https://esv.literalword.com/?q=1+samuel+31
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Thursday, 14 August 2025:
Listen to this message from Dr. R.C. Sproul on 1 Samuel 31 and how David’s character is revealed by how he responds to the fall of his enemy Saul — https://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/life-of-david/when-the-mighty-fall
1 Samuel 31:1 — Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
The battle that Saul long feared has come to pass. Israel’s defeat is swift and decisive, and the mountain becomes a place of slaughter. Fear leads to flight, and flight leaves the people vulnerable to the enemy’s blade. The tragedy here is that this battle was never supposed to happen under such circumstances — God had promised Israel victory when they walked in obedience (Deuteronomy 28:7), but disobedience led to defeat (Deuteronomy 28:25). This moment is a sobering reminder that spiritual decline eventually manifests in public collapse.
1 Samuel 31:2-3 — And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers.
The death of Jonathan is especially heartbreaking. He was faithful to the Lord and loyal to David, yet he dies alongside his father because of the nation’s, and Saul’s, sin. Jonathan’s story teaches that personal faithfulness doesn’t always spare us from the consequences of others’ rebellion, but it does secure an eternal inheritance (Hebrews 11:39–40). Saul’s wounding by the enemy’s arrows symbolizes the piercing effect of unrepented sin — slow, painful, and inescapable when God’s protection is removed.
1 Samuel 31:4–6 — 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 three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together.
Saul’s final act is tragic — choosing suicide over surrender. His fear is still centered on humiliation before men rather than repentance before God. He dies as he lived in his later years: leaning on his own understanding, separated from divine counsel. The armor-bearer’s loyalty leads him to share Saul’s fate, but unlike Jonathan’s covenant faithfulness to David, this loyalty is tethered to a fallen leader, not to God. It is a sobering reminder to follow people only as they follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
1 Samuel 31:7 — 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 king’s fall becomes the nation’s calamity. Leadership failures always have ripple effects — when those in authority collapse, the vulnerable scatter. The enemy not only wins the battle but also occupies the land. Spiritually, when God’s people give ground through compromise, the enemy gladly moves in.
1 Samuel 31:8–10 — 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 Beth-shan.
The enemies of God rejoice in Israel’s defeat, attributing their victory to their false gods. Saul’s armor becomes a trophy in a pagan temple — a grim symbol of what happens when God’s anointed steps outside of His will. Satan delights in turning the fall of believers into a spectacle that dishonors God (2 Samuel 12:14).
1 Samuel 31:11-13 — 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 Beth-shan, 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 seven days.
Even in Saul’s disgrace, the men of Jabesh-gilead honor him because he once rescued them (1 Samuel 11:1–11). Their loyalty in death contrasts with his disloyalty to God in life. They risk themselves to remove the shame from his body, showing courage and respect for the office of the king even if the man had failed. This act reflects how love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8), even when justice has run its course.
“Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 14 August 2025: Be faithful to God until the end, not just in bursts of obedience. Let your loyalty be anchored to Christ, not to human personalities. Honor others when you can, but never compromise truth for the sake of misplaced allegiance.
Pray: “Lord, keep me steadfast in my devotion to You from beginning to end. Guard me from drifting into self-reliance or seeking to save face before people rather than humbling myself before You. Teach me to lead and to follow in ways that point others to Christ. May my faithfulness not be dependent on circumstances but rooted in Your unchanging character. Keep me watchful, courageous, and ready to honor others in a way that brings glory to You alone. Amen.”
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 