2 Tim 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
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KING SAUL DIED IN WAR
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30
1 Samuel 31
Luke 23:39-43
“…Verily I say unto thee,
To day shalt thou be
with me in paradise.”
KING SAUL DIED IN WAR
It was a matter of time before King Saul saw his end. He had chased David away from Israel. His trusted servant was now taking refuge in the enemy nation of the Philistines. God protected David so that he was not part of the war in which Saul was killed. When David had returned to Ziklag, the Philistines went to war with Israel.
The Lord caused the king of Israel to fall to his enemies because it was determined that he had to go. At the commencement of the battle, the Philistines proved stronger. They killed the three sons of Saul: Jonathan, Abinadab and Malchishua. The king was hit by arrows and his army was on the losing end. He was thus subjected to the enemy. It was because he had been rejected by the Lord.
Saul and his sons were killed and Israel was defeated. The Philistines humiliated Israel and took their spoils and the men of Jabeshgilead burned the bodies of Saul and his sons and buried their bones. They also took time to mourn and fasted in their honour. The Lord’s hand was in all the events and Israel was set for greatness. It was the end of an era, and the beginning of another.
The narrative showed that Saul and the men of Israel were not ready and were weak from the onset. Saul knew that he was going to die, and he opted to take his own life rather than die in the hands of the Philistines. He ordered his armourbearer to slay him for he was badly wounded and did not want to die in the hands of the uncircumcised. He wanted to save his face even though he was on the verge of death. The armourbearer could not lift his hand against his master and so he refused to follow the king’s order because it was against his call of duty. There was no time for them to waste as they were in the middle of the battle. Saul decided to end his life by falling upon his own sword, and he died. It was a sad end for the king of Israel even as he was facing death, he would have been saved if he had put his trust in the Lord, but he did not. This is a spiritual lesson for us to learn.
THOUGHT: Salvation is possible even at the last breath.
PRAYER: Father, “rescue the perishing, care for the dying.”