The Humiliation of Death
1 Samuel 31:1-13
Turn to 1 Samuel 31. As we come to an end of our series in 1 Samuel, Looking for a Spiritual Leader, we come to the obvious conclusion that looking to man is a lost cause, that if we pin our hopes on man or the false securities of this world, we will forever be disappointed. So, let’s read through this chapter as we discover a quick end to the reign of Saul.
“Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons; and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. And the battle became heavy against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and pierce me through and abuse me.’ But his armor bearer was not willing, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. Then his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, so he also fell on his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
Then the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead. So they forsook the cities and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
Now it happened on the next day, that the Philistines came to strip the slain, and they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. Then they cut off his head and stripped off his weapons and sent them all around the land of the Philistines, to proclaim the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. And they placed his weapons in the house of Ashtaroth and fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. Then the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, so all the valiant men arose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.”
1 Samuel 31:1-13 (LSB)
I am reminded of the words of David:
“It is better to take refuge in Yahweh
Than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in Yahweh
Than to trust in nobles.”
Psalm 118:8-9 (LSB)
The first reaction that I experienced when reading this week’s passage was, wow, that was over in a hurray! As there is no great description of this final battle of Saul’s, but it gets right to the point, that he died and his enemies triumph over Israel. What a comparison to the description of David slaying Goliath, as we read with great anticipation all the details both before and after the confrontation. But here, nothing great is mentioned, unless you are a Philistine fan, as it is just over really quickly.
In the eighties. there was a boxer by the name of Marvis Frazier, who was the son of champion Joe Frazier. He had a record of seventeen wins and two losses. He was known for his very aggressive fighting, much like his father Joe. And in 1986, he was scheduled to fight the up-and-coming Mike Tyson. In a massive buildup before their fight in New York, the bout opened with Tyson being the aggressor in the first round. And after only twenty seconds into the match, Tyson had connected with three tremendous punches and it was over, as Frazier fell to the mat. When we were studying the book of Revelation on Sunday evenings, we were reading about the greatness and the worldly power of Babylon throughout all the ages, as all through the course of history man had his way. And then we are told that in the end, Babylon and the Antichrist will take their stand, and all the forces of the world will assemble together with them. And Christ will return, and it says that Babylon will be destroyed in one hour.
And here in our story, we have a kingship based upon humanity, the reign of King Saul, and it ends suddenly in a battle; versus the kingship based upon Christ, the reign of King David, that will continue on forever. And it is not like David was perfect and Saul was only evil, but the difference is that one was based upon the work of man, and the other was based upon the work of Christ. And before we start to think, yeh, well King Saul was pretty bad, we need to understand the connection King Saul has with us, as we consider some obvious facts about us as humans.
- The Accomplishments of Man
“Now Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, and he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. And he acted valiantly and struck down the Amalekites and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.”
1 Samuel 14:47-48 (LSB)
In other words, we are not describing an unsuccessful man or a coward, but a man who was head-and-shoulders above the rest, and in many ways a very great man and a great leader. It is interesting that if we were reading about Saul, we might expect to read something of these heroics after his life, in other words, this is how the great King Saul lived. In fact, sometimes after a great man or woman dies, we often raise them above themselves. I mean, when we go to a funeral of someone really respected, if anything, the words about them elevate who they were. But nothing here is said about Saul despite his accomplishments.
- The Realities of Man
Remember a few weeks ago when Samuel spoke with Saul, he told him the realities about his life.
“So Yahweh has done accordingly as He spoke by my hand, for Yahweh has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. As you did not listen to the voice of Yahweh and did not execute His burning anger on Amalek, so Yahweh has done this thing to you this day. Moreover Yahweh will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed Yahweh will give over the camp of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”
1 Samuel 28:17-19 (LSB)
So, in some way, the death of Saul (ch 31) brings no surprises. Now, it might surprise those around Saul who thought that he was invincible, as we might convince ourselves of our own invincibility or that of someone else. But to the Lord this is no surprise. For this is the way of man, birth, disobedience, and death. This is the reality.
- The Plans of Man
Not hard to figure out here the great plans of these men. The Philistines decided that they were going to attack Israel, and their king, Achish insisted that David was going to be part of this army. So, a great force of Philistine men assembles at Aphek. And there David is excluded by the Philistine commanders, while the army of Israel set up their camp in the Jezreel Valley. And because David is excluded, he heads to Ziglag (south) where David and his men find their families gone, while the Philistine army move toward the Jezreel Valley where Israel is assembled. The Philistines on the north side of the valley and the Israelites on the south side of the valley. And then because Saul was terrified, he had earlier sought out the medium at Endor. And the situation in the Jezreel Valley is summed up at the start of our chapter.
“Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.”
1 Samuel 31:1 (LSB)
So, we know that while the Amalekites are fleeing from David and his men (chp 30), it is likely around the same time, Saul and his men are fleeing from the Philistines. And we could read these stories and miss the feelings of all the characters, for imagine the terror of fleeing from an enemy. Over the past few weeks, we have had the Originals, Middles, and the Littles at our house, and I was out playing soccer with the Middles, ages eight to eleven. Now when I was young, I was brutal at soccer, let alone now. And while playing soccer with the Middles, every once and a while, I had to go in goal, as I was exhausted. So, imagine the terror of running from an enemy who is crushing you, and all you can do is run with the fear of being caught, especially the Philistines, who were known for their fierceness, and their wild horses, and chariots. And in this race for your life, it tells us (vs 2) that the Philistines closely pursued Saul and his sons. Imagine the heart condition of someone fleeing like this? As likely the Philistines had a particular interest in taking out Saul and his boys.
And we even read of the death of Jonathan, a son that we have come to know and love throughout these stories. And his death is a terrible tragedy at this point. Jonathan seemed to have a great insight into the plans of God and the choosing of David. He also had a great respect for his Dad, though he also perceived the failings of his father. I suppose it might be like today of hearing about a tragic accident, where a few people die and some are scoundrels, but one is an outstanding citizen. This is how we might feel about Jonathan.
And then we are brought closer to the battle where Saul is dying, as it tells us (vs 3) that the battle became heavy against Saul. And then one of the arrows strikes Saul and he is badly wounded. Imagine the pain of being hit with an arrow. Now apparently, there is a companion with Saul, his armour-bearer. Interesting that at one time, David was Saul’s armour-bearer, but the strong and successful David is miles away by this time. And likely because of his pending death and the worry of what the Philistines might do to him, he commands his armour-bearer to kill him. But like David, his armour-bearer is unwilling to kill the Lord’s anointed, therefore, (vs 4) Saul took his own sword, and he fell on it. No life-ending prayer, no crying out to God for help, as Saul really died as he lived, without God.
So, in the newspapers we read (vs 6), “thus Saul died with his three sons, his armour-bearer, and all his men on that day.” Samuel had said years before, “But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away.” Well, Saul has been swept away. And at the same time Saul is defeated, David is attacking the Amalekites and can bring back all that had been taken from him and his men. So, all at the same time we have the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. As death in the Bible is described as the enemy of mankind. The Apostle Paul wrote that the last enemy to be abolished is death. It is interesting here that we read that Saul killed himself. Now the Bible does not give us a commentary on this, though we know from many passages, the sin of taking your own life.
But in this case, it does bring an even greater tragedy to the event, that someone out of desperation and hopelessness chooses to kill themselves. And though many died in this battle, we are forced to focus on the death of Saul as the most tragic, for: Saul had been appointed as the king; he had been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, in fact, we read in 1 Samuel 10:6 that Saul was made into a new man; and he was given the task of conquering the Philistines. As it has all the buildup, but with such a sad ending. In other words, if this was made into a movie, there is no good ending here. It would be sort of like watching Old Yeller, a lot of good things, but with a very sad ending. John Woodhouse comments on the words (vs 4) which is just five words in the Hebrew, “So Saul took his sword and fell on it.”
“Just five words in the Hebrew text report the death of Israel’s first king. The momentous significance of the event does not require elaboration. The tragedy of this death does not need to be laboured. The king who had failed was dead, by his own hand. His failure was now complete.”
John Woodhouse, Looking for a Leader 548
In many ways this tale of Saul is the tale of all humanity, as it is much like the story of Adam and Eve. As they too were given such an opportunity to rule over the world that God had created, but it all crumbled because of sin. Listen to Genesis 3, compared with 1 Samuel 15. First Adam and Eve:
“Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate … Then Yahweh God said to the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate.’”
Gen 3:6, 13 (LSB)
And then the words to Saul:
“But Samuel said to Saul, ‘I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.’”
1 Samuel 15:26 (LSB)
We really need to think of human life in some ways as a tragedy, as all men and women were created to rule and lead in one sense or another, and all have failed, as life is a depiction of what sin has done and therefore, it is also a reminder of what could have been without sin. Now another tragic part of this battle against the Philistines was that it was visible by Israel (vs 7), “Then the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead. So they forsook the cities and fled.” And then we read that the Philistines lived in many of those cities. And what is significant about these inroads of the Philistines is that it partially divided the northern part of Israel and the southern part of Israel, not completely, but partly. And this is where we find ourselves in our Old Testament read where we have continued to see a divide between ten tribes to the north and the two tribes to the south, Benjamin and Judah. And even in David’s reign, though united, we always see a tension, that comes to full light when Solomon’s son Rehoboam only rules the two tribes, while Jeroboam rules the northern tribes.
And back in our story we read that the following day when the Philistines come back to strip the bodies. They would take the armour and the weapons and anything of value they could get their hands on, and when they come to Saul, they cut off his head. And in the Hebrew here when it says (vs 9) that they sent the good news to their gods and to their people, it is the same thing as saying that they proclaimed the gospel, as proclaiming the gospel simply means to proclaim good news. And we can understand the joy of the people when they learn that their archenemy, Saul, is dead. In other words, it was a great day to be a Philistine, because at this time the Philistines become the reigning champions.
And in reality, the “Philistine gospel” is still ringing out today. Woodhouse wrote that its message is heard every time “human beings believe they have triumphed over God.” We need to understand today that every voice that insinuates that man will have his own way, is in part, this same Philistine gospel. There is a song called “Christ in Me,” and it refers to men of evil having their day. This battle was one of those days, and we live in such a day, when men of evil are having their day. Then the story takes a bit of a turn as the people of Jabesh-gilead hear the same news. But to them it is not the gospel, for it is not good news.
“Then the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, so all the valiant men arose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.”
1 Samuel 31:11-13 (LSB)
And so, as the book of 1 Samuel ends, it is interesting that the book of 2 Samuel begins with the story of Saul’s death, as it is retold. Now there is a bit of a twist to the story in 2 Samuel 1 as an Amalekite came running to David with Saul’s crown and bracelet. When David asked him about the battle, the Amalekite said that he saw Saul on the battlefield.
“Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and put me to death, for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’ So I stood beside him and put him to death, because I knew that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm, and I have brought them here to my lord.”
2 Samuel 1:9-10 (LSB)
Part of his story is true, and part was a lie. For we know that Saul took his own life, so, the Amalekite could not have killed Saul as he claimed he did. But it was true that he must have arrived before the morning when the Philistines had come, for he did have Saul’s crown and bracelet. It is likely best to understand that this Amalekite was lying, trying to gain favour with David by bragging that he killed Saul, therefore, hoping to be somehow rewarded. Which we know was not a good idea, as we know David’s view of killing the Lord’s anointed. Therefore, David had this Amalekite killed, which was likely for something he actually did not do, but only had boasted about. The story of 1 Samuel into 2 Samuel could be summarized like this: Saul is wounded in battle and then kills himself by falling on his own sword; an Amalekite comes across Saul’s dead body and takes his crown and bracelet; the next day, the Philistines find Saul’s body, behead him, strip him of his armor, send the report, and fasten his body to the wall of Beth Shan; the men of Jabesh-gilead travel overnight and take Saul’s body and those of his sons and burn them at Jabesh; then the men of Jabesh-gilead bury Saul’s bones under a tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and the men of that city fast for seven days; the Amalekite arrives at David’s camp on the third day with the crown and bracelet, reporting his fictional story; David and his men fast and mourn until evening; then David has the Amalekite executed; and David becomes king and honours the brave men who buried Saul’s body. I had mentioned earlier a song called “Christ in Me.” The words go like this:
Christ in Me … The hope of glory
Christ in me … My shelter from the storm
Should men of evil have their day … Or should the earth’s foundation sway
But none of these can take away … The living Christ in me
I suppose that as we think about Saul’s death on that battlefield, we would conclude that death reigned that day. Now, if we moved ahead many years later, we would see another day when death seemed to reign, another day when men of evil had their way. When Christ was handed over to the authorities to be crucified. And like Saul the body of Christ was in public view, humiliated so that everyone could see. But there were also those there that cared, and they, like some from Jabesh-gilead, risked their lives and came and took the body of Christ off the cross and buried Him. And though the two deaths were so similar in many ways, there was a great difference. For Saul died for his own sin and failure, whereas Christ died not for His own sin and failure, but for our sin and failure. Saul died unwillingly, while Christ died willingly.
The death of Saul so strikingly, reminds us of the approximately 150,000 people who die everyday in our world, based upon their own effort and strength. And they die because like Saul they all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. And for any here this morning, outside of Christ, your death is no different than Saul’s death. The hopelessness that you face, though maybe not apparent to you now, will be every bit as real as it was for the death of Saul. As this takes us right back to where we began in our study with the words of Hannah that the Lord “puts to death and makes alive.” And if we want to see what the humiliation of death looks like because of sin, we do not have to look any further than to Saul’s death.
If we had to answer three questions about the death of Saul, here are the answers. Why did Saul die? Answer: He sinned against God. How would we describe Saul’s death? Answer: A complete humiliation. And who put Saul to death? Answer: God did. The same will be said of you and me. Why will you die? Answer: Because you sinned against God. How will your death be described? Answer: A complete humiliation. And who will put you to death? Answer: God will. Now a funeral director will try to cover up that humiliation and try to make things look as nice as possible. A nice casket with felt lining and a beautiful oak casing, a nice tombstone, some flowers by the graveside. Yet all these things are not the real truth about your death, because death is ugly as it is a judgment from God. In fact, if we want to see the complete humiliation of death because of sin, we need to look at the death of Christ who took upon Himself the sin of the world. The nails in His hands and feet, the sword in His side, the agony of the cross. For this is the true picture of what death looks like due to sin.
But that is not the end of the story. For Hannah herself also said in her song that not only does the Lord put to death, but that the Lord raises to life. For this is the gospel that the Philistines missed and did not proclaim, that the ultimate King who would come was not from Saul, but was from David, and who was Jesus Christ. Who did die a horrific death, but three days later He would live again, and so would all who placed their faith and trust in Him. Jesus said:
“I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die—ever.”
John 11:25b-26a (LSB)
The Apostle Paul wrote:
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.’”
Galatians 3:13 (LSB)
Ding dong, the king Saul is dead. Hallelujah, the King Jesus is alive. Saul represents the one who places his faith and trust in himself, in his own humanity, in the hope of the world. The gospel of the Philistines—hopelessness. Whereas Jesus represents the one who places His faith and hope in God—an eternity of hope. The only hope for humanity—the gospel, the true good news. Let’s pray. Lord, we thank You that You are our hope. That those who have placed their every trust in You, that upon death, will be in Your presence. For to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. That death for the believer is not humiliation. That death for the believer brings no sting, because “Precious in the sight of the Lord, is the death of His saints.” We praise You that You have delivered us from sin and death, so that we might live forever for our King and Lord, Jesus Christ. And all God’s people said, amen.