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The Death of King Saul and his Sons at Gilboa

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Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord; he did not keep the word of the Lord and even consulted a medium for guidance, and did not inquire of the Lord. So the Lord put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse. (1 Chronicles 10:13-14)

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There was a major war between the Israelites and the Philistines. The first king ‘Saul’ in Israel went out into the war with his soldiers.

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There was a fight between the Israelites and the Philistines on Mount Gilboa. At that time, Israel lost the battle and many of the Israelites were killed and the rest of them fled.

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The Philistines said, “Run after the king and his sons until you kill them.” So the Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons.

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However, after a while, the Philistines killed his sons and one of them was Jonathan who was the closest friend of David. Actually, Jonathan had liked David as much as himself.

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Though Saul fought against them fiercely with his soldiers, the war was not going in his favor.

“Ouch,” it was Saul’s voice because the archer had overtaken him and wounded him.

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Saul thought that he couldn’t live anymore. So he called his armor-bearer and said, “Come here.”

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Then Saul ordered him, “It’s over for me. Draw your sword and run me through because I don’t want to be killed by these uncircumcised fellows. Saul asked his armor-bearer to kill him.

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But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it. Saul asked, “Kill me right now. Then his soldier said, “Oh king, I cannot make you die. Please withdraw your order.”

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Saul replied, “If you do not, I don’t have any other choice but to kill myself.” Saul took his own sword and fell on it. As the first king of Israel, Saul ’s last day ended in tragedy.

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When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. The Israelites were defeated completely by the Philistines that day.

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All the Israelites in the valley saw that the army had fled and they abandoned their towns and fled also. And the Philistines came and occupied in that place.

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Why did God make the Israelites lose in that battle? Does God not have enough power? No, God was not with the Israelites in that war.

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God was not happy with King Saul. Why did God not like him?

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Saul had been anointed and had become the first king. At first, he was humble towards God and a good king who ruled over the country. Thus, God blessed Saul greatly.

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However, as time went by, Saul started to change to be unfaithful. And he did all things as he wished.

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Especially, Saul was jealousy of David who defeated Goliath and started to dislike him. So he tried to kill David for most of his life. That’s why God was not pleased with Saul.

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In addition, Saul didn’t count on God’s word but he visited a shaman to try to get help. God didn’t want to keep Saul as the king.

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Saul was the first king of Israel and he was recognized and respected as the king but he lost his God and his faith. Therefore, he could not last as king because God had left him. As we have seen King Saul’s life, I want to encourage you to thank God for the many blessings that you have already. And we need to stay close to God as we keep our faith. Please as you live your life may you always press forward in God and do all things with God in a faithful way.