1 Samuel Chapter 31 Verses 1 – 3

· This is a tragic account of what happened to Saul, Saul’s sons and the men/army of Israel. It’s hard to read especially knowing the kind of man Jonathan was and the close relationship he had with David. You’d think that David when he came into his reign as king of Israel would have been all the better for having Jonathan at his side. And some would say, “But it wasn’t meant to be…,” which is a terrible error…

· Jonathan fell this day on the battle field because of his father, not because of God. Saying, “it wasn’t meant to be,” is like suggesting that God had a better plan… It’s not the greatest thing to say. God did have a different plan and that plan was and is always good however, it is entirely unfair to credit the death of Jonathan to God. I would offer that God had a plan and due to sin, that plan was avoided. So, God’s plan switched lanes… His different lane plan being equally as good, God is that big…

· It’s referred to as the “doctrine of decree.” That God has an infinite number of plans that all take different directions in consideration of the faults of man, and yet every plan is good. It would have been wonderful, amazing, heavenly, awesome…, for David to become king and have at his side Jonathan…, and I bet a day didn’t go by that David didn’t think about what could have been…, and I firmly believe that having David rule with Jonathan at his side was God’s plan…, until the fault of man failed in achieving God’s plan… So, God decreed an alternate and just as good plan for David…

· This is one of the ways and reasons we can be confident that at any point in time, you can turn to the Lord and His promises for you will be faithful. How sad that many never bow the knee to the Lord and just countless lanes of God’s good plan for them through continued rebellion!

· Jonathan fell on the battlefield along with Saul, his other brothers and the army of Israel because they were not prepared. They weren’t ready. Instead of readying themselves by prayer and training and strategy, Saul was stuck in the flesh. Jonathan wasn’t, no indication that the brothers were, but the leadership did just what that title insinuates… Leadership leads… And if the leadership won’t battle their flesh, and fight to unstuck themselves in the callouses of sin that have set in, then the whole thing falls…, In that case, the leadership leads into failure…

· Parents, bosses, team leaders, pastors, ministry leaders, deacons, it is so important that we mature in the faith and mature in our ability to confront our own selves so that we grow in the Lord! James 3:1 says, “Let not many of you become teachers/leaders, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things…” That stricter judgment includes the responsibility for those around you…

· Proverbs 29:2 says, “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.” The collective groan of the nation of Israel is solely and squarely upon Saul. Because as the leader he would not police himself and pursue righteousness.

1 Samuel Chapter 31 Verses 4 – 6

· Saul fell on his sword spiritually a long time ago. What is going on within will always eventually make its way out unless it’s dealt with. Even at the end of his life there is no repentance. There is no accountability. There is no calling out to God…

· Today, we use the phrase, “fall on your own sword,” in a way to say that someone admits that they are wrong. Isn’t that interesting? Because in this case, rather than admit that he was in the wrong for the last two decades, rather than Saul humbling himself and “falling on his sword,” Saul kills himself and falls on his sword…

1 Samuel Chapter 31 Verses 7 – 9

· Think about this, Saul who was given the gift of being head and shoulders above all the rest of the men of Israel literally loses that gifting as they took off his head…

1 Samuel Chapter 31 Verse 10

· Oh my, the intense sting of tragedy in these words. His armor, this was the mark and symbol of his strength, his protection, his blessing and his ability to overcome…, all of that becomes a trophy in the shrine of false gods… I mean think about this. His good looks. His stature, his height. His armor. His honor. All worse than lost but more so even made to glorify the enemy! Ugh, so tragic!

· Beth Shan is a place we know today as Beit Shean and it is set high on a hill top in Northern Israel. This is a city we always visit when we are in Israel because of the Biblical significance but also because of the splendor of the ruins! You can still see the huge and impressive rebuilt Roman city with baths, houses, shops, exquisitely tiled roads…

· This was a city that was continually inhabited because of its strategic location being located at the crossroads of major trade routes between the Jordan and Jezreel Valleys. So, people, thousands of people each day passing by the city and would see the ultimate defeat of Israel as their decapitated king was on display…

· This would be a fate worse than death in either of the cultures. The Israeli culture and the Arab culture… It would be to completely strip that person of all honor and dignity, and since this was the king, this was the reflection on all the people and even the God of the Jew…

1 Samuel Chapter 31 Verses 11 – 13

· Ugh, even worse, we find out that it was Saul and his sons including Jonathan… So very intensely sad! And it was so dramatic that men took their lives into their own hands going deep into enemy territory just to get those bodies down…

· Thank God that in the midst of the ultimate failure of those around them there are still people considered valiant. The word in the Hebrew means, strong…, efficient, wealthy in terms of absolute wealth, and interesting, one Strong’s definition of this Hebrew word is “seldom alone.”

· People that take responsibility for those around them and in the face of even great difficulty, rise up and bring honor back. The exact opposite of what we have experienced in Saul… Go back, go back all the way to the night that Saul was overcome with envy and threw his spear at David… Ultimately causing David to flee… Go back, go back to the several times that David tried to work things through with Saul and Saul would change for a day but then back to same old Saul the next…

· If at any of those moments Saul would have “fallen on his sword,” he wouldn’t be hung on the wall of Beit Shean with his sons, with Jonathan. David would have led his army, served him at his side for perhaps the greatest kingdom in all of history. The Philistines would have been no match for David at the lead of the army…

· But here’s the thing, he can’t go back. Not now. It’s too late. No more laned paths… Saul never repented…