Scripture

So Saul, his three sons, his armour bearerr, and all his troops died together that same day

Observation

The Philistines attack Israel, and the men of Israel flee from them. The Philistines kill Saul’s sons and severely wound Saul. Saul tells his armour bearer to kill him, but he refuses, so Saul falls on his own sword. The armour bearer follows his action.

The Philistines move in to occupy the towns of the Jezreel Valley. The Philistines hang Saul’s body and those of his sons on the walls of Beth Shan. The warriors of Jabez Gilead take the body down from the wall and bury them.

Application

Saul’s downfall is complete. His entire dynasty is destroyed in a single day.

When God withdraws his favour from a person, disaster is assured.

Some people subscribe to a doctrine of election that states, “Once saved, always saved.” in other words, we can continue to live in sin while believing that we are guaranteed eternal life.

Saul’s story shows that we cannot presume on God’s grace like that. Saul was once elected by God, but he refused to submit to God. He wanted to be King in his own strength.

To remain in God’s family, we must submit ourselves to being obedient to God. To follow Jesus is, by definition, to let him be King over my life.

Prayer

Father, please show me those parts of my life that are not submitted to you, and help me to surrender all to you. Amen.