BIG IDEA:
DEFEAT, DEATH AND DESECRATION MARK THE END OF THE LINE FOR THE BACKSLIDDEN KING OF ISRAEL
I. (:1-6) TRAGIC DEATH OF SAUL AND HIS SONS
(only partial story told here; need to read 2 Sam 1 for the rest of the story)
A. (:1-3) Setting – Saul Defeated and Brought to the Point of Death
1. (:1) Philistines defeating the Israelites on Mount Gilboa
“Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.”
2. (:2) Philistines killing Saul’s sons (including Jonathan)
“And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul.”
3. (:3) Philistine sniper archers taking out Saul
“And the battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers.”
B. (:4-6) Death of a Dynasty
1. (:4) Saul falls on his sword
“Saul took his sword and fell on it”
2. (:5) Armor bearer falls on his sword
“And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him.”
3. (:6) Saul’s 3 sons and all his men die as well
“Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.”
II. (:7-10) HUMILIATING DESECRATION OF SAUL AND HIS SONS
Don’t overlook the religious element in this mutilation of the bodies and public display. Weapons and armor displayed as trophies in their temples of idolatry.
A. (:7) Run out of Dodge! — Occupation of Israelite Cities by Philistines
“And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, with those who were beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and lived in them.”
B. (:8-10) Off With His Head! — Display of Captured Trophies
1. (:8) What a find!
“And it came about on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.”
2. (:9a) Cut Off His Head
“And they cut off his head”
put it in the temple of Dagon (1 Chron. 10)
3. (:9b-10a) Displayed His Weapons
a. Military Victory — “stripped off his weapons”
b. Political Victory — “sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people”
c. Religious Victory — “And they put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth”
4. (:10b) Displayed His Body
“they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan”
III. (:11-13) HEROIC RETRIEVAL/BURNING/BURYING OF SAUL AND HIS SONS
A. Heroic Retrieval
“all the valiant men rose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons form the wall of Beth-shan”
B. Burning of the Bodies (because of the desecration)
“and they came to Jabesh, and burned them there”
C. Proper Burial of the Bones
“And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh”
D. Appropriate Mourning
“and fasted seven days”