire to sin.  We must learn to count the cost.

SAUL HAD A HORRIFYING DEATH: Saul was killed on the battlefield, but he was only wounded by the enemy but was not dead.  He asked his armor bearer to finish him off so he did not have to suffer, but his armor bearer would not take the life of the king into his own hands so Saul ends up falling on his own sword.  Even after trying to kill himself Saul was still alive and afraid to be found by the enemy and tortured even further.  I think that most of us hope that our death will be quick and painless.  Saul’s was long, drawn out and very painful.  Once the enemy did find him they cut off his head and hung him on a wall outside their temple along with the bodies of his sons.  In Christ we can look forward to death as an end to the sufferings of this world.  As gruesome as Saul’s death was on a physical level; perhaps the most horrifying aspect of his death was that when he died he was very far from the Lord.

SAUL HAD A HEROIC BURIAL: Even though Saul had been disobedient to the Lord and lived in rebellion; he was still the king of God’s chosen people.  When the Philistines where making a mockery of Saul and his sons; they were making a mockery of God.  The brave men of Jabesh-gilead heard what was going on they broke into the city and took the bodies of Saul and his sons and gave them a proper burial.  They fasted and mourned for seven days over the loss of their king.  These were brave and valiant soldiers who did what was right even in the face of great danger.  This is the type of character and confidence that we must strive to develop in our own lives.  We must always be willing to do what is right and defend the cause of Christ no matter how dangerous the situation might seem.  It is far better to die doing the work of the Lord than to live a life of cowardly disobedience.

SAUL HAD A HUMILIATING REIGN: God’s epitaph of the life of Saul was simply that he broke faith with the Lord, disobeyed the Lord and sought a medium instead of seeking the Lord.  Saul started he reign as a humble man, but he allowed the power of his position to fill his heart with pride so he died a humiliated man.  Being humble is far better than being humiliated. Saul wasted the great potential that he had and is a tragic example of the consequences of pride and sin.  We must learn to stay humble before the Lord, submit to Him and seek for wisdom from Him.  The alternative only leads to heartache, pain and humiliation before both God and man.