The Death of Saul

I. The Coward’s Reaction

The battle went as telegraphed - badly.

Two of the seven suicides or attempted suicides in the Bible are right here. So it’s a difficult subject we must talk about. During the Holiday Season.

Yet a plurality of suicides take place during this season. It’s as good a time to talk about it as any.

Every Suicide in the Bible was done who was trapped while fighting God. Here’s the others.

Abimelech, Suicide after battle due to violently taking a throne that did not belong to him Judges 9:54

Ahithophel 2 Sam 17:23, Suicide after siding with Absalom and his counsel rejected

Zimri 1 Kings 16:18 Suicide after killing the previous king of the Northern Kingdom of Israel and all his household, and he was trapped by the opposing army.

Jonah Attempted suicide to avoid obeying God and go to Nineveh.

Judas Matt 27:5; Acts 1:18. Enough said about him.

Saul and his Armorbearer. Saul had been fighting God’s word that another man would be King. He refused all of God’s pleas to repent, and chose suicide as an easy way out of God’s judgment. The Armorbearer followed Saul’s lead.

Biblical perspective on life

Your life is not your own, so it is not your right to end it

A righteous person is never so trapped that death is preferrable to life.

If you are fighting God, the only wise option is repentance.

Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

II. The Opportunist’s Reaction

Who is telling the truth? The Amalekite is likely shading the truth. He was probably scavenging after the battle, and didn’t actually kill Saul. But he thought this lie would help him. Oops.

As an Amalekite, he likely didn’t understand the importance of the Lord’s Annointed, and treated Saul as if he were just another king, and David just another rival.

David didn’t kill him because he was an Amalekite, though that didn’t help. He killed him because he killed the Lord’s Anointed. If you claim to have committed a crime, and they believe you, your punishment is on you, not on them.

So if it was very wrong to kill the Lord’s Anointed when he was fighting God and worthy of death many times over, how wrong was it to kill the Lord’s Anointed when he was the perfect sacrifice?

The Amalekite claims to have only Euthanized Saul, as he was going to die soon anyway, and wanted to die. That didn’t make a bit of difference about his guilt.

III. The Nationalist’s Reaction

David’s Lament was supposed to be taught so this is a national lament. “Book of Jashar” is lit. “Book of the Upright.” Also mentioned in Joshua 10:13, it was a book of poetry about significant events, which has since been lost.

This lament is purely human, there is no mention of God in it

A Eulogy for Saul without doubletalk? it focuses on the national disgrace and shame of Saul’s death.

“Clothed you in scarlet?!” Governments don’t make anything, they can only give by taking from someone else. And Saul’s Government was probably the leanest government Israel ever had under the Monarchy. But what Government can and should do is protect the property of its citizens. During the early part of Saul’s reign, he did indeed do this. Taxes, even high taxes, are cheap compared to theft and war.

“surpassing the love of women”

Ancient Israel didn’t have a tradition of romantic love. The Song of Solomon was the first poem on the subject, and it hadn’t been written yet. And marriages were arranged. So closeness between men and women wasn’t expected, even in marriage.

If you’ve seen Fiddler on the Roof, you get an idea of just how transactional marriages tended to be, though that movie was about 19th century Russian Jews, not Ancient Israel, it is much the same thing.

David himself had an extremely poor record on his family. Multiple wives, and his later behavior showed he didn’t take his family duties that seriously. So the “love of Women” was double not that important to him.

What it isn’t is about gay love. Jonathan was David’s peer, his close friend and confidant. David didn’t relate to his wives that way, so his friendship with Jonathan meant more because it was true friendship.

Men, you should dwell with your wives according to knowledge, so your wife should be your best friend. While the husband is the head of the home, that doesn’t mean the woman is his servant. The husband should lead as the first among equals, not as the master. So the love of friendship does surpass the love of women, when the woman isn’t your best friend. But she should be.