When a King Falls

Welcome, church. I’m so glad you’re here. My name is Mike, and I’m one of the teaching pastors here at The Well. I want to invite you to turn to the last chapter of First Samuel today, chapter 31. We’ve been studying the life of David for many weeks now, but the current king on the throne in our monarchy series is Saul. Today, we are going to take a look at him and, unfortunately, his death.

As you turn to First Samuel 31, I would love for you to consider a question: How will you be remembered when you die? I admit, it’s a bit of a morbid thing to think about. But as you process that, what will be said of you at your funeral? How will others remember you? What will be etched into your tombstone?

I recently came across a list of memorable epitaphs. Mel Blanc, the famous voice of Bugs Bunny, has inscribed on his tombstone: “That’s all, folks.” There’s a classic one from the Old West for a guy named Lester Moore in Arizona that reads: “Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a .44. No less, no more.” I love this one, rumored to be in a Georgia cemetery: “I told you I was sick.” Or the one that says: “Here lies the man who was always right.” Apparently, his wife added later: “For once.”

Some are funny, and some are tragic. There is a grave in England that reads: “Here lies an atheist, all dressed up and no place to go.” Others are beautiful. On Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s tombstone is etched: “Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, I am free at last.”

How will you be remembered? I’m confronted with this question often in my occupation. I spend time at funerals, maybe more so than most, both as an attendee and as an officiant. Some are amazing. This last week, I attended the funeral of a patriarch, a great-grandfather who was the epicenter, the nucleus, that held his entire family together. I watched his son officiate. I watched his daughters speak of their dad. I listened to coworkers who knew him at his highest highs and lowest lows. I watched lifelong friends who had known him for half a century eulogize him. What was clear was that this man had a conversion. He met Jesus later in life, and he was truly changed. He still battled the same “flesh residue” that we all do, but it was clear that Christ changed him. He lived for Christ. It was a beautiful thing to experience.

But not all funerals are that way. I remember one twenty years ago. A guy in our congregation asked me to do the funeral for his uncle. Those are the hardest funerals to do—when you have no idea who the person was. I got in a room with the family and asked, “Tell me about him. What was his life about?” My buddy and one other person were the only ones there. I asked about the uncle, and I could see my friend filtering his words. Finally, he just described his uncle as a particularly undesirable orifice in the human body designed to remove waste. He said, “Mike, honestly, everybody’s glad he’s dead.”

How do you say that at a funeral? I could see it in the tearless faces of the few people who showed up out of obligation. I could hear them silently saying, “Mike, get on with it. We have more important things to get back to.” Funerals like that are absolutely heartbreaking. They are tragic because they represent a life that was wasted.

The Sinkhole Syndrome

As we return to the life of Saul, I can’t help but think of that idea. Saul had an amazing start. He was Israel’s first king, reigning for forty years. He was everything the people hoped for—big, strong, and tough. He was taller and stronger than everyone around him. He came from a humble background, had a great family, and showed initial success and obedience.

But that success was short-lived. We’ve described his life as the “sinkhole syndrome,” where what was built on top could not be sustained by what was below. Because of the slow erosion under the surface, we’ve already seen his spiritual and relational collapse. Today, we are simply witnessing his physical death. Samuel the prophet told him as much years prior because of his disobedience.

1 Samuel 13:13-14 (NASB)

Samuel said to Saul, ’You have acted foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, for now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ‘But now your kingdom shall not endure. The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.’

Saul spent the latter half of his tenure grasping for power that God had already stripped away. He wouldn’t walk in obedience. Power went to his head. Saul is a sad story of what could have been. The Holy Spirit had departed from him. God had quit speaking to him. Saul became so desperate that he eventually visited a witch in Endor to seek guidance—a practice he himself had outlawed. He became the person he never thought he would be.

Through that witch, the spirit of Samuel uttered one final prophecy: that the Lord would give Israel into the hands of the Philistines, and that Saul and his sons would die the next day.

1 Samuel 28:19 (NASB)

‘Moreover the LORD will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the LORD will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!’

The Battle of Mount Gilboa

As chapter 31 begins, we see that battle from Saul’s perspective. The Philistines are fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel are fleeing. They are falling slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtake Saul and his sons, killing Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua.

1 Samuel 31:1-2 (NASB)

Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua the sons of Saul.

Three of Saul’s four sons die in this battle. We know little of Abinadab or Malchi-shua, but we certainly know Jonathan. This was David’s “ride or die,” his best and dearest friend. This was the man who willingly set aside his own trajectory as the future king because he saw God’s hand on David. Jonathan is the eternal picture of deep, sacrificial friendship. David will never have another friend like him.

During the battle, Saul is badly wounded by archers. He recognizes he is mortally wounded and that it’s only a matter of time. He asks his armor-bearer to kill him so the Philistines won’t “make sport” of him. He knows they will mutilate and mock his body, and he doesn’t want to be alive for it. But the armor-bearer is terrified to kill the Lord’s anointed. So, Saul takes his own sword and falls on it.

1 Samuel 31:3-4 (NASB)

The battle went heavily against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, ‘Draw your sword and pierce me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me.’ But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it.

His armor-bearer, seeing this, does the same. Saul, his three sons, and his armor-bearer all die together on that day. Samuel’s prophecy is fulfilled. Israel is defeated and flees, even abandoning cities they had lived in for years. Saul had been so preoccupied with holding onto his throne that he forgot to lead, and the nation suffered for it.

The next day, the Philistines find the bodies. They cut off Saul’s head, strip his weapons to display in the temple of their idols, and fasten his body to the wall at Beth-shean. It is a scene of tremendous humiliation.

1 Samuel 31:8-10 (NASB)

It came about on the next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. They cut off his head and stripped off his weapons, and sent [them] throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. They put his weapons in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.

An Unlikely Act of Honor

In the midst of this darkness, an unlikely group of people refuses to let Saul and his sons suffer this injustice. The inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead hear what happened. Their valiant men walk all night, take the bodies down from the wall, bring them home, and give them a proper burial.

1 Samuel 31:11-13 (NASB)

Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men rose and walked 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. They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

Jabesh-gilead was twelve miles away, on the other side of the Jordan River. Why them? Why would they march all night for a fallen king when people living much closer did nothing? If you rewind the tapes forty years, to Saul’s first days as king, Jabesh-gilead was under attack by Nahash the Ammonite. Saul rallied the nation, marched all night, and saved that city. Those men never forgot what Saul had done for them. In his death, they honored the man who had shown them courage at his beginning. And with that, the book of First Samuel ends.

David’s Reaction

But the story continues immediately in Second Samuel. David is in Ziklag, having just rescued his people from the Amalekites. On the third day after the battle, an Amalekite messenger arrives with news of the defeat. He tells David that Saul and Jonathan are dead.

2 Samuel 1:4 (NASB)

David said to him, ‘How did things go? Please tell me.’ And he said, ‘The people have fled from the battle, and also many of the people have fallen and are dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.’

This messenger, seeking a reward, tells a different story than the one we read in chapter 31. He claims he found Saul alive and that Saul asked him to deliver the final blow. He presents Saul’s crown and bracelet to David, essentially saying, “David, I killed the man who stood between you and the throne. Here is your crown.”

This news does not bring David joy; it brings him grief. David and his men tear their clothes, mourn, weep, and fast.

2 Samuel 1:11-12 (NASB)

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and [so] also [did] all the men who [were] with him. They mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan and for the people of the LORD and the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

David then deals with the messenger. He asks, “How were you not afraid to destroy the Lord’s anointed?” Because the man claimed to have killed the king, David has him executed. Justice is served, and David turns his attention to a lament for Saul and Jonathan. He pens a poem called the “Song of the Bow” and instructs the people to learn it. How David chooses to remember Saul might surprise you. He chooses to celebrate the good.

2 Samuel 1:17-27 (NASB)

Then David chanted with this lament over Saul and Jonathan his son, and he told [them] to teach the sons of Judah [the song of] the bow; behold, it is written in the book of Jashar. ’Your beauty, O Israel, is slain on your high places! How have the mighty fallen! ’Tell [it] not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, Or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, The daughters of the uncircumcised will exult. ’O mountains of Gilboa, Let not dew or rain be on you, nor fields of offerings; For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil. ’From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan did not turn back, And the sword of Saul did not return empty. ’Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life, And in their death they were not parted; They were swifter than eagles, They were stronger than lions. ’O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you luxuriously in scarlet, Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel. ’How have the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan is slain on your high places. ’I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me. Your love to me was more wonderful Than the love of women. ‘How have the mighty fallen, And the weapons of war perished!’

David calls the daughters of Israel to weep over Saul, reminding them that Saul clothed them luxuriously and led them in royalty. He chooses to honor the office and the early years of the man, despite how Saul had treated him. Then he turns to Jonathan, expressing a heartbreak so deep it’s hard to put into words: “I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan… your love to me was more wonderful than the love of women.”

Finishing Well

Saul’s life is a senseless tragedy—a story of what could have been. It could have ended so differently if he had just softened, confessed his sin, and walked with God. But he cared more about the perks of being king than the One who made him king.

I was reminded this week that there is another path. Recently, some of our staff attended a leadership conference in Dallas at Watermark Community Church. When they came back, they told me about an interview with a 91-year-old pastor. I knew exactly who they were talking about: Charles Swindoll, or “Chuck,” as he likes to be called.

Chuck Swindoll was one of my first ministry heroes. He was a Vietnam-era Marine who became a pastor and later the president of Dallas Theological Seminary. I remember meeting him when I was considering seminary. I was nervous, and even our lead pastor, Brad—who doesn’t get flustered by anyone—was tripping over his words trying to introduce me to “Dr. Swindoll.” Chuck just grabbed my hand and said, “Call me Chuck.”

At 91 years old, he sat on that stage and spoke to a room of pastors about finishing well. Even though his body was frail, his mind was sharp. He spoke about the dangerous erosion that happens in our inner worlds if we don’t cultivate intimacy with God. At the end, the interviewer asked him, “If you could go back, would you choose the same path?”

He leaned over and said, “I can’t imagine being pleased doing anything else. That’s the most fulfilling set of memories a person could have.” He talked about hospital rooms, weddings, gravesides, and the joy of discipled his grandkids every Saturday morning. He said, “To think that you have built into the eternity of people’s lives… there’s nothing like that.”

The Final Inventory

Swindoll lived a life changed by the Gospel. Saul lived a life of subtle erosion. And I think about you. The reality is, death has a 100% success rate. It is coming for all of us. What will be said of you?

Ecclesiastes 7:2 (NASB)

It is better to go to a house of mourning Than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, And the living takes [it] to heart.

There is something powerful about being in a house of mourning because it causes us to take inventory. The Bible says we will all stand before the Lord.

Hebrews 9:27 (NASB)

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this [comes] judgment,

Some, I fear, will go the way of Saul. They spend all their time around the things of God but are never truly impacted by God himself. They have religious fervor—serving on teams, joining groups, making coffee—but they never knew the life-transforming power of the Gospel. I am fearful that many will one day hear those words from Matthew 7.

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB)

’Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven [will enter]. ’Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ’And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

If that is you today—if you feel like a “hot mess” who has been playing a religious game—you are in the right place. We only hire hot messes here. But let Saul’s story be a warning. Don’t be so over-exposed to the things of God that your heart never softens for the Lord himself.

Mark 8:36 (NASB)

’For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

For those who put their faith in Jesus, the promise is different. We will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” My hope is that we would stop trying to earn favor through our own merit and rest fully in what Christ has accomplished—the life we couldn’t live and the death we deserved to die.

Father, we end in the heaviness of this moment. I pray that as we process what this means for us, You would use this time to help us take inventory. Let us ask honestly: Do I know Your Son? Am I resting in Him? Cause our hearts to turn to You. We exalt Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. In His name we pray, Amen.