This week in 1 Samuel 31, we have the miserable suicide death of King Saul, who had been abaondoned by his God:
1Sa 31:4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me." But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.
The Chronicler adds an explanation to the end of the story:
1Ch 10:13 So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance.
1Ch 10:14 He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
And the amazing thing is how well Saul started- how the Spirit would fill him to great acts of prophecy and courage- but he never really made Him HIS God, and it became a downward spiral. But this chapter also shows you can go UP with God, too. Let me take you back in time to a SEEMINGLY unrelated story:
Jdg 21:6 And the people of Israel had compassion for Benjamin their brother and said, "One tribe is cut off from Israel this day.
Jdg 21:7 What shall we do for wives for those who are left, since we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them any of our daughters for wives?"
Jdg 21:8 And they said, "What one is there of the tribes of Israel that did not come up to the LORD to Mizpah?" And behold, no one had come to the camp from Jabesh-gilead, to the assembly.
Jdg 21:9 For when the people were mustered, behold, not one of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead was there.
Jdg 21:10 So the congregation sent 12,000 of their bravest men there and commanded them, "Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword; also the women and the little ones.
Jdg 21:11 This is what you shall do: every male and every woman that has lain with a male you shall devote to destruction."
Jdg 21:12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead 400 young virgins who had not known a man by lying with him, and they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
What's going on here? Short story: The tribe of Benjamin had committed a heinous sin, like the sin of the men of Sodom long before. A prophet cut up the body of his murdered maid and used it as a call to revenge. When tempers cooled, it was found there were 600 men of Benjamin left of the entire tribe- and if they didn't want the tribe to go extinct, they had to get them women- and they had foolishly vowed not to give up any of their own. So they figured up Jabesh-Gilead had cowardly stayed at home- and wiped them out to get virgins to rebuild Benjamin. But the story of Jabesh-Gilead doesn't stop there:
1Sa 11:1 Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you."
1Sa 11:2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a treaty with you, that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus bring disgrace on all Israel."
1Sa 11:3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you."
Some years later, the rebuilt J-G finds itself on the verge of either a great dishonoring or another extinction. But this time, they knew there was a King in Israel:
1Sa 11:5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, "What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?" So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh.
1Sa 11:6 And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.
1Sa 11:7 He took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!" Then the dread of the LORD fell upon the people, and they came out as one man.
God often works in symmetry, and here an ascendant Saul uses the same method of messaging that was used to ignite Jabesh's earlier fate to call them to the defense. Saul, full of the Spirit, easily defeats them, and Jabesh-Gilead is now a loyal support base for Saul. Now, go back to our story:
1Sa 31:9 So they cut off (Saul's) head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people.
1Sa 31:10 They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.
1Sa 31:11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
1Sa 31:12 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 Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.
1Sa 31:13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.
From Cowards to heroes, the men of Jabesh not only stayed in their city when all about them fled for fear of the Philistines (v7), they crossed the Jordan back into the heart of Philistia to recover the bodies of the House of Saul and give them an honor Saul didn't deserve in life. And now, let's go one step into the future to see how this act of honor blessed them:
2Sa 2:4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, "It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,"
2Sa 2:5 David sent messengers to the men of Jabesh-gilead and said to them, "May you be blessed by the LORD, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord and buried him.
2Sa 2:6 Now may the LORD show steadfast love and faithfulness to you. And I will do good to you because you have done this thing.
2Sa 2:7 Now therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant, for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."
And thus, where a lesser king might have eliminated or at least ignored followers of the old regime, these men were blessed by David- and a city that might have died in infamy turned their path around and found themselves blessed. And we might never had noticed, had it not been set against the contrast of a soul lost without God. When we feel it's time to give up on this world, let's be men of Jabesh-Gilead, and receive God's blessing for it!
Thank you for this
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