1 Samuel Chapter 31
We come to the sad and tragic end of Saul’s life in 1 Samuel 31.
After years of being a king – much of it living in disobedience to God and hatred against David, the end of Saul, while expected, was nevertheless a stern warning to us today – we will reap what we sow.
In life, we are most familiar with this. If we cheat in our work, we might get reprimanded or even fired! If we disobey our parents and not clean our room, we may lose some of our privileges. If we take soemthing ‘extra’ from the office, it may all come back to bite us.
At times, the consequences of our actions may be just something inconvenient or troublesome. But there are times where the consequences are life changing.
If we had been following closely to our readings of 1 Samuel, we have read that time and time again Saul disobeyed God. And in this chapter, we read that many fell dead. Even Saul’s sons were not spared along with the rest of Saul’s army.
Because of Saul’s disobedience, God was no longer with him and protected him.
Wounded badly but not dying yet, Saul asked his armour bearer to kill him. The armour bearer took his own life rather than killing Saul. As he did not want the Philistines to kill him, Saul toook his own life (now suicide is one whole topic we can talk about but not today).
So what lessons does this tragic end have for us?
The life of David and Saul is in great contrast. While David was far from being perfect, he often did his best to obey God. And God was always with him – watching over him and instructing him.
But Saul, despite the efforts of Samuel, reacted the other way. When he disobeyed God, he chose to go further and further away from God. His disobedience showed that we must suffer the consequences of our actions.
Making a bad decision can have long lasting effects. But if we keep on making bad choices over and over again – when we can see the warning signs but ignore it, the results could be terrible. In Saul’s case, his nation was now overrun by the Philistines.
And Saul’s disobedience also shows us another fact – the consequences did not just affect Saul but all those around him. It will be the same of us.
While we reap what we sow, very often the people around us is also affected.
Saul’s life serves as a warning for us today. Chosen by God to be king of His people, all Saul had to do was to continue to obey God and keep His commandments.
Instead, he allowed pride to enter into his heart and once he started disobeying God, instead of repenting and changing his ways quickly, he lost sight of what really matters – his relationshop with God.
What about us today?
Are we going from disobedience to disobedience? Or are we like David? To be able to quickly realise or accept that he had done wrong and once again restablish his relationship with God.
The choice is ours. What is yours?