Saul and his three sons died in the
battle and their bodies were laid at Mount Gilboa. It was a sad day indeed.
When the Israelites on the other side of the valley saw what happened they all
fled and abandoned their cities. So the Philistines came and occupied their
cities again. Israel’s territory fell into the hand of the Philistines.
Meanwhile, the Philistines combed through Mount Gilboa the next day. Their
intention was to strip whatever that was valuable from the dead bodies of
people they had killed. As they did, they stumbled upon the dead bodies of Saul
and his three sons. Perhaps this was when they realized that the king of Israel
had been killed.
To discover Saul must have been a real
deal for them. What they did next was heart-breaking. They cut off Saul’s head
and stripped him of his armor and took away his weapon. This was what
David did to Goliath, the Philistine’s champion whom he defeated earlier. So it
was like a tip for tap when they did that to Saul. So there on the hillside of
Gilboa laid the headless naked body of Saul. Israel was completely beaten.
Then the Philistines brought what they
reckoned as good news to the house of their idols and the people. Perhaps they
announced with glee the news of Saul’s death. It was depressing to read this
passage. They not only cut off Saul’s head but also took his weapon and placed
it in the temple of Ashtaroth, the female counterpart of Dagon their god. The
message was clear, the god of Philistines had defeated the God of Israel or so it
seemed. They were sorely mistaken. Who could ever defeat the true God of
Israel? The defeat of Israel was working out God’s purpose and the Philistines
didn’t know it. Verse 10 then tells us that they fastened the body of Saul and
his sons in the place called Beth-Shan. They had publicly humiliated Saul,
his sons, and practically all of Israel.
What the Philistines did to Saul is a
sad scene. It reminds us that what become of us can either bear a wonderful
testimony to God or bring disgrace to His name. As God’s people, whatever we do
and what becomes of us will affect the name of God. It behooves us, therefore, to
be careful about how we live. We must live it in such a way that will cause His name
to be praised and not otherwise.
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