What happened to King Saul of Benjamin?

The Lord's Amazing Providence Regarding Saul and David

(1 Chronicles 9:35-10:14, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, September 17, 2017)

[35] In Gibeon lived the father of Gibeon, Jeiel, and the name of his wife was Maacah, [36] and his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab, [37] Gedor, Ahio, Zechariah, and Mikloth; [38] and Mikloth was the father of Shimeam; and these also lived opposite their kinsmen in Jerusalem, with their kinsmen. [39] Ner fathered Kish, Kish fathered Saul, Saul fathered Jonathan, Malchi-shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal. [40] And the son of Jonathan was Merib-baal, and Merib-baal fathered Micah. [41] The sons of Micah: Pithon, Melech, Tahrea, and Ahaz. [42] And Ahaz fathered Jarah, and Jarah fathered Alemeth, Azmaveth, and Zimri. And Zimri fathered Moza. [43] Moza fathered Binea, and Rephaiah was his son, Eleasah his son, Azel his son. [44] Azel had six sons and these are their names: Azrikam, Bocheru, Ishmael, Sheariah, Obadiah, and Hanan; these were the sons of Azel.

[1] Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. [2] And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. [3] The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was wounded by the archers. [4] Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. [5] And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died. [6] Thus Saul died; he and his three sons and all his house died together. [7] And when all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and lived in them.

[8] The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. [9] And they stripped him and took his head and his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to their idols and to the people. [10] And they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. [11] But when all Jabesh-gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, [12] all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

[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. [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.

Saul's Genealogy Revisited

Saul's Genealogy, which was already given as part of the story of the tribe of Benjamin, is now repeated to begin the narrative section of the book that will quickly get us to the reign of King David. Many of the details of Saul's life were well known by the time that 1 Chronicles was written, and it was not the Chronicler's purpose to review that account. Instead we go only to the story of Saul's death and to an assessment of what went wrong.

The Death of Saul and Jonathan

There was a long-standing military contest between the Jews and the Philistines. Saul had been for a time a very powerful leader against these enemies who came originally from across the Mediterranean sea and eventually settled on the coastal territories of the Promised Land. We are told that on this occasion “the men of Israel fled before the Philistines.” In their retreat, Israel suffered the loss of both Saul and his son Jonathan, as well as some other sons of Saul.

Saul was “wounded by the archers” of the Philistines, and as his life was drawing swiftly to a close, he commanded his armor-bearer to kill him. The man refused, and although there is more to this story, those details are not of primary interest to the Chronicler in writing this volume. What is noted is Saul's desire that his body not be left to the “uncircumcised” Philistine soldiers who might “mistreat” him. The other fact that is mentioned in this brief and tragic account is that both Saul and his armor-bearer had a part to play in their own deaths. Not only was the battle a horrible defeat for Israel, but all those of Saul's family who were there that day “died together” on Mount Gilboa. The loss led to an abandonment of the border cities which were then taken over by the Philistines.

Dagon and Jehovah

This battle was not only between two people groups. It was a contest between their gods. The soldiers treated the bodies of the famous dead leaders of Israel with great indignity as part of their triumph over a rival religious system. They carried “the good news to their idols and to the people.” They also took Saul's head and fastened it as a trophy in the temple of Dagon.

It is striking how little we know about Dagon compared with the revelation that we have concerning Yahweh. Dagon is associated with fish, wheat, and fertility. He was one among many, a leading god in a pantheon including scores of other deities. There remains such a foundation of ignorance concerning Dagon that in the last few centuries people have debated about whether or not Dagon was a merman—half man and half fish, or whether that identification with fish was not a part of the original Dagon idea at all.

In contrast to this confusion, we have the Old and New Testaments, and especially the arrival of Yahweh in the flesh, Jesus Christ. His death tells a much better story than the death of Saul and Jonathan. It has been plainly proclaimed all over the earth together with His resurrection and the promise of His return with the fullness of a glorious kingdom.

Back to our gruesome story about Saul, the men of Jabesh-gilead “heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul.” They took the remains of Saul and his sons and gave them a respectful burial. They “fasted seven days” as an expression of their mourning.

Saul, David, and the Lord

Was Saul's life and death God's failure? Not at all! We are not left in mystery regarding the takeaway from Saul's death. Saul “died for his breach of faith.” He “did not keep the command of the Lord.” He also turned to prohibited occult practices rather than “seek guidance from the Lord.” Therefore the Lord “turned over the kingdom” to a better man, “David the son of Jesse.”

The covenant people of God in all ages are called to a Lord's Prayer life of relationship with God and the obedience of faith in a world of religious diversity. Our greatest aid in living the good life is to have a righteous King leading us in spiritual battle. We have a perfect Leader in this strange warfare in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both Son of David and Son of God. Who is this Jesus? While He is certainly the Jesus of our ancient creeds and also the Jesus of true religious experience, He is especially the Jesus of the entire Scriptures, and the Jesus of our salvation.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 28 – Our Saving Refuge

Gospel Reading—Matthew 9:18-26 – Matthew 9:18-26

[18] While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” [19] And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples. [20] And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, [21] for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” [22] Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well. [23] And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, [24] he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. [25] But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. [26] And the report of this went through all that district.