1 Samuel 31 -- The End Of Saul

What a very sad scene to witness:  The overwhelming Philistine army killing so many Israelites that the survivors were running away.  Saul fought hard, yet saw his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua killed before him.  Then an archer shot an arrow into his torso.  Saul knew it was a mortal wound, and because of the reputation of the Philistines for torture and mutilation, he asked his armor-bearer to kill him.  The man was too afraid to do so, leaving Saul with no option but to fall on his own sword.

The Philistines found his body and cut off his head and stripped him of his armor, taking all of it to their temples to honor their idols.  The bodies of Saul and his sons were hung on the city wall for all to see -- an affront to the Jewish requirement of honorable burial.  Brave men from Jabesh-Gilead retrieved the bodies at night and buried the bones.

"Saul's hour of judgment had come.  Without Samuel's prayers and David's anointed leadership, the army of Israel was destined for defeat," my commentary said.

Father, I cannot even imagine what it must have felt like to have witnessed all of this and to wonder where You were in all of it.  I know from Your Word that You had not been allowed to rule so You were overruling.  Please let me never again fail to heed Your warnings.  I do not want to witness my world crumbling around me because I failed to obey You.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford