September 1, 2023

Choices have consequences. (Saul's choice of his own way severely affected his life and his people.)

1 Samuel 31

Blake Brannan
Friday's Devo

September 1, 2023

Friday's Devo

September 1, 2023

Friday's Devo

September 1, 2023

Friday's Devo

September 1, 2023

Big Idea

Outward appearances can be deceiving. God looks at the heart.

Key Verse | 1 Samuel 31:6-7

Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

1 Samuel 31

The Death of Saul

1 Now the Philistines were fighting against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. 2 And the Philistines overtook Saul and his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. 3 The battle pressed hard against Saul, and the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by the archers. 4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and mistreat me.” But his armor-bearer would not, for he feared greatly. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. 5 And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him. 6 Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together. 7 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them.

8 The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. 9 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. 10 They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. 11 But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and went 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. 13 And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days.

S2:170 1 Samuel 31

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Dive Deeper | 1 Samuel 31

Do you ever wonder if your sin has consequences? In 1 Samuel 31, we read that King Saul’s poor choices ultimately resulted in death and humiliation, not only for himself but for his family and the people of Israel. "Thus Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor-bearer, and all his men, on the same day together." (1 Samuel 31:6) Our poor decisions affect not only our own lives but the lives of others.

We would be wise to consider how Saul ended up here and carefully heed the warning signs Scripture makes clear about his decisions. As we look back in 1 Samuel, and as a theme all throughout the book, we learn that God opposes the proud and exalts the humble. God is looking for those who wish to make Him the king of their hearts and who will obediently and humbly follow Him (1 Samuel 13:14). 

Saul proves to be a man who continually chooses to go his own way and blatantly disregards the direct commands of God. He suffers great consequences for his actions, such as having the Lord's Spirit removed from him and being rejected by God as Israel's king. Instead of repenting and crying out to the Lord for forgiveness, he descends further into sin and hardness of heart. 

Sin makes us think we have what we need within ourselves to make all things right and solve our problems. What Saul didn't do was to acknowledge His need for God, but we can learn from this. We can acknowledge that our prideful hearts are prone to wander and live in habitual sin.

Thankfully, we have a God who loves us and delights in showing mercy and forgiveness toward us. He shows us this in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son, who came to die for our sinful hearts once and for all on the cross. "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

This month's memory verse

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

– Matthew 5:16

Discussion Questions

1. Where is your sinful heart prone to wander? Is there a particular sin that you find yourself repeating over and over again?

2. What consequences have you experienced from this particular sin? Have these consequences affected only your life individually or others as well (family, friends, fellow believers, etc.)?

3. Before the consequences continue to grow, are you willing to learn from the story of Saul and confess to the Lord that you need His forgiveness and grace alone to overcome this sin in your life? Are you willing to repent? What does that look like in your life?

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

HS

Hugh Stephenson

Good morning, Blake. Love this from your devo- -“Sin makes us think we have what we need within ourselves to make all things right and solve our problems.” Q1. My heart wanders so many places that I can’t think of them all. Probably the most dangerous is comparison. Q2. Allowing my heart to wander has resulted in stepping on one rake after another. It’s a tough way to “walk” through the day. Q3. Confession is the blessing that comes out of my sin. It takes the sin out and nails it to the cross, where it belongs.
HS

Hugh Stephenson

The power of my choice. And the tragedy. Saul’s life seems like a runaway train headed for the bridge over the canyon…but the bridge is out. You know it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of when. Finally you see train go over the edge and fall hundreds of feet before crashing into the bottom of the canyon. It’s so incredibly tragic. It seems so unnecessary. But the reality to me is that it’s exactly what happens very often. A pastor friend with a long career in recovery ministries points out that of someone is determined to make terrible choices there is only so much you can do to help, (Ezekiel 33:1-9). To me, that’s a big part of the lesson God wants me to see. As I think back to 8 months of reading the Bible’s historical books, I see each figure make a series of choices. From Adam and Eve through the Patriarchs through Moses and Joshua and all the rest. My work in recovery ministries has only been about 9 years and I have seen many, many heartbreaking stories play out as I have no power to do anything but sit, watch, and pray. Most wound up in a state of dystopia and a place well short of what God promised them. But there are a number whose end is tragic. Another pastor friend recently reiterated that the ruler of this world is Satan. In the wonderful set of dichotomies that God repeatedly offers me He clearly lays out my choice of unity with Him or unity with Satan. Child of God or child of wrath. I’m going to go somewhere. I get to choose. Another pastor offers, “No one goes to Hell that wants to go to Heaven”. The fact that David is a man after God’s own heart presents him as a great model of how my heart should orient. But, as God told Cain, “…sin is crouching at the door.” (Genesis 4:7). If Satan will lie, steal, kill, and destroy in an effort to bring Jesus down then I should never be complacent. Hebrews 12:1-3
HS

Hugh Stephenson

From the notes- https://www.planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/html/ot/1samuel/1samuel.htm "Chapters 30 and 31 gain in poignancy and power if we regard their events as simultaneous. In the far south, David is anxious about his own and about spoil, while in the far north Saul and the Israelite army perish. ... While David smites (hikkah) ['slaughtered,' 30:17] the Amalekites, and they flee (nus) [30:17], the Philistines smite (hikkah) ['killed,' v. 2] Saul and his sons, and Israel flees (nus) [v. 7]." God had announced that Saul would deliver His people from the hand of the Philistines (9:16). However, Saul did this only to a limited extent, because he did not follow the LORD faithfully. The name of God does not appear in this chapter, perhaps suggesting that He had now given up Saul to the consequences of his apostasy (cf. Rom. 1). "The chief spiritual value of this whole Book consists in the solemn lessons it teaches by the life and failure and death of this man [Saul]. The story proclaims forevermore that advantages and remarkable opportunities are not guarantees of success unless the heart be firm and steady in allegiance to principle and loyalty to God." Saul's death ended David's fugitive experiences, which Leon Wood estimated lasted four or five years at the most. This is how the life of Israel's first king, the man after the Israelites' own heart, ended (cf. 1 Chron. 10:13-14; Hos. 13:11). -He was full of promise at his anointing, having many natural qualities that could have contributed to a successful reign. -He also possessed the Holy Spirit's enablement after his anointing. Unfortunately, he did not become a source of blessing to Israel and the world, nor did God bless him personally. -Instead, he became a curse to Israel, the world, and himself. -He did so because he failed to acknowledge Yahweh as the true king of Israel, and because -he failed to view himself as Yahweh's servant. -His life teaches us that the key to blessing or cursing is one's trust in, and obedience to, God. Note the differences between Saul's death and Jesus Christ's. -Jesus was consistently trusting and obedient to His Father's will. He laid down His life as a sacrifice for others rather than taking it Himself. He spent the night before His death in prayer to His Father, -whereas Saul spent his last night with a medium. -Jesus Christ blessed many through His death, even the whole human race, but -Saul brought blessing to others through his death only because it cleared the way for someone better.
MS

Michael Sisson

Re: 1Sam 31:4 1Sam 31:4 (NASB) 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.<<< As we’ll see later, there are conflicting reports as to the exact details of Saul’s death. (c.f. 2Sam 1:9-10 and 1Chr 10:4) Re: 1Sam 31:11-13 1Sam 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. Forty years earlier, when Jabesh-gilead was seiged by Nahash, king of the Ammonites, it was king Saul who orchestrated their deliverance (1Sam 11:11). Now, out of gratitude, the men of Jabesh-Gilead took down the bodies of Saul and of his three sons from the walls of Beth-shan and gave them a proper burial.
MS

Michael Scaman

Saul rid the land of witches but was told "For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.” 1 Samuel 15:23 Ironically Saul went tot he witch of Endor the eve of his death Saul was used of God but shared more in common with them than he realized or was willing to admit. In the providence of God, the successors to Saul including Jonathon largely died in battle. It was a sad end that Saul's body was only noticed by the Philistines after the battle. Checkmate. Shah Mat in Persian. The king is dead. And they put te body on display dishonorably. Brave men took the body armed with moral force alone. In contrast David had a severe crisis and God delivered them, with David losing nothing, no persons or persons, not even an animal.
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Nathan Warner

Fellow Louisiana Tech bulldog here (grew up in Ruston, no less). Thank you so much for the podcast today. There is a lot in todays passage (especially considering the story of Saul until now). Thank you for sharing.
GJ

Greg Jones

Really likes this take away, “As we look back in 1 Samuel, and as a theme all throughout the book, we learn that God opposes the proud and exalts the humble.” Q3 Great question. Sin has consequences I get that on a personal level. I would make no argument otherwise. Concerning Saul’s story, his life and his death, there is a little bit more to read in 2 Samuel 1. This account of Saul’s death makes a reader question the first account of Saul’s death. As Hugh noted from the notes God’s name is not mentioned in the chapter 31 account perhaps suggesting that He had now given up Saul to the consequences of his apostasy (cf. Rom. 1). The name of God reappears in the next chapter (2 Samuel 1) when David uses it to pronounce a judgement on the confessing Amalekite who humbles himself before the soon to be king. If we take note of when God’s name is absent we might pay attention to when it reappears and under what circumstances. 2 Samuel 1 makes us question what we thought we knew from 1 Samuel 31. Perhaps, the new information, along with God’s name reappearing is meant to provoke other old views. If, we, as God’s people, only see God in the form of the consequences of sin…perhaps the consequence becomes, the world learns a lesson from the actions of the Amalekite instead of the actions of Saul. Great dive. Great comments.
AL

Amy Lowther

1. The heart is a gift from God. Staying true to it makes life easier. When I get tired and wander, it can be because society and everything in it is interesting. God helps me make good choices when I listen to Him so I get the best results. 2. If I don’t listen to God, failure occurs. I don’t achieve my goals. I don’t complete tasks like I intend. I end up with more work than I had when I started. Friends can be affected by my choices because they believe in me and because they support me. 3. Yes, Saul’s story shows that how close or how far he is from the Lord affects what he produces. If possibilities of sin return to my life, I pray to God first and consider how God would handle things first before life consumes me and overwhelms me.
SB

Sue Bohlin

Thank you, Blake. Saul woke up the last morning of his life, probably thinking about Samuel’s prophecy to him, surely aware that “I’m going to die today.” But even on his last day, he didn’t go to the Lord. How very sad. Right after 9/11, I was going to fly back home from Chicago, and there had been some chatter about terrorists planning to fly a plane into the Sears tower. The enemy terrorized ME by waking me up with the strongly insistent words, “YOU’RE GOING TO DIE TODAY.” It was a whole new level of chilling. I’ve never known that degree of adrenaline-burst, before or after. Unlike Saul though, by the grace of God, I knew to run to my Lord for refuge. And guess what—I didn’t die. It was spiritual warfare. The enemy was lying to me—unlike Samuel, who spoke truth to Saul—a most unhappy ending.
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Jason Cromwell

What might've been? A little over a hundred years before names like Adams, Franklin, Jefferson and Washington changed the world forever there was Oliver. In his younger days Oliver was a good soldier and saw the suffering and hurting the Monarchy had caused the average Britain. Oliver swore that if he had the chance he would be a good leader and bring democracy and freedom to the people. Through a strange twist of events Oliver and his group wound up overthrowing the King and taking over. Oliver was a good leader in the beginning, but much like Saul, fear and paranoia and hatred for Jews, Catholics, and many other groups took over. He became a tyrant way worse than the King ever had been. Even to this day his name brings fear and disgust throughout Britain and Europe only surpassed by Hitler and Napoleon. When Oliver died of an illness he was beheaded and placed on top of Tower Bridge and his body like Saul's was hung out for all to see and spit at. The Monarchy was restored. That's the story of my (not so Great) Grandpa of many generations and inspired the story of Aragorn's great grandfather who gave into the One Ring and Coldplay's "Viva La Vida." So yeah reading this story is always personal for me.