"The Fall of the House of Saul"
God will not allow the old thing to fall until He judges that the new thing is ready to take its place.
Download or email this sermon Grieving for Saul
In conclusion, 1 Samuel 31:1-5:
"Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell slain on Mount Gilboa. Then the Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul's sons. The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, 'Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, les these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.' But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him."
What is David's reaction to the death of Saul, who had been his enemy? In 2 Samuel 1:17-27 it says this:
"Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher"
(Jasher in Hebrew means “straight”.)
"'The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places!
How the mighty have fallen!
Tell it not in Gath,
Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon
Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,
Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
O mountains of Gilboa,
Let there be no dew nor rain upon you,
Nor fields of offerings.
For the shield of the mighty is cast away there!
The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.
From the blood of the slain,
From the fat of the mighty,
The bow of Jonathan did not turn back,
And the sword of Saul did not return empty.
Saul and Jonathan were beloved and pleasant in their lives,
And in their death they were not divided;
They were swifter than eagles,
They were stronger than lions.
O daughters of Jerusalem, weep over Saul,
Who clothed you in scarlet, with luxury;
Who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.
How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle!
Jonathan was slain in your high places.
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
You have been very pleasant to me;
Your love to me was wonderful,
Surpassing the love of women.
How the mighty have fallen,
And the weapons of war perished!'"
Only then did the tribes of Israel join themselves to David.
I have learned by God's grace how to fight the Philistine. I am not afraid of Islam or Mormons or Roman Catholicism or Orthodox Jews. I know how to witness to those people; the Lord taught me. I do not boast of it, but I know what He taught me. I know what it's like to be tested for taking a stand. I know what it's like to be rejected, even by my friends. I know what it's like to be betrayed by people who know I am right, but are looking out for themselves instead of for the sheep. I have learned most of those things the hard way. But what the Lord is teaching me now, and those like me, is how to be gracious.
I need to come to a point where I can say, "Boy, the Assemblies of God had some mighty men of God in their day. Boy, you know, Pat Robertson began right. Wow, but Jimmy Swaggart was once a man of God; what happened to him can happen to me if I'm not careful. ‘How the mighty have fallen’ – I didn't want this to happen." I know how to be angry with Saul; but I am just learning how to grieve over what has become of him. Saul is going to fall; his days are numbered. Saul's house must fall – they have gone into the occult and there is no longer any way out or any hope for them. This story includes a very rare case of God allowing someone to come back from the dead; when Samuel does, he asks Saul, "Why do you ask me about it? The Lord has become your adversary." God is their enemy; the question is when are they going to be hanging the dead from the walls of Mount Gilboa? When will the house of Saul fall? When will their corpses hang rotting on the walls of Beth Shan?
When I can grieve over it.
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Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.