The Death of Saul

Text: I Samuel 28:1-31:13; I Chronicles 10:1-14

David is told to fight with the Philistines - I Samuel 28:1-2

Once again, the Philistines gathered to invade Israel. Perhaps they saw signs of Saul’s declining power and sought to take advantage of it. Achish decided that David and his men would accompany him. David agrees, but he doesn’t agree to fight on the Philistines’ side. He only told Achish that knew what David could do, which is a vague statement. Achish, however, assumes David would do as he commanded and he offers to make David his personal bodyguard.

Saul tries to get advice from God and fails - I Samuel 28:3-6

Facts are reviewed so that we have a clear picture of what is about to take place. Samuel is dead, so Saul cannot visit the prophet to ask for advice. We are also told that Saul had been removing mediums and spiritists from Israel. Thus, Saul is well aware that consulting with a medium was against God’s law – a law he had been enforcing. But Saul has a huge problem. The Philistines are massing a huge army at Shunem. Saul has brought his forces together at Gilboa but he sees that the numbers favor the Philistines. He needs help from God, but God isn’t talking to him.

It isn’t that Saul didn’t try. God didn’t answer him in dreams nor did He respond when inquiries were made through the High Priest or the available prophets. Saul simply doesn’t know what needs to be done to defeat the Philistines and he feels desperate.

Saul visits a medium to talk with Samuel - I Samuel 28:7-14

Though Saul clearly knows things associated with witchcraft are wrong, he reaches a point where he asks his servants to locate a medium. One is located in Endor. What you might overlook in the text is that Saul has to go past the Philistine army to reach Endor. This is not a casual drop-in. Thus, Saul disguises himself so he won’t be noticed as he heads to Endor in the middle of the night.

Upon reaching the woman, he asks her to raise someone whom he will name. The woman, however, is suspicious. She points out that Saul has been killing the mediums and spiritists. She suspects that this was a trap – after all, I doubt muscular men often come to a medium’s house in the middle of the night to ask for a seance. Sauls swears an oath that she will not be punished for doing as he asks. There is a sad irony here because Saul is swearing by the Lord’s name while asking a woman to violate God’s law.

The woman asks who Saul would like to talk to and Saul tells her to call up Samuel. At this point, things don’t go as the woman expects. She screams when Samuel appears. Thus, we conclude that she (like all who practice witchcraft) is a fake. Instead of pretending to have reached Samuel, she realized she got the real thing. It is at this moment that the woman realizes that she was deceived and that King Saul himself was the one asking for the spirit of Samuel.

Interestingly, Saul doesn’t see the spirit of Samuel, only the woman sees Samuel. Saul asks her what she sees and she says she sees a divine being coming up out of the ground. When asked to describe this being’s appearance, she says he looks like an old man dressed in a robe. Saul realized that this was Samuel and bows.

Samuel’s message - I Samuel 28:15-19

Samuel then speaks to Saul, how he spoke is not mentioned. Samuel asks why he was disturbed and Saul responds that he is distressed because the Philistines are attacking, God has left him and won’t tell him what he should do. Saul hoped that Samuel would tell him.

Samuel points out that if God isn’t telling Saul what he should do and is not Saul’s adversary, then why ask God’s servant? Samuel reminds Saul that God is doing exactly what He had said through Samuel earlier. The Lord has torn the kingdom from Saul and is giving it to David. While Saul had concluded that David was the man chosen to replace him, this was the first time that God named Saul’s replacement. His current predicament is because he did not carry out God’s command on the Amalekites. Israel is going to fall to the Philistines and before tomorrow ends, Saul and his sons will all be dead.

Saul’s reaction - I Samuel 28:20-25

The message was too much for Saul. He had not eaten all day and all night and now he knows that nothing he does will prevent his death and his legacy will be that he led Israel into a major defeat. As a result, he collapsed.

Seeing Saul’s terror, she reminds him that she had done just as he had asked. I suspect she was concerned that Saul might take his terror out on her, or if he died in her house, she would be blamed. She insists that he eat a little bread before he goes. Saul refuses at first, however, his men and the woman continue to insist. He eventually gives in and the woman butchers a calf and makes some unleavened bread for Saul to eat.

After the meal, Saul and his men return to their camp that same night.

The Philistine lords object to David’s presence - I Samuel 29:1-5

The storyline backs up a few days as we rejoin David who had joined Achish to go north. They had reached the staging area on the north end of the Philistines’ territory, near the town of Aphek. The Philistines are moving their warriors north to the Valley of Jezreel to join those already at Shunem. David and his men were placed at the rear of the train with Achish.

The Philistine commanders were notified that there were Israelites in their army and they called Achish to give an account. Achish explains that he had David with him. He had been with Achish for years and Achish found no fault in David’s service since the day he deserted Saul’s service.

The commanders, however, were not going to tolerate having David in their army. They angrily pointed out that if David wanted to please Saul and return to him, he merely had to attack the Philistines from the rear. It would be a disaster since they would be wearing Philistine armor. Likely, the commanders remember the earlier disaster when Hebrews who were in the Philistine camp had turned against them during the battle (I Samuel 14:21). Besides, they had heard the song sung about David’s prowess in war. They insisted that David be sent back to Ziklag.

David is sent away from the battle - I Samuel 29:6-11

Achish apologizes to David. He has been pleased with David’s service and he hasn’t done anything that Achish would consider to be wrong. However, the commanders refuse to allow David to go further. Thus, he commands David to return so as to not cause a quarrel in the ranks of the Philistines. On his journey back, he is to go peacefully and not do anything to displease the rules of the Philistines.

David pleaded to go with Achish, but Achish said that while he highly respects David, he has to return. He is to leave early the next morning while the Philistine army continues to Jezreel.

For discussion:

1. Why do you think David badly wanted to go with Achish?
2. Look at I Samuel 29:8, who was David’s king? Who would Achish assume David was talking about?
3. Could any accuse David of conspiring with the Philistines to bring down Saul’s kingdom?
4. Could David be accused of causing Saul’s death?

David’s town was raided by the Amalekites - I Samuel 30:1-20

Upon David’s return to Ziklag three days later, they found out that the Amalekites had started raiding the southern borders of Judah and Philistia while the two armies were engaged in battle in the north. Ziklag had been raided and burned. The Amalekites probably burnt Ziklag in retaliation for David’s raids into their territory (I Samuel 27:8). All the inhabitants of Ziklag were carried off, most likely to become slaves. David and his men were in despair when they found the remains of their homes. David’s own men started blaming David for the disaster and talked of stoning him. Instead of looking to blame someone, David sought strength in God to face this disaster.

David asked Abiathar to bring the ephod so that David could ask God what he should do in response to the raid. He asked if he should pursue the raiders and if he would be able to catch up with them. God told David to go and not only would he overtake the raiders, but he would also rescue the captives.

The band of 600 men took off after the raiders. Not expecting a response, I’m sure the Amalekites left a clear trail regarding the direction they had gone. At the brook of Besor, David decided to leave his supplies behind to allow faster pursuit. Two hundred of his men, who were already exhausted, were left to guard the baggage while the remainder continued.

They came across an Egyptian collapsed in a field. After feeding him and giving him water, they found out that he was a servant of one of the Amalekites. He had gotten sick and was left behind. He had not eaten or had water in the last three days. He told David that the Amalekites had struck three places, the southern area owned by the descendants of Chereth, the southern area owned by the descendants of Caleb, and Ziklag, which they had burnt. David asked if the young man would lead him to the Amalekites. The young man agreed but only if David would swear that he would not be killed or returned to his master.

The young man led them to the camp of the Amalekites. They were spread out, partying because of all the plunder they had taken from the Philistines and Israel. David and his men swooped down on them just as it was getting dark and killed the Amalekites all that night. Only 400 Amalekites managed to escape on camels.

Everything and everyone that had been taken was recovered without loss. There was also a great flock of sheep and cattle that the people declared would be David’s portion of the spoils.

For discussion:

1. Compare and contrast Saul’s preparations to face the Philistines to David’s preparations to face the Amalekites.
2. Why were 200 of David’s men too exhausted to continue pursuing the Amalekites?
3. Why was the account of the Egyptian slave mentioned in this record? What does it show?

The dividing of the rescued spoils - I Samuel 30:21-31

When they joined back up with the 200 men who were left behind, some of David’s men insisted that these men should only get their families back. They should not have shares of the spoils since they didn’t risk their lives in the battle. David told them “No.” They won because of God, not their own strength. God had already given them the greatest gift – they survived the battle and defeated their enemies. Those who had protected the soldiers’ possessions while they fought would receive an equal share with them. This became a law in Israel from that day forward.

David also sent a portion of the spoils to the elders of Judah, declaring it to be a gift from the enemies of God. He also sent portions to the places where David and his men had stayed while hiding from Saul. The number of places named indicates the greatness of the spoils captured by David and his men.

Israel loses to the Philistines - I Samuel 31:1-7; I Chronicles 10:1-7

We return to Saul and find out that the battle was going badly for Israel. Israel’s soldiers were being killed and many fled. The Philistines reached the leaders of Israel’s army and three of Saul’s sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua were killed. Archers managed to hit Saul, leaving him badly wounded.

Saul knew the Philistines would abuse him if they captured him, so he commanded his armor-bearer to kill him. However, the armor bearer is afraid to strike down the man God appointed as king and he refuses. In the end, Saul takes his sword and falls on it to end his life. The armor decides to end his life as well and also commits suicide by falling on the same sword.

Thus, Saul and his sons all died on the same day as Samuel had predicted (I Samuel 28:19). Without leadership, not only did the army flee but the people in the region abandoned their homes. The Philistines then moved in.

Saul’s body is desecrated - I Samuel 31:8-10; I Chronicles 10:8-10

On the following day, the Philistines began scavenging the bodies of the slain. When they found Saul and his sons, they cut off Saul’s head and removed his weapons. These were sent through the Philistine lands to boast of their victory. That Israel’s leaders were left on the battlefield shows how thoroughly Israel was defeated.

Saul’s weapons were put on display in the temple of Ashtaroth. Saul’s head was fastened to the house of Dagon, a Philistine god (I Chronicles 10:10). His body and the bodies of his sons were fastened to the wall of Beth-Shan for all to see. Beth-Shan was close to the Jordan River, which emphasizes how much territory the Philistines managed to capture.

The men of Jabesh-Gilead retrieve the bodies of Saul and his sons - I Samuel 31:11-13; I Chronicles 10:11-14

News of what happened to Saul’s body reached the town of Jabesh-Gilead on the other side of the Jordan River. A group of valiant men walked all night to Beth-Shan and removed the bodies of Saul and his sons. They took them back to Jabesh-Gilead where they cremated the bodies and then buried them under a tamarisk tree, a tree that Saul seemed to have favored (I Samuel 22:6). The men fasted seven days because they were unclean from carrying the dead bodies (Numbers 19:11-12).

Thus, Jabesh-Gilead repaid Saul for rescuing them long ago (I Samuel 11:1-11). It should also be noted that many in Benjamin had ancestors from Jabesh-Gilead (Judges 21:10-14).

Ultimately, Saul dies because he repeatedly disobeyed God. The most significant act of disobedience was when he sought out a medium (I Chronicles 10:13-14).