Saul Dies

When it became apparent to Saul that he would not survive the battle against the Philistenes, he asked his armor bearer to kill him. I would imagine Saul preferred to die on his own terms rather than be captured by the enemy, only to suffer certain torture and humiliation. When his armor bearer declined, Saul committed suicide by falling on his own sword. Either out of grief or fear, his armor bearer followed suit. The people of Jabesh-gilead heard what had happened and what had been done to Saul's body, and mounted a rescue. The people of that town were indebted to Saul after he had come to their aid against the Ammonites very early in his rule. An opportunistic Amalekite headed straight for David to deliver the news of Saul's death. Though clearly untrue, the man claimed to have been personally responsible for killing him. Knowing that David had been in flight from the murderous king, this man probably thought the news would be received with great joy and possibly reward or glory for himself. But David's heart for God shone through in this exchange, in that he was appalled that the Amalekite would have killed God's anointed man. It was respect for God moreso than for Saul that enraged him to the point of calling for the man's immediate execution. David could not have known that the man was lying, as this was the first report he had had from the battlefield.

It is a lesson for us today regarding those in authority over us. Though Saul was not a godly man, his reign had been established by God, whether by His perfect will or permissive will. If we believe that God is ultimately in control of everything, then He has ordained the rule of every leader who ever held office, even the bad ones. We are expected to challenge our leaders in the areas in which they step out of line with Scripture, but we are to respect their authority regardless. Read the following verse from the 13th chapter of Romans...

1Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.

David clearly held Saul in high regard, as evidenced by the psalm he penned as a memorial. His love for Johnathan is evident as well, noting that his love for him was "deeper than the love of a woman". Remember from a previous post that some have speculated as to the nature of the relationship between Johnathan and David, using this phrase to lend credence to the homosexual theory. I read something about the nature of husband/wife, male/female relationships that really made this statement more understandable. Because women were viewed more as property back then, and men were likely to have many wives and concubines as opposed to one "soul-mate", deeply intimate relationships were rare between the sexes. The marital relationship probably had more to do with provision, protection, and procreation than anything else. Though God had certainly intended that women be the "help-meet" of their husbands, at this time in history they seem to have been more like servants. David already had three wives at this time, so how close could he have been with them? I think his statement in the psalm refers to the emotional and spiritual closeness of having a best friend covenant relationship that superseded the value of the sexual and utilitarian relationship he had with his wives.

Tomorrow's reading: 2 Samuel 2-3:5; 23:8-39; 1 Chron. 11:10-47