(1 Samuel 31:1-13) Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from the Philistines but fell fatally wounded on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines also overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers found him; and he was gravely wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised Philistines will come and pierce me through, and abuse me.” But his armor bearer was unwilling, because he was very fearful. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. 6 So Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together.
7 Now when the people 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 his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled; then the Philistines came and settled in them.
8 It came about on the next day, when the Philistines came to strip those killed, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent them throughout the land of the Philistines, to bring the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they nailed his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men got up and walked all night, and they 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. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted for seven days.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
Saul's three sons died in battle, while Saul and his armor bearer chose to commit suicide. This is not the unpardonable sin. Unbelief - choosing not to believe in Jesus Christ - is the unpardonable sin. For all who become a believer, we are children of God, sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, so that we cannot lose our salvation, no matter what we do or not do.
We must remember that Christianity is not about do's and don'ts, but having a close, personal relationship with the Lord. Obviously, this should not be a reason why we choose to willfully sin, for why would we want to? Plus, we will still suffer consequences of our own sin as the Lord will discipline those He loves, not because He wants us to suffer! Quite the opposite!
While God wants us to have His fulfillment, purpose, strength and peace which goes beyond understanding, He will allow things into our lives which will test, teach and shape us. Therefore, we will at times suffer because we live in a broken, fallen world. We will also at times suffer the consequences of other people's sin/s. Just as Jonathan died in the battlefield, but we can be happy for him, as he did believe in the Lord, and so he went "home" to be with the Lord! As God is all-knowing, just and fair, He will not allow anyone to die until each person has had a fair chance to make their decision for all eternity.
We could consider the ending of this book (1 Samuel) as gruesome, or we can see and understand how God made way for David to be king, as promised. Just as, in the same way, God allowed men with evil intentions to crucify the Lord Jesus, when He came to earth in flesh (to be fully man while still being fully God), born through David's bloodline to be the rightful king of Israel as well as the King of kings... This is how God made way to pay the price for all sin, rise again, and provide salvation for anyone who believes in Him! As promised!
The Lord came to accomplish the work on the cross in order to save us, and then, not just leave us floundering to hopefully figure things out on our own... He wants to continue to help us in all things! He has given us HIs written word to study, and He has given us His indwelling Spirit to guide us. So even though there are gruesome things happening in the world around us, let us be confident in the Lord and rest in His promises, knowing that He will make way for His kingdom here on earth, when Jesus will sit on the throne. and govern the world with justice. And all believers of all time will enjoy eternal life in heaven with Him. As promised.
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