1 Samuel 31 - The Death of Saul | Bible Podcast, David Alley, Peace Christian Church

In this video listen to 1 Samuel Chapter 31, read by David Alley, followed by comments and prayer.

In 1 Samuel Chapter 31 King Saul and three of his sons die in battle against the Philistines at Mt Gilboa in the north of Israel. Saul is left with only one remaining son Here in 1st Samuel it says Saul killed himself when he lost hope, but in 2 Samuel an Amalekite falsely claims to have done it. Then in 1 Chronicles in the retelling of this event it says “the Lord put him to death.” Such is the nature of the Lord’s work, it is often not recognised by people because it seems to them to be the hand of a human.

For example later in the Bible when the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem they have no idea that God says he was sending them. Also, Cyrus the king of Persia is described by God as a shepherd, and he rebuilds Jerusalme and the temple. God often uses people and they have no realisation that God is working through them.

So God often does things through people, and this is how he puts Saul to death. In the battle, there was an intervening day here when the battle was still going, but the dead were not stripped yet. It is in this period that scavengers can take advantage. In this period of time, the Amalekite visited the battle and saw the dead body of Saul, and took his crown, which he presented to David in 2 Samule 1.

After the battle the Philistines and Saul’s body are on the wall at Beth Shan, but brave men of Jabesh Gilead take it down and bury it. Saul’s very first battle as king many years earlier was to rescue the people of Jabesh Gilead from the Ammonites. So this response of thiers makes a lot of sense. They always had affection towards Saul for his help.