While David and his men were Pursuing and defeating the
Amalekite raiders, The Philistines engaged Israel in battle, soundly defeating
them. As Samuel had warned, All Saul’s
sons were killed and himself wounded, according to I Samuel 31:1-3. “Now
the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before
the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul
and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and
Melchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle
went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the
archers.”
Fearing he would be tortured, Saul asked his armor bearer to
kill him, and when he refused, committed suicide, according to I Samuel
31:4-6. “Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me
through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and
abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore
Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. And
when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword,
and died with him. So Saul died, and his
three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together.”
Learning that Saul and his sons were dead and his army routed,
the people went into hiding, leaving the cities unprotected. The Philistines occupied them that first
night, and discovered Saul and his son’s bodies the next morning, according to
I Samuel 31:7-10. “And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley,
and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled,
and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and
the Philistines came and dwelt in them. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the
Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons
fallen in mount Gilboa. And they cut off
his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the
Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among
the people. And they put his armour in
the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan.”
The Philistines desecrated the bodies, cutting off Saul’s
head and sending it and his armor to the various cities to prove he was
dead. They hung the bodies on the wall
of Bethshan to commemorate their victory.
The people of Jabeshgilead remembered how Saul had come to their rescue,
and were upset that he was being degraded and took the bodies, burning them and
burying the ashes, according to I Samuel 31:11-13. “And
when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which the Philistines had
done to Saul; All the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body
of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and came to
Jabesh, and burnt them there. And they
took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.”
The conflict between Saul and David was widely known, and three
days after Saul was killed, in an effort to curry favor, an Amalekite came to
David claiming to have been the one who killed Saul, in II Samuel 1:1-10. “Now it
came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the
slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag; It came
even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from
Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he
came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.
And David said unto
him, From whence comest thou?
And he said unto him,
Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.
And David said unto
him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me.
And he answered, That
the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and
dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.
And David said unto the
young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be
dead?
And the young man that
told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned
upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and
called unto me. And I answered, Here am I. And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I
answered him, I am an Amalekite. He said
unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come
upon me, because my life is yet whole in me. So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I
was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown
that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought
them hither unto my lord.”
Though Saul had repeatedly tried to kill him, David did not
harbor a grudge against him, and was upset at his death, as II Samuel 1:11-16
tells us. “Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all
the men that were with him: And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even,
for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the
house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
And David said unto
the young man that told him, Whence art thou?
And he answered, I am
the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.
And David said unto
him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD'S
anointed? And David called one of the
young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.
And David said unto him, Thy blood be
upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain
the LORD'S anointed.”
Saul’s armor bearer had believed Saul was already dead, but
this man said he was not, and that he was only easing his suffering by killing
him. Many today are calling for
euthanasia to end suffering for those with incurable diseases. As David pointed out, Saul was God’s anointed
and no one had the right to kill him. He
had the man executed for murder, As
Genesis 9:6 commands, “Whoso sheddeth
man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he
man.” God has not authorized us to
decide who lives and who dies.
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