Daily Devotional for Saturday, August 26

The Tragedy of Saul

“So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together. And when all the men of Israel that were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they forsook their cities, and fled: and the Philistines came and dwelt in them,” 1 Chronicles 10:6, 7

The tragedy that began many years before was now being fleshed out to the fullest on the side of Mount Gilboa. It began with one seemly small act of disobedience and over the years tens of thousands of people had suffered and died as a result. Now finally, the bad actor, the one responsible for it, King Saul, attempted suicide and even then, failed. The enemy years before had been the Amalekites. Now the Philistines would take over Israel’s cities and loot the bodies of the countless dead from Saul’s army. To add insult to injury, they desecrated the body of Saul and his sons. They took them deep into Philistine territory and hung them as trophies.

The greatest tragedy of all was Saul’s utter lack of repentance. God wants all men to come to repentance. Saul lived a full life. He came into contact with godly men like David and his own son Jonathan. There was much opportunity to turn to God with all his heart. God showed him great victories. Saul was king when Goliath fell at David’s hand. It was his victory through God’s hand as much as David’s, and he did rejoice in it for a time. As time went on, Saul did not respond to God’s mercy, and like we, he could now know when God’s patience would be exhausted. We should never tempt God. So Saul’s life ended along with the united Israel, and it could have been so different.

THOUGHT: Do not try God’s patience. Seek repentance and avoid ending your life in great tragedy.

David Thompson