Introduction
January 4, 2015. Is this date significant to you? That was the day we started this series on 1 Samuel. Today's sermon is the 48thand last sermon in our series. My hope is that we all have grown in our appreciation for the Word of God and our love for our Savior as a result of studying 1 Samuel.
I. The End of Several Things.
A. The end of the book (kind of – 1 and 2 Samuel originally one book).
B. The end of Saul's life and reign.
C. The end of friendship – David and Jonathan).
D. The end of a family – Saul's.
1. This is the final countdown to David's ascension to the throne.
2. Saul and all his sons will be killed in battle, except one.
3. And yet David hasn't lifted a finger against Saul and his family.
E. The end of a series.
II. The Last Battle
A. The whole battle is summarized in one verse, 1.
1. The Philistines fought Israel and Israel ran, and a lot of them died.
2. That was it!
3. The mighty Israelite army did not last for more than a verse.
B. The army was decimated, 6-7.
1. "All the men" is a reference to Saul's valiant men, his personal bodyguards, his special forces, 6.
1 Sam. 14:52 – Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.
2. Those men who were not in the army (regular civilians), after seeing the army's defeat, ran way.
3. Thus, the Philistines swept through the Valley of Jezreel and up the hill country and occupied the towns and villages at least temporarily.
III. The Death of a Lineage
A. Again, it just takes one verse to tell us that all but one of Saul's sons had been killed, 2.
1. These were the most likely sons to have a claim to the throne.
2. Ishbosheth, the least capable of Saul's sons, remained alive and was a puppet king for a brief moment.
2 Sam. 2:8-11 – But Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king over Gilead, over the Ashurites, over Jezreel, over Ephraim, over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ishbosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. And the time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
3. Saul likely saw his sons fall before him.
B. Then, Saul is wounded, 3-5.
1. The way our version has it gives the impression that the archers somewhat randomly hit Saul.
2. In reality the language is much more proactive.
a. It seems that once the Israelite army was defeated, the Philistines made a concerted effort to chase Saul, 3.
b. Saul's wound was at least incapacitating and maybe mortal.
3. Once injured, Saul did not want to be captured by the Philistines.
a. He didn't want to be tortured by them and thought that it would be better to die.
b. At first he didn't seem to be able to kill himself, so he asked the one he trusted the most to end his life: his armor-bearer, 4.
c. The armor-bear knew better than killing the anointed of the Lord, so Saul fell on his own sword.
1) It seems like Saul was not able to end his life even though he tried, 2 Sam. 1:5-15.
2) This leads to a Romeo & Juliet moment – the loyal armor-bearer kills himself when he sees his king apparently dead, 5.
4. Saul's motivation was his fear that the Philistines abuse/torture him once he was captured, 4a.
a. Saul's fear was well founded based on how the Philistines treated his body – we will see it in 8-10.
b. Yet he was wrong in ending his life – more on this in a little while.
C. Saul comes to his end.
1. What was said of Oedipus the King can be said of Saul, "At the end… much remains to praise, much, to blame, and much to wonder at.
2. What happens here is the fulfillment of the Word of the Lord spoken by Samuel from beyond the grave.
1 Sam. 28:19 – Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
IV. The Aftermath of the Battle, 8-10.
A. After the battle, the Philistines come back to collect the spoils of battle by stripping the bodies that were laying on the field, 8.
1. This is a morbid, but necessary, practice in a limited resources society like that.
2. In the movie Glory, one of the last scenes is of a pile of boots that been removed from the soldiers of the 54th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry after they lost the battle at Fort Wagner.
B. More than booty, they found Saul and his sons on the field of battle.
1. They stripped their armor and cut off their heads – the sons too per v. 11.
2. Then, they sent the body parts and the armors to different temples in Philistia to show that their goddess had defeated the Israelite king.
3. They also sent messengers throughout the land to announce the good news and possibly call all people to come see the victory display.
C. The book opened with the song of Hannah that says that the Lord exalts and he brings low – here the one who is head and shoulder taller than everybody else has his had cut off.
D. 1 Chron. 10:13-14 provides the inspired conclusion to Saul's story.
1 Chron. 10:13-14 – So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had committed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.
V. Lessons from Saul's Death.
A. God's Word always comes to pass.
Is. 40:7-8 – The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.
B. It is wrong for Christians to commit suicide, whether assisted or not.
1. When men and women come to the place where they would rather die than live, we need to spend our efforts pointing them to Christ, to eternal life.
2. When Christians come to the place where death seems near and where pain is intense, we should look forward to being at home with the Lord, but not by our own hand.
a. We need not allow medical technology to prolong pain and the death process, but we should not seek to end the life which God gives, and which only God takes away.
b. Whenever men wish to die in the Bible, it is not commended; it is clearly seen as a failure of faith.
3. I have no doubt that there are some listening to this message who have considered (or are considering) taking the easy way out.
a. I implore you to consider Christ.
b. He died so that you don't have to take your life.
c. In him you have life and life more abundant.
d. To take your own life or to ask someone to help you take your own life is really the ultimate display of selfishness.
C. Contrast Saul's death with Christ's.
1. Saul's sin and his desire to die is selfish, self-serving.
a. His sin brings about not only his own death, but also the death of his sons and many Israelites, and the suffering of many more.
b. Saul's leadership is not a blessing, but a curse to Israel.
2. The Lord's death was selfless.
a. It was not our Lord's desire to die, humanly speaking.
1) He was not suicidal.
2) He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that this "cup"of death be removed from him.
b. He died in obedience to the will of the Father, not in disobedience.
3. He did not die to save himself from pain; he died to endure to the full the pain that we deserve as punishment for our sins.
a. This is why he refused the wine mingled with bitter herbs.
b. He was not willing to take any "medication" which would dull the pain He must bear on our behalf.
4. His death is not a tragic failure on his part, which we try to forget (as with a suicide), but a magnificent sacrifice for us, which we celebrate at this table.
5. His death was a death He suffered for our sins and for our salvation.
a. There is often a point of crisis to which God brings the sinner, a point at which suicide may be considered as a way out.
b. People see the sin they have committed and feel hopelessly bound in the power, guilt, and consequences of these sins.
1) They may think death (their death by suicide) is the only way out.
2) It is not the way out.
c. The solution to your problem is not to die in sin; it is to die to sin.
d. The only way you can do this is by faith in Christ – as you acknowledge your sin and guilt and trust in him who has died in your place, who has suffered the eternal pain for your sins.
e. It is in Christ that you die to sin, and enter into eternal life – then to live becomes Christ, at that point dying in gain.
Conclusion
So we learn from Saul's death and arrived at the end of this series. Hopefully, we have grown in Christ and are more in love with him than we were 20 months ago.
http://olympiabp.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-end-1-sam-31.html
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