The Tragedy of Saul

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Promontory Community Church exists to make disciples of Jesus who know, live, and share the gospel for the glory of God. Amen, amen. Well, good morning everyone. It is good to be here with you all. For those of you who might not know me, my name is Jonathan, privilege of being one of the pastors here, and if you have a Bible with you, let me invite you to open to the book of First Samuel. You can find your way all the way to the very last chapter of the book. We are concluding our series here. On the life of David this morning, and we're going to be looking at really what is a funeral.

I don't know when the last time that you went to a funeral is being a pastor, I have the privilege of going to quite a few funerals, and I do mean that it is a privilege, it's quite a heavy privilege to be able to walk with people in those moments, but I often find that funerals are in many ways, some of the most significant moments of our lives. There are lots of big moments that everyone will go through in life, there's graduation, there's getting married, having kids, getting a job, getting a home, moving, retiring, all kinds of different things, and yet funerals, in particular, hold a special significance for all of us.

If you go to a funeral, you know exactly why. It's these moments where we kind of pause everything that's going on in our lives, and we get this view of both life and death. We look back over the life that a person has lived, we can see what is the outcome of their values, of what they have done. Oftentimes it's a very positive outlook, but nonetheless we can see what has their choices led to. It calls us to actually look at our own lives and say, where am I going? Sometimes the things that we believe are most important throughout our weeks are far less important when you're at a funeral, aren't they? It re-clarifies things for us, and so this morning as we are approaching our text, we're coming to the end, not of David's life, but actually of Saul's.

If you've been with us, you'll know we've been walking through the life of David and Saul has been a major part of that. David was anointed to be the next king of Israel, he was probably 15 at the time. He's a young man appointed to be the new king after Saul. And when David and Saul first met each other, Saul actually loved David. You have to go back all the way to when we started this series back in January. I mean, Saul loved David, he met him, this was an amazing musician, it calmed, it soothed him as he was struggling at times. And even when David comes and he defeats Goliath, Saul sees that and goes, this guy, I mean he makes him his own personal bodyguard. Everyone loves David. Even Saul's daughter loves him so much they end up getting married. David marries a princess, Saul is his father-in-law.

But as David's fame begins to grow, it very much puts a target on his back, doesn't it? Saul starts recognizing actually people like David, even more than me. Hold on a minute, I don't really like that. In fact, Saul's jealousy, it really turns to bitterness, and in some of the more violent moments, outbursts, he tries to actually kill David. At first it's only during those manic moments that he's really aggressive with David, but then it starts to become more and more the pattern of his life. Saul's jealousy is fueling this hatred so much, he starts ordering other people, you're gonna go and you're gonna kill David. Saul's own children, Jonathan, his son, Mikal, his daughter, they help David escape in the middle of the night, and David ends up going on the run.

For the next 10-15 years of his life, David is now running away from Saul, running into the wilderness, and what starts to happen is all manner of people are being drawn to David. We get him sort of developing this crew, almost a militia of the distraught, the brokenhearted, those who've been kicked out of everywhere else are finding solace in David. As he continues on, he begins protecting people. He now has the ability, he protects, he actually defeats Israel's enemies, pushes them back. All the while Saul's still hunting after him, twice he confronts Saul, twice he forgives Saul, twice he spares Saul's life, for twice Saul to repent. And then repent again, go back to his murderous ways. All throughout this, David refuses, despite the fact that he has had ample opportunity to kill Saul, to take his life, to take over the throne, David refuses to do so. And his answer has been very clear to us. Why? Well, because this is God's doing. David is gonna wait for God's timing, he's not going to try and just politically assassinate Saul, no, no, this is going to be in the hand of God.

And so for the past 3 chapters, this finale has been building in our story. You remember the Philistines now, they come in force. The full army is coming against Israel. Saul sees this and is so terrified, he's so distraught, has no idea what to do, he ends up going to a medium. And to quite literally everyone's surprise, as he does that, God answers him and tells him, Saul, this is it. You're going to die tomorrow. Meanwhile God moves David all the way down to the south end of the country, sends David to go rescue and save people on the other end because he wants David to have nothing to do with what's about to happen. Finally, many, many years after God had originally anointed David to be the Messiah, the anointed king of Israel, God was going to open that door.

And so this morning as we approach our passage, really that's what we're going to see. This is the finale of everything we have been looking forward to, and it's quite a short, simple and clear resolution to what God is doing. So if you have your Bible open, please follow along with me. It's our tradition to stand as we read God's word. If you're able to, would you stand with me? 1 Samuel chapter 31. This is God's word.

It says now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on the Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malkahua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and mistreat me. But his armor bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore, Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died, and his 3 sons and his armor bearer and all his men on the same day together. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. But when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beshan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted 7 days.

Thus far the reading God's word, you may be seated. Well, we have made it to the end in more ways than one. In many ways that was quite a quick resolution to this whole story. It is the simple, short, and tragic end of Saul's reign. After so many chapters of seeing Saul go after David, attack him, rage against him, seeing Saul not follow God, continually make all the wrong decisions. We'd almost expect, if this was some Hollywood epic, we would expect some grand finale, this huge fight or some sort of horrific vindictive story. But in many ways, this is quite plain. It's simply showing us this is the outcome of Saul's choices. And just like attending a funeral, we're brought to consider the outcome of his way of life.

As we see the end of Saul's reign, we are reminded that even in the darkest moments, God's salvation is still secure. We can trust even in the face of death, we are secure in God's Messiah. But as we get into our story, I want us to actually shift our focus, because this is not simply the end of Saul, we actually see another person here, Jonathan. We're confronted with the death of Jonathan. Look back with me at verse one.

now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.

The beginning of this chapter is very much, we're just thrust right into the middle of the scene, the battle's already happening, we're sort of given the impression that as we're reading the previous chapter of David rescuing the people of Israel, of his victory over his enemies, at the same time we're seeing Saul's failure, we're meant to see the contrast, at the very same time, here is Saul losing the battle. And we've seen already. God has told Saul, this is the judgment that's coming on you, he's warned him for decades at this point that this was going to happen. He warned him just the night before. We know that Saul is going to die in this battle. And so in one sense, we can understand what is happening to Saul, why he is losing.

But verse 2 says,

and the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, and Abinadab and Malkahua, the sons of Saul.

Now we haven't heard a lot about those last two sons, but we are very familiar with Jonathan. Jonathan has been throughout this whole story, the opposite of Saul. In every place where Saul is refusing to follow God, Jonathan is faithful. Where Saul is just doing everything for his own good, Jonathan is selfless. Jonathan has shown himself over and over again to be the most faithful friend to David that anyone has ever had. Jonathan is willing to give up his own claim to the throne. As the crown prince, he says, I'm not going to be the king next, David, you are. Jonathan says, David, God chose you, so I will do everything in my power to make sure you are the king next. Jonathan has been an incredible friend to David, and a faithful follower of God.

In fact, the last time David and Jonathan saw one another. Jonathan said to David, he said,

do not fear, for the hand of Saul, my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul, my father also knows this.

Jonathan is committed to following God's will. He is absolutely his focus all the way through this story. But now we can see. He's not gonna stand beside David. In fact, Jonathan falls slain in this battle. This battle that was a judgment on Saul ends up killing Jonathan. And we have to ask the question, well, what are we supposed to do with that? Why is Jonathan, in one sense, why is he facing this sort of punishment? What's going on? That doesn't seem fair for Jonathan to die here.

But here's where we actually need to come to the conclusion. This isn't a punishment on Jonathan. In fact, in the same action, God can bring down both judgment against Saul and actually grace for Jonathan. Proverbs 14 says,

The wicked is overthrown through his evil doing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.

In many ways that is the perfect verse to describe exactly what is going on in our story. Saul being overthrown by his own evildoing, his death a punishment against him, but here is righteous Jonathan. And he finds his death is not punishment, but actually refuge in the arms of God. You see, for Jonathan, dying in this moment is nothing but entering into the loving presence of God. Psalm 116 writes,

precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

God's not abandoning Jonathan in this moment. He has not forgotten him. Rather, in his death, Jonathan will find himself in God's arms. He will hear those words,

well done, good and faithful servant.

The same action that was judgment on Saul was gain for Jonathan. And hear me, while we're never told the full plan of God, what is all of God's reasons, why is he doing what he is doing, we won't always be told that. What we do know is that actually for everyone who trusts in Jesus, death will not be a punishment, but it will be gain, all the way through. You and I have this exact same hope that for everyone who trusts in Jesus, confesses their sins, and places their trust in him, death is nothing but gain for us. You have nothing to fear. You will find that death is only beckoning you further into God's presence. When you face death, it will not be to face the judgment of God, but welcomed into his loving arms.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, he says,

yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

To die in Christ is to be in the presence of God forever. There is no fear of death because in Jesus we have this eternal hope of eternal life. If you've ever been to a funeral of someone who knows the Lord, you know it is a different experience, isn't it? There is mourning, there is sadness, there is loss, but there is hope. There is hope in the resurrection, there is hope in eternal life that we shall be together once again, that we will be with Christ. Sad, yes, hopeless, no. We may not have all the answers. Why, why did Jonathan die at this moment? But I do know his death was gain. The death of Jonathan reminds us we will all face death. But for those who trust in Christ, that death shall be bringing us into the presence of God. We have an incredible hope in a passage like this, even as we are given a warning in the death of Saul.

Look back with me at verse 3.

So the battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him and he was badly wounded by the archers.

Again, Saul knows this is the end. He's heard it before, he's now wounded in battle. Perhaps he's even seen his own children, his own sons perish before him. This was the very thing God had been warning him about for years and years, in fact, even before Saul took the throne, God gave them this warning. The prophet Samuel said to them, He said

only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart, for consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you will be swept away, both you and your king.

This is exactly what God had warned them about, this king that they had demanded for themselves has literally been now the death of them. And as Saul is wounded as he is now despairing, he tries to take matters into his own hands. Verse 4.

So then Saul said to his armor bearer, draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and mistreat me. His armor bearer would not, for he feared greatly.

Saul basically asks his armor bearer, I need you to end my life. And his bodyguard actually says, no, not going to do it. We're told he's afraid, we're not exactly sure what he is afraid of, whether it's just simply the chaos of the battle that he is afraid of, or whether he is afraid of God. And says I actually won't sin before God in this way. Regardless, it certainly sounds quite a lot like Saul's previous armor bearer, David. David over and over again has refused to kill Saul and now this new armor bearer refuses as well.

Well, we don't know exactly what he was thinking, Saul's reasoning is quite clear. He doesn't want to be humiliated. In fact, as long as we have known Saul, this has always been his motivation. Saul has always cared more about what people thought of him than God. In fact, this has been his greatest tragedy, downfall over and over again. All he really cares is how other people think of him. The very first time as king that he disobeys God, why did he do it? While the people were getting restless, they were starting to think to themselves, maybe Saul doesn't know what he's doing, and so Saul in a panic goes, well I need these people to think I'm in control, so I'm just gonna do this. He offers a sacrifice he shouldn't be. And God rebukes him. What are you doing? Why are you so afraid of what these people think of you?

In fact, in chapter 15, there this decisive moment when God says, the kingdom is gonna be taken from you. What was Saul thinking? Why didn't he obey God? Chapter 15 verse 24 says he feared the people. He was afraid of what people would think of him. In fact, even when Samuel came and said, God's gonna take the kingdom from you, what did he beg Samuel to do? Would, would you please come out with me, so that everyone can see, hey, it's it's OK. Help me save face. He didn't even ask for forgiveness, he didn't ask for God to forgive his sin. No, no, no, what did he ask for? Help me look OK. Please come out for the photo op, I don't wanna lose face. Even when David would confront Saul over his murderous rage, what did David say? Saul, have you been listening to what other people say about me? Or have I actually done anything wrong? Saul, why are you always listening to those around you?

Over and over again, Saul has been swayed, petrified, motivated by the opinions of what other people thought. This has led him to commit some of the worst evils, the most blatant sin, all because he cared more about what other people thought than God. And herein is the great tragedy of Saul. He feared man, not God. And hear me, we need to see that, we need to see that flaw and recognize how easily it can lodge in our own hearts. Do we care more about what other people think of us or what God thinks? Now hear me, this is no call to be a jerk to other people, hardly. Rather this is to say, what is our greatest motivation? What calls us to follow after God, to do what we do? Is it out of fear of what other people might think, or of what God might think? As we see the life of Saul, we see where does that lead us. It leads into all out destruction. Even in these last moments, he still doesn't want to be humiliated by the Philistines. A fear sadly comes true regardless of his action.

The end of verse 4 simply says,

therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.

The Bible records us for this in quite a plain, simple way. Saul took his own life. Shortly after his armor bearer follows suit, and there is conspicuous silence around this action. In one sense, we need to recognize the Bible is very clear. God is the one who is in who is in charge of both the beginning of life and its end. God is the one who gives life, he is the one who takes life away. God and God alone has that right. He is the only one with the wisdom, foresight, the right to take that action. Life and death are in the providence of God's, not ours. The command not to murder extends to others, extends to oneself.

Even as I say that, I know statistically 1/3 of you in this room will know someone who has committed suicide. I don't take that topic lightly, I don't take it flippantly. If you are struggling with self-harm, suicidal thoughts, please tell someone, tell us, do not suffer alone. You're not going to be thrown out of the church, we quite literally exist to help you. And while we need to say suicide is never what God calls us to do, we also need to recognize neither is it the unforgivable sin. Salvation is and always has been based on what Jesus has done, not our ability to perfectly follow. Genuine Christians can and do struggle. And while our security is found in Christ, it is something we should fight hard against. All the more reason, tell someone, check in with one another, hold one another up in prayer, care for one another. That is what the church is meant to do. Now hear me, so much more could be said on this topic. I'm barely scratching the surface.

But our text is actually going to call us to consider something else. Because Saul's death is very much shown as the sad culmination of a life lived in opposition to God. So how should we respond to this? How do we respond to the death of Saul, this man who has caused so much harm, so much grief, has been going after David again and again and again. In fact, look at David's response. If you look forward in your Bible to the next chapter, David hears about the death of Saul. And if you notice, he doesn't start rejoicing, he doesn't dance around. Finally he's gone, finally I'm free. No, what is his response? 2 Samuel 1:17,

and David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and Jonathan, his son. He said it should be taught to the people of Judah. Behold, it's written in the book of Jasher, he said, your glory, O Israel, is slain on your high places. How the mighty have fallen.

David writes an entire psalm about the death of Saul and Jonathan, his friend, and he is not rejoicing, he's not celebrating, no, he teaches the people, how do you respond to this by weeping and mourning over the death of Saul. David doesn't take pleasure in the death of his enemies, but is weeping over the tragedy of sin that took over his life. Do we have the same attitude when our enemies fall? Or do we secretly rejoice? Rub our hands. Oh, I'm so glad that happened. No, actually, God calls us to watch as sin overtakes is always a matter of tragedy, a reason to mourn. Even as God responds to Saul with a just judgment, let us mourn that sin has required it. Instead, we're called to look at his example and actually learn from it.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians about another part of the Bible with, but with the same point. He says

now these things happen to them as an example, but they are written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it.

See, Saul's point here is actually when we see these examples in our Bible of the sin that has taken over other people's lives, we need to understand God has dealt with them, but it's written down so we would actually learn from it. So that we would see the the painful reality of what sin can do in our lives and say, I need to make sure that never happens to me. That we should never be deceived into thinking, well that couldn't happen to me, I mean, I don't struggle like that. Of course it could. Were it not for the grace of God, all of us would be like Saul.

See, the tragedy of Saul is that it is a story of how utterly destructive sin can be. And see, don't make the mistake, Saul had more advantages than most people. Saul, he was born tall and handsome. Everybody liked this guy. Everyone literally looked up to him. They wanted him to be the king. He suddenly found himself with money, fame and power. He had an entire army at his command, he had people who were willing to follow him. Whatever you say, Saul, we're going to do. Saul could craft his entire life however he wanted. He had all of these advantages in him. In fact, he even had Samuel the prophet standing beside him, saying, this is what God is telling you to do. I mean how many more advantages could a person have, and yet all of that did not save him, he was not able to do it on his own, rather led to his greater destruction.

Please do not believe the lie that says, yeah, but if I just had a bit more money, this wouldn't be a problem. Saul had all the money in the nation. It was still a problem. Don't think to yourself, well, if I could just change my circumstances, I'm sure everything would work out right. I wouldn't have this problem here. Saul could, quite literally, do whatever he wanted, and it did not help. In fact, it only made the destruction more catastrophic. Throughout the Bible, we're shown these examples of people who had all the power, money in the world, and yet none of that was enough. And so we're left with the, to ask the question, if Saul could not do this, if Saul could not follow after God rightly, what hope do we have who do not have all those advantages?

But hear me. We have a hope that is greater than all of that. Our hope for our future is found in placing our trust in Jesus Christ, because Jesus not only went to the cross to pay for our sins, every single one of them dealt with before God, forgiven through the death of Jesus Christ, He has paid. For all of that. Not only has Jesus done that, but he has given us new hearts that actually long to now follow after him and fills us with the Holy Spirit that we are able to go out. Not only has he paid for our sins, not only do we have new hearts, but Jesus Himself carries us through the end. The end of the book of Jude says,

now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy. To the only God our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

Our confidence to make it to the end of our lives in following Jesus is not found in our effort or strength, but it is in the perseverance of the grace of God in our lives. It is what Jesus has done on the cross, what he's doing in our hearts, and it is his work to carry us through to the end, to keep us from stumbling, to present us before God on that final day. While Saul had every human advantage, it was of no use to him. We have every spiritual advantage, every blessing before God, to have the confidence in Jesus Christ. He will hold us to the end. As we look at the death of Saul, our we realize our confidence is not in ourselves, but in what God can do. Because in Jesus we see God's victory in sin's tragedy.

Now here quickly, look at the end of this chapter with me. It is a bleak one. We're told in verse 7 that the people of Israel, having seen that Saul has lost the battle, they flee their homes. They literally just take their stuff and run for the hills. They get out of there, so the Philistines can just walk in. They don't even have to fight. They just walk in and occupy all of these cities because people had fled before them. The next day, the Philistines find Saul's body and they do exactly what he was afraid they would. There is a sad parallel here between how Saul's body is treated and Goliath, if you remember. They take off his head, they take off his armor, and then even worse parade him around, nailing his body to the wall of their temple.

Notice the words in verse 9, says

they cut off his head, stripped off his armor, sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the house of their idols and the people.

Notice that word there, good news. The same word that gets translated as gospel. This gospel is spread throughout the land of the Philistines as a testament to the strength of their gods. Almost foreshadowing what we see in the book of Revelation, this sort of satanic twist on God's plan. This dark moment where the good news is that sin has triumphed. It must have seemed to the to the Israelites at that moment, all hope was lost. Even in verse 11, we get these valiant men, they go out, run all night, go find Saul's body, take it down, bring it back, give him a proper burial. Really it's saving face in the face of humiliation.

And so the end of First Samuel comes to a close, and I mean, we'd look at that and say, man, what a dark ending. What a sad moment this would be, all hope seems to be lost. But actually if you've been with us throughout this series, that's probably not the conclusion you would come to, is it? Because throughout this series we have been seeing that despite sin's tragedy, and what is happening, God's plan is still unstopped. This has always been part of God's plan. In fact, all the way from the beginning of the Bible to the end, we see the same pattern that God's victory comes out of sin's tragedy. From Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, as God promises redemption to them, even to Saul's destruction, we see over and over again, God is able to bring victory out of the face of this tragedy.

Saul's sin and ultimately his defeat seems like tragedy has won the day, but what we find as we read this book is all of that did was to further the plan of God that his Messiah might sit on the throne. See, here is what God was always doing. He was allowing Saul's sin to continue that David might actually sit there, so that we could see a picture of what God's Messiah might look like. In fact, even remember when Jesus went to the cross. It would have seemed in that moment, even to his disciples, that all hope was lost. It seemed like sin had triumphed, that finally God's reject or the people's rejection of God was complete. Here is the Son of God, rejected by man, hung on a cross to die. It would have seemed for a moment, utter destruction. And yet in that moment, God achieved salvation for all who would trust in him. His death was not the end of God's plan, but was the means by which we shall see his glory.

Galatians 3 says

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it's written, cursed is everyone who is hanged on the tree.

As that curse fell, as death seemed to have won the day, it was not sin's victory, but God's. Because Jesus rose from the dead, he conquered over sin and death, so that anyone who trusts in him might have victory. 1 Corinthians 15 says,

death is swallowed up in victory. Oh death, where is your victory, Oh death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, the power of sin is the law, but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please hear me. When you look out and you see the tragedy of what sin has caused, remember that is not the end of the story. So often it is exactly how God is going to show us greater and greater ways in his glory and the salvation of Jesus Christ. For all those who trust in Jesus, you do not need to worry, death has already lost. All death can do is bring you into the arms of your savior. This is God's victory in sin's tragedy. The day always ends with God in control. Let us trust the perfect plan of God.

And so as we come to the close of this story, while it can seem like a dark ending. It is only paving the way for the Messiah to come. God's ultimate victory will come through Jesus Christ. We're reminded that we are always secure in God's Messiah, death has no hold over us. And while we get these reminders of sin's destruction, we are brought to see that the grace of God is greater still. Our best efforts, our best abilities can do nothing. But God's victory is found in Jesus. Let us face even the darkest moments, knowing that in Jesus we have nothing to fear.

Let's pray together. Oh heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for the salvation in Jesus Christ. Lord, we thank you that you are the one in control, that we can face even our very death with hope because of you, because of Jesus who has come, who has accomplished salvation. Father, may we live in light of this. We may we honor you. As we fight against our sin, as we trust in you, Lord, I pray, would you