The Life and Times of

One Bright Light – An Act of Heroism (31:11-13)

11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men rose 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. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

This is not a pretty sight nor is it a “happily ever after” fairy tale ending. But it is how it all finally ends for Saul. Lest the reader be overcome with sadness over the indignities Saul suffers and the defeat and death which comes to Israel, the author gives a heart-warming account of a very courageous act on the part of the men of Jabesh-gilead. When these men learn that Saul and his sons have been killed, and that their bodies have been publicly displayed on the wall of Bethshan, they know what they must do. They march through the night to Bethshan and then return to Jabesh-gilead. This is probably more than a 20-mile round trip. They take down the bodies of Saul and his sons and carry them all the way back to Jabesh. There, they burn the bodies and then bury the bones under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh.¹

What prompts the men of this city to do that of which no one else has even thought? The people of this city hold fond memories of Saul and his contribution to them. The incident is described in 1 Samuel 11. Nahash, commander of the Ammonites, and his army besiege Jabesh-gilead and demand their surrender. It is more than just an “unconditional surrender” he demands, however. He insists he gouge out the right eye of every Israelite in the city. The elders of Jabesh ask for some time to think about it and to appeal to their brethren for help. Word goes out to Israel and reaches Saul’s ear, who though he is still working at home, has been appointed king of Israel. Saul becomes angry in the Spirit and cuts up his oxen, sending pieces to every tribe in Israel. He warns that anyone who does not appear to defend Jabesh-gilead will find his oxen slaughtered as well. Israelites numbering 330,000 show up for battle, and the city of Jabesh is rescued.

The men of Jabesh do not forget what Saul did for them. In their hour of need, Saul came with the help that saved them. Now, in Saul’s hour of need, they find a way to help him. The bodies of Saul and his sons, suspended on the city wall of Bethshan, are there to be mocked. The men of Jabesh march through the night, take down the bodies of the king and his sons, and bring them back to Jabesh, where they bury them -- a magnificent gesture of appreciation and respect on their part. As Saul’s boldness toward the Ammonites at Jabesh is Saul’s finest hour (so far as 1 Samuel is concerned), this is the finest hour for the men of Jabesh.

Conclusion

Let us now highlight a few of the lessons this text holds for us, just as it held for the ancient Israelites.

First, should learn from Saul’s death, which is the central focus of our passage. Saul died, just as God said he would. The timing of Saul’s death is precisely as predicted. Saul dies in the manner God said he would. He dies at the hands of the Philistines and an Amalekite. Saul dies in a manner entirely consistent with the way he lived his life. Even at the very end of his life, Saul does not really die like a man of courage. He does not want to suffer pain, and so he begs others to take his life and even tries to do so himself.

God’s word is absolutely reliable. God will do as He has promises. He will deal with sin and rebellion in judgment; He will deal with trust and obedience in blessing. Saul is removed from his throne and from life; David is preserved from Saul’s plots and soon installed as king of Judah (and then of Israel). Before the first man ever sinned, God declared that the penalty for sin was death (Genesis 2:16-17). From that point on, God has spoken clearly to men with respect to sin. His word not only defines sin, it spells out the consequences for sin – death (Romans 3:23; 6:23). God gave Saul time to repent, but he did not. And so his death came to pass, even as God had said. If you have never trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, God is now giving you opportunity to repent. You may, like Saul, choose to use this time for repentance as the opportunity to add to your sins. But be assured, your sins will find you out. The wages of sin is death. If you repent, by acknowledging your sin and trusting in Jesus Christ for salvation, you will have eternal life. Be assured that God’s promises – both of judgment and of salvation – are certain. Saul reminds us of this truth.

Second, we gain insight into our text as we consider the parallel text in 1 Chronicles 10:

13 So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse (1 Chronicles 10:13-14).

The first 12 verses of 1 Chronicles 10 are virtually identical with our text in 1 Samuel 31. Verses 13 and 14 (above) are not. These verses make several matters, implied in 1 Samuel, absolutely clear. In the final analysis, men did not put Saul to death (whether Philistine, Israelite, or Amalekite); it was God. And they also inform us that God put Saul to death because of his sin, his persistent sin. Finally, we are told that God put Saul to death not only to fulfill His warnings to him, but also to fulfill His promises to David.

Why does the author of 1 Samuel not include this statement? I think he believes we should figure that out for ourselves. How can we not reach this conclusion, based upon all that has been said and done before this chapter? But lest some fail to get the point, the conclusion we should reach is stated clearly in a parallel account so that no one can miss the point.

This passage directly addresses a problem that is very much in focus in our own day and time. Let me just mention a name, and the issue should be evident: Dr. Jack Kevorkian. The issue is that of assisted suicide. In courts and legislative bodies in America, Canada, and elsewhere in the world, men are grappling with the issue of assisted suicide.

It would be helpful to our consideration if we were very clear on our definition of assisted suicide. I found this definition on the Internet, as I was doing a little research: Assisted suicide is the act of killing oneself intentionally with the assistance of another who provides the means, the knowledge, or both.

Assisted suicide is not the same thing as euthanasia. Euthanasia is taking the life of another, without their request or consent. Assisted suicide is initiated and requested by the one who wishes to die. Assisted suicide is not allowing death to take its course naturally, by refusing special measures. Assisted suicide is causing the death of another, by taking special measures.

Saul requests assisted suicide. Our text makes it clear that he is wrong in so doing. He is wrong because he is attempting to minimize the pain of divine judgment. He is wrong because he is attempting to alter the means of divine judgment. He wants to die in a manner that is different from what God has foretold. He is wrong because he is trying to kill the Lord’s anointed. As it was wrong for anyone else (like David, or the young Amalekite) to do harm to the king, it is wrong for the king himself. It is likewise wrong for the armor bearer of the king to take the king’s life or for the young Amalekite to do so. The Amalekite paid for his sin with his life. Our text gives no sanction to assisted suicide. Both in Judges 9 and here, it is not the way to deal with pain, even though death is imminent in both cases.

It is important to recognize the hypocrisy in Saul’s request to die as evident in his two requests, first of his armor bearer, and finally of the Amalekite. Let us put these two requests next to each other and compare them:

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 make sport of me.’ But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. (1 Samuel 31:4)

Then he said to me, ‘Please stand beside me and kill me; for agony has seized me because my life still lingers in me.’ (2 Samuel 1:9)

Saul’s second request exposes the hypocrisy of the first. The first request is made of Saul’s armor bearer, who most certainly is an Israelite. He does not wish to be put to death by the “uncircumcised.” Yet he requests an Amalekite (an uncircumcised Gentile) to put him to death. The real reason Saul wants to be assisted in committing suicide is given in his second request: he does not wish to suffer the pain. He wants to die to end the pain, to end his suffering. Bluntly, he is more interested in avoiding pain than in obeying God (not harming God’s anointed). Just as Saul was willing to kill David because of the “pain” he caused him, now he is willing to kill himself because of the “pain” he is suffering.

It is wrong for Christians to commit suicide, whether assisted or not. It is wrong for Christians to assist in committing suicide. When men and women come to the place where they would rather die than live, we need to spend our efforts pointing them to Christ, to eternal life. When Christians come to the place where death seems near and where pain is intense, we should look forward to being at home with the Lord, but not by our own hand. We need not allow medical technology to prolong pain and the death process, but we should not seek to end the life which God gives, and which only God takes away (Job 1:21). Whenever men wish to die in the Bible, it is not commended; it is clearly seen as a failure of faith.

There are undoubtedly some reading this message who have considered (or are considering) taking the easy way out. This text should speak clearly to you. But I would like to suggest that many others act in a very similar and sinful way, and don’t recognize their actions as suicidal. Saul’s sin, at heart, is trying to escape from the circumstances, the pain he created for himself and that God ordained as divine discipline. Saul wants to “avoid the pain” in a sinful manner, and many of us do too. Some seek to avoid pain spiritually. Paul believes in and practices supernatural healing. He petitions God to remove his own thorn in the flesh, but he is denied (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). God has a higher purpose for Paul’s pain, and that is to humble him and to bring about even greater manifestations of His power and grace. Why will some saints not accept that God does not despise all pain, that He does not remove all pain, but purposes to use it for our good and His glory? Why do we seek to spiritualize our sin by acting as though our resistance to divinely sent pain is an act of faith? Let us not seek to escape what God gives us to endure.

There are other means of “escape” which are very common today, even among Christians. Some attempt to escape emotional pain by divorce or separation. Others, wishing to maintain the appearance of marriage, simply wall themselves off from their mate (and perhaps their family) to “avoid the pain.” This, I suggest, is just another form of suicide. Illicit sexual relationships, drugs, alcohol, and other addictive patterns are, in reality, unbiblical, ungodly attempts to escape from pain. Whether it is the momentary thrill and pleasure of an illicit sexual experience or the high of drugs or alcohol, it is a momentary escape. But the Bible tells us that it is really suicidal in that it is takes a step toward death (see Proverbs 7).

I have never liked the term “enabler” because it seeks to describe sin in secular rather than biblical terms. I wonder, however, if what some call an enabler is not the same as what Saul wishes his armor bearer to be, and what the Amalekite becomes – one who assists in suicide. To see a brother in sin, and not to act in a way that turns him from sin, is to aid him in his pursuit of death. Let us give serious thought to whether we enable the sin and death of others, or whether we encourage them to pursue the path of life, in Christ.

Finally, I see in Saul a very pronounced contrast to the person and work of Jesus Christ. Saul’s sin and his desire to die is selfish, self-serving. His sin brings about not only his own death, but also the death of his sons and many Israelites, and the suffering of many more. Saul’s leadership is not a blessing, but a curse to Israel. How different was the death of our Lord. It was not our Lord’s desire to die, humanly speaking. He was not suicidal. He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that this “cup” of death be removed from Him (Matthew 26:39). He died in obedience to the will of the Father, not in disobedience (Matthew 26:39; John 6:38; Philippians 2:3-8). He did not die to save Himself from pain; He died to endure to the full the pain that we deserve as punishment for our sins (Isaiah 53; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:17-18). This is why He refused the wine mingled with gall (Matthew 27:33-34). He was not willing to take any “medication” which would dull the pain He must bear on our behalf. His death is not a tragic failure on his part, which we try to forget (as with a suicide), but a magnificent sacrifice for us, which we celebrate every week at communion. His death was not self-serving, but sacrificial. It was a death He suffered for our sins and for our salvation. And all we need to do is to accept it as God’s means for forgiving our sins and providing us with eternal life.

There is often a point of crisis to which God brings the sinner, a point at which suicide may be considered as a way out. People see the sin they have committed and feel hopelessly bound in the power, guilt, and consequences of these sins. They may think death (their death by suicide) is the only way out. It is not the way out, because death terminates our opportunity to repent and be saved:

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

The solution to your problem is not to die in sin; it is to die to sin. The only way you can do this is by faith in Christ -- as you acknowledge your sin and guilt and trust in Him who has died in your place, who has suffered the eternal pain for your sins. It is in Christ that you die to sin, and enter into eternal life. If you have never done this, I urge you to do it now. As God’s promise of salvation is sure, so is His promise of judgment and eternal death. Let us learn from Saul’s death.

1 One could imply from this that Jesse is not one of the elders of the city. With a greater degree of certainty, we can say that Jesse’s sons are surely not elders of the city, and thus not likely candidates for such an invitation.

2 It is difficult to determine exactly how many years, but accepting the (uninspired) dates in the King James Version, it seems that David is anointed approximately 7 years before Saul dies and about 10 years or so before he becomes Israel’s king. God gives David time to grow up and to grow into his role as king of Israel, with the enablement of the Holy Spirit.

3 It is instructive to consult Psalm 51:11 here.

1 You will recall that Bethlehem is 5 miles or so south of Jerusalem, and the valley of Elah seems to be 12 miles or so west of Bethlehem, the home of Jesse and his sons, including David.

2 This term, “champion,” is most interesting. The translation comes from a two-word hyphenated expression in the Hebrew text, which literally means “a man between.” The “champion” did not fight on the front lines; he fought ahead of them in that area between the two opposing armies. No wonder Goliath acts as he does in our text. He is accustomed to this role.

3 The Septuagint attempts to avoid an uplifted eyebrow by scaling down Goliath’s height to 4 cubits, which would make him only 6 ½ feet in height.

4 The number 40 sets off a kind of mental alarm clock, suggesting to us that this number might be significant. I am inclined to think that it is.

5 Incidentally, Eliab’s confrontation of David in 17:28-30 gives us good reason to see why he is not chosen to be Israel’s next king. He is not a man after God’s heart, as his scorching words to David reveal.

6 We are told in 14:48 that Saul “acted valiantly,” but I do not think this places him in the ranks of “mighty men of valor.”

7 It is important to take note that our text does not say that David killed a lion and a bear. Our text indicates that David killed both lions and bears. Whenever a lion or a bear took a lamb from the flock, David pursued it and rescued the lamb, killing the wild beast as it sought to protect its prey and kill its attacker. The New Revised Standard Version most clearly emphasizes the plurality of the lions and the bears when it renders, “Your servant has killed both lions and bears; . . .(17:36a).”

8 Literally, hand, in both places rendered paw.

9 We know from 1 Samuel 21:8-9 that Goliath’s sword ends up in the care of Ahimelech the priest.

1 Most of these are noted by Dale Ralph Davis, Looking on the Heart: Expositions of the Book of 1 Samuel (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), vol. 2, p. 53.

2 Dale Ralph Davis, Looking on the Heart, vol. 2, p. 52, fn. 2.

3 We should not forget that in 13:22, the only swords that could be found in Israel belonged to Saul and Jonathan.

4 Time does not permit us to play out the way Barnabas promotes Saul (later called Paul, the apostle) in the Book of Acts, so that he eventually overshadows this “son of exhortation,” but it is a wonderful thing to behold, albeit all too seldom.

5 I am tempted to say, “One day David is in Saul’s good graces; the next, he is viewed with suspicion.” It probably was not this quick. David seems to be returning from Israel’s pursuit and plundering of the Philistines, and the Israelite women have to come from various towns for “all the cities.” This must take several days at least. The point is that Saul’s change of heart towards David comes quickly, precipitated by the song of celebration sung by the Israelite women.

6 All of this, of course, is in the sovereign will of God.

7 Dale Ralph Davis, Looking on the Heart, vol. 2, pp. 53, 54.

8 I am inclined to appreciate the influence Jonathan has on his father. It becomes more apparent later on in 1 Samuel that Saul’s attitudes and actions toward David are being strongly influenced by others, who seem to gain from Saul’s animosity toward David (see 24:9; 26:19). Jonathan seems to set the record straight, at least for the moment.

9 It is not immediately apparent just how Saul attempts to use his spear to kill Saul this time. He attempts to “pin him to the wall,” as in the past (18:11), but in that instance, he is hurling his spear at David. In this instance, he may be holding on to David with one hand, while he attempts to run him through with his spear with the other, thus “pinning him to the wall.” It would be amusing if Saul gave up trying to kill David at a distance by hurling the spear, because he had been such a bad shot in the past. In which case, Saul could be reasoning, “If I can’t kill him with this spear from a distance (since I can’t seem to hit anything), then I’ll hold him with one hand and run him through with the other, using the spear.” If this were so, Saul couldn’t even hit David at this range. One can only imagine what it would have been like to walk about Saul’s home, seeing all the holes which his spear had made.

10 One might compare this thesis with Acts 5, where the greed of Ananias and Sapphira seemed to open the door for Satan to “fill their hearts” to lie about their contribution.

11 If you have ever seen film footage of emergency rescue efforts, you know what I am talking about.

12 This is, indeed, a very clever answer which Michal gives to her father. If she says, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death?’” then she is implying that David revealed his intention to kill Saul, but not to kill her, unless absolutely necessary. In other words, she would be saying, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I put you to death, when I really only wish to kill your father?’”

13 It is not certain whether Naioth is a place (of unknown location), or whether this word should be translated “camp,” since the term actually means ‘huts’ or ‘camps.’ See footnote 7, page 57, in Looking on the Heart: Expositions of the Book of 1 Samuel: (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994), vol. 2, by Dale Ralph Davis. It does seem that Ramah and Naioth are almost interchangeable, and since we do not know of a city by this name, I am inclined to think Samuel and David stayed in one of the huts in this camp, at or very near Ramah.

14 How do you flee from Saul by rushing to the place where he and his son live?

15 It certainly seems as though Jonathan is becoming more and more realistic about his father’s attitude and actions toward David and himself. This, “If I should die. . .” seems to indicate that Jonathan has begun to come to grips with the reality of the situation.

16 In verse 11 and following, the statement, “Jonathan said, . . .” is frequently repeated.

17 Then, as today, the way we refer to another person says a lot about our state of mind. When a mother calls her son, Johnny, “Jonathan,” we all know things have become more serious. And when his father comes home that night and the mother says to him, “Your son . . . .,” we have the same impression.

18 Or, is it that God simply causes the spear to miss its target? You simply cannot overrule God’s plans (compare Luke 4:28-30; John 18:3-6).

19

20 In 2 Samuel, Uriah was an illustration of the devout soldier, who would not indulge himself in the pleasures of sexual intimacy with his own wife because he was living like a soldier at war, which he was (see verses 6-13).

21 It is my understanding that David hid out at several “strongholds” during the time he fled from Saul. Not all of them were inside the land of Israel. This “stronghold” I understand to have been in Moab, and that is why the prophet Gad instructs David to go back to Judah.

22 Some have held that the stronghold was Masada, but I am not entirely convinced. It would seem that there is more than one stronghold (see 22:4, 5; 23:14), and that the stronghold in 22:4 was actually in Moab, and not in Israel.

23 Pardon the pun, but here I am speaking of military intelligence, which Saul lacks.

24 Lance Morrow, “The Power of Paranoia,” Time Magazine, April 15, 1966, Volume 147, No. 16.

25 I cannot help but wonder if there is not a subtle inference in Ahimelech’s words, which might be verbalized in this manner: