1) The Philistines defeated Israel in battle, killing King Saul and his three sons. Saul then fell on his own sword out of fear of being tortured by the Philistines. 2) The Philistines proceeded to display Saul's body by fastening it to the wall of a Philistine city and putting his armor in the temple of their gods. This humiliated the nation of Israel. 3) Because Saul had been disobedient to God, the Philistines occupied Israeli cities and the nation was judged. However, some men later took Saul and his sons' bodies and buried them honorably.

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January 27, 2013
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2. 1 Samuel 31
The Philistines are amassed for war against Israel at
Jezreel, and God has already foretold Israel’s loss.
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3. 1 Samuel 31 1 Now the Philistines fought against
Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the
Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and
upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan,
and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul's sons.
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4. When Saul went to the witch of Endor to inquire of
the prophet Samuel -- who was dead --
Samuel told him that the battle would go like this,
And that Saul and his sons would die.
Three of his sons died; one lived –
Ishbosheth 2 Sam 2:8
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5. God was, as always, using Samuel to speak His
Word, and God is never wrong.
God is always 100% right!
His Way is always best.
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6. 3 And the battle went sore
against Saul, and the archers hit
him; and he was sore wounded
of the archers. 4 Then said Saul
unto his armor-bearer, Draw thy Saul was afraid
sword, and thrust me through of being tortured
therewith; lest these uncir- and killed by the
cumcised come and thrust me Philistines.
through, and abuse me.
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7. 4b But his armor-bearer would
not; for he was sore afraid.
Therefore Saul took a
sword, and fell upon it. 5 And
when his armor-bearer saw
that Saul was dead, he fell
likewise upon his sword, and
died with him.
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8. Saul was concerned with how he would be treated
and how his body would be treated by Philistines,
But unconcerned for the eternal state of his soul.
He never was concerned with spiritual things.
He was always rebellious and
disobedient unto God.
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9. He killed himself in the act of utter cowardice.
Don’t misunderstand: If a child of God commits
suicide, he still dies a child of God.
All our sins are covered by the Blood of Jesus.
But it’s not okay!
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10. It’s the last desperate act of a cowardly and
rebellious man or woman.
It delights
the devil!
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11. Don’t believe the worldly nonsense about suicide
allowing a sick person to
Die with dignity.
Suicide is a victory for sin and for Satan.
It’s an insult unto God our Father.
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12. 6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-
bearer, and all his men, that same day together.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other
side of the valley, and they that were on the other
side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and
that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the
cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt
in them. Why did all this happen?
The nation forgot the Lord.
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13. NIV Deuteronomy 6 10-12 When the LORD your
God brings you into the land He swore to your
fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you --
a land with large, flourishing cities you did not
build, houses filled with all kinds of good things
you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and
vineyards and olive groves you did not plant -- then
when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you
do not forget the LORD, Who brought you out of
Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
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14. Under Saul’s reign the nation was led astray and
the Promise of God was reversed.
The Philistines settled in their cities and
lived in their houses.
Backsliding always costs the backslider the
blessings of God.
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15. 8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the
Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found
Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his
armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines
round about, to publish it in the house of their
idols, and among the people.
Saul escaped torture by committing suicide,
but his body was still mutilated.
His body was used to shame the nation Israel.
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16. 10 And they put his armor in the house of Ashtaroth
(their goddess): and they fastened his body to the
wall of Bethshan (a Philistine city).
So, they defeated the Israelites in battle,
occupied their cities,
and humiliated their king.
All because of Saul’s stubborn disobedience
to the Lord’s commands.
Don’t be stubborn; it’s a sin.
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17. 11-12 Andwhen the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead
heard of that which 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 Bethshan, and came to
Jabesh, and burnt them there. 13 And they took their
bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and
fasted seven days.
This was a righteous act of valor.
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18. Saul is dead, but David is not yet King of the
nation Israel.
Just as they would later reject the Son of God,
the majority at first rejected David.
Saul’s Uncle Abner lead a revolt to establish
Saul’s son Ishbosheth as king.
But he only lasted two years.
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19. Like Abner, often loyal people try to undo the
judgment of God in this world upon backsliders.
They cannot succeed.
But, through repentance, a backslider can
regain God’s blessings.
But it requires submissive obedience and patience.
1 John 1 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
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