1Samuel 31:1-7
When the Dust Settled
A lot was going on when we stopped last. David had compromised and moved to
Gath of the Philistines. The Philistines lead a massive invasion into Israel,
and as a resident of Gath and servant to the king of the Philistines, David was
expected to join the battle. God got David out of that mess (through no merit on
David’s part), only to put David in a far worse situation. While gone, Ziklag,
the city in which David and his people lived, was attacked and all the people and
their possessions were stolen. At that point, David finally turned to the Lord.
God immediately helped David and everything that was taken, plus more, was
regained.
That took care of everything except for Saul and the nation Israel. They are still
under attack from a superior army. Saul turned to a witch for help. That did not
help his case before God. God reveals to Saul that Israel was to be defeated and
that he and his sons were to die. That was a shocker to Saul. The battle had not
even begun but God had already told Saul how it was to end.
In this last chapter of 1Samuel, we see the consequences of sin, mainly of one
man’s sin. It is sad to see what grief and destruction can come due to one man’s
stupidity and sin. We will call this message, "When the Dust Settled."
When the dust settled…
I. \\#1Sam 31:1-7\\ Sin had required a payment.
A. As already mentioned, the consequences being described in this chapter
are mainly the consequences of one man’s sins.
1. That man is Saul, the king of Israel.
2. Saul had chosen to live a selfish, sinful life and now it is
time to pay the piper.
B. What sin?
1. In studying the life of David, we have also studied the life of
Saul. Because of that, most of you could probably list several of
Saul’s sins.
2. My wife has a simple definition of sin.
a. She says that sin is just selfishness.
b. I think that is right.
c. Maybe that is why I is the middle letter in SIN.
C. What were the consequences of Saul’s sin?
1. \\#1Sam 31:3-6\\ Saul was dead.
1Sam 31:3 And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him;
and he was sore wounded of the archers.
4 Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me
through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through,
and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid.
Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
5 And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon
his sword, and died with him.
6 So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men,
that same day together.
a. This is a sad ending for a man (or woman) of God.
(1) Saul does not leave one positive thing for us to remember
him by.
(2) He was Israel’s first king and could have left a great
legacy for those who would come after him, but he will
be remembered for his disobedience, rebellion, and sin.
b. How many have finished in disgrace?
(1) Indiana Republican Mark Souder, an eight-term congressman,
also called a conservative and an evangelical Christian,
was forced to announce his resignation yesterday (May 18,
2010) due to his affair being exposed, an affair which
may have been going on since 2004.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/18/AR2010051803059.
html
(2) I am not throwing stones. I am just saying that is a sad
way for a Christian to end.
(3) So it is with anyone who chooses to disobey God.
(4) Sin may have its pleasure for a season, but its price is
very high.
2. \\#1Sam 31:2\\ Saul’s sons were dead.
1Sam 31:2 And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons;
and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s
sons.
a. The text tells us that Saul’s last stand was on Mount Gilboa.
(1) Jerusalem was not the capital of Israel during Saul’s
reign.
(a) Gibeah of Benjamin was.
(b) Gibeah was about 6 miles north of Jerusalem.
(2) Mount Gilboa was even further to the north of Jerusalem,
about sixteen miles south of the Sea of Galilee.
(3) The Philistines had come into the land of Israel and
pushed against all of its defenses until it was well
inside Israel’s boundaries.
b. One writer imagined that the battle would have gone something
like this.
(1) Saul, the king, would have taken the high ground to call
the shots.
(2) His sons and soldiers would have fortified the mount.
(3) So Saul would have seen the Philistines coming.
(a) Saul would have seen the armies of Israel dismantled
and fall.
(b) He would have seen the armies that his sons commanded
fall.
(c) He would have known what happened to them.
(d) Saul may have died last, but not before he knew what
happened to his nation and his sons.
c. Sin’s price might almost be bearable if we were the only ones
who had to pay it!
(1) Please remember that you never are.
(2) Sin is like a grenade. It causes a lot of collateral
damage.
3. \\#1Sam 31:1, 7\\ Many other mother’s sons were dead.
1Sam 31:1 Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled
from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa.
7 And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley,
and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel
fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and
fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
a. Sometimes sin does not stop at our door. Sometimes it destroys
those we don’t even know.
b. This was a military offensive which Israel lost.
(1) Many people lost their lives whose names are not
mentioned.
(2) Just because they are not mentioned, does mean they were
important.
c. You never know how broad a path the wages of sin will cut.
(1) Many would like to have the privileges that go with the
powerful and the wealthy but they often fail to
understand that there responsibilities which go along
with them.
(2) One of the responsibilities is that when you fall, you
take a lot of others with you.
(3) There are many people sitting in jail today and worse,
not because of what they did but because of who was in
authority over them.
4. \\#1Sam 31:8-10\\ The enemies had cause to gloat.
1Sam 31:8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip
the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa.
9 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land
of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and
among the people.
10 And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body
to the wall of Bethshan.
a. \\#9\\ They sent the head of Saul and his armour throughout
the land of the Philistines to announce their victory in the
house of their idols.
b. \\#9-10\\ Then they bolted the armour in the house of
Ashtaroth. Ashtaroth was one of their gods.
c. It is bad enough when sin destroys innocent lives.
d. It is even worse when sin damages the testimony of our God.
II. \\#1Sam 31:11-13\\ Mercy preserved a spirit.
A. When I speak of mercy here, I am not speaking of God’s mercy.
1. God’s mercy runs through every story and event of the Bible and of
life, but that it not what I am focusing on.
2. I am focusing on man’s mercy.
a. God teaches us to be follow His example in demonstrating mercy.
(1) When Jesus taught about praying, He included a lesson on
mercy. We have two examples:
Mark 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that
your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Luke 11:4 And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted
to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
(2) Peter thought showing mercy to someone seven times was
good. Jesus taught that showing mercy indefinitely was
better.
Luke 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times
in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
(3) The apostles picked up on this theme as well.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Colossians 3:13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man
have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
b. However, it is easier to be commanded to forgive than it is
to obey the commandment.
(1) To need to forgive means that you have been either
wronged, hurt, or both.
(2) No human can give forgiveness easily.
c. Just this week, I was asked, "How do you forgive?"
(1) My answer is, "Remember what Jesus forgave you of."
(2) Anytime you are tempted to hold a grudge, remember that
you have done far worse to Jesus than anyone will ever
do to you, but He has forgiven you.
(3) If you walk in that spirit for awhile, you will find it
far easier to give another.
B. There are two acts of human mercy shown in this section.
1. \\#1Sam 31:11-13\\ The men of Jabeshgilead
1Sam 31:11 And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt
them there.
13 And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted
seven days.
a. Jabesh was the city that Saul had rescued from the Ammorites
shortly after being anointed king \\#1Sam 11:5-11\\.
b. They were likely attempting to repay a debt they felt they
owed.
c. However, it is just as likely that Jabeshgilead was hurt by
Saul’s tyranny as much as any other place. That is the thing
with a selfish, unreasonable, demon-possessed, despot—he has
no favorites.
d. Yet, these risked their lives to travel into the occupied land,
take the bodies of Saul and his sons, and bury them.
e. That was an act of mercy.
(1) Mercy is when you give what someone else does not deserve.
(2) By now, Saul would have used up all of his credits and
then some.
f. One of first places to travel to in Israel was Bethshan. It
was awesome to stand in that place.
2. \\#2Sam 1:11-12, 17-27\\ David
a. David wrote a song praising both Saul and Jonathan.
(1) This were not just words for David.
(2) David meant what he wrote.
b. Even though Saul robbed David of his home, his life, and his
country, David still loved Saul.
c. Here we begin to see what mercy really means.
(1) Mercy is more than just tolerating a person who has
wronged you.
(2) It is taking all of the loving-people gifts, and rolling
them into the way you treat another person.
(3) What are the loving-people gifts?
a. love e. forgiveness
b. kindness f. longsuffering
c. gentleness g. selflessness
d. tolerance h. And anything else you can think of.
III. \\#2Sam 2:1-7\\ God fulfilled His Word.
A. \\#1\\ David asked the Lord what he was to do, and God answered.
2Sam 2:1 And it came to pass after this, that David enquired of the LORD, saying,
Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah? And the LORD said unto him, Go up.
And David said, Whither shall I go up? And he said, Unto Hebron.
1. It is good to not only see the power of sin but the power of
repentance.
a. Sin separates from God but repentance renews the relationship.
b. For the Christian, there is no sin which repentance cannot remove.
2. It may take awhile for your feelings to catch up to your
relationship, but God is always generous to forgive His people.
1John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
B. After years of persecution and waiting, David is anointed king
over Judah.
1. For awhile, David had forgotten God’s promise, but God never did.
2. David sits on the throne in Hebron.
a. Hebron was a city in the land of Judah, near Jerusalem.
b. \\#4-7\\ From there, David expands his influence to other
cities.
2Sam 2:4 And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the
house of Judah. And they told David, saying, That the men of Jabeshgilead were
they that buried Saul.
5 And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them,
Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord,
even unto Saul, and have buried him.
6 And now the LORD shew kindness and truth unto you: and I also will requite you
this kindness, because ye have done this thing.
7 Therefore now let your hands be strengthened, and be ye valiant: for your master
Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah have anointed me king over them.
c. Kindness and expressions of gratitude are always good ways to
win friends.
C. I think it is important to note that David, although a remarkable man
in his walk with God, was not perfect.
1. David had a sin problem.
a. We have at least three accounts of David lying.
(1) When Saul sent soldiers to his house to arrest him.
(2) To the priest, Ahimelech.
(3) To Achish all the time he dwelt in Ziklag.
b. Twice he fled into Gath (the second time it looked as though
David was prepared to spend the rest of his life there),
c. David took multiple wives (perhaps allowed but never right).
d. David could be rash and short-tempered. (Ask Nabel).
e. David could be cold-hearted. (He slew everyone in the villages
he attacked while living in Ziklag.)
f. David could fall into the mode of relying on self and not God.
g. And David is going to sin even greater in the future.
2. David’s sin problem did not just hurt him. It got others killed.
a. Ahimelech and his priestly community were killed (85 souls).
b. Thousands will die in Israel when David counts the people.
c. Several of David’s own children will die for his sins.
3. Most every great Bible hero has a few faults.
a. Abraham and Isaac lied about their wives.
b. Moses was short-tempered and rash.
c. Joshua acted without praying.
d. Peter denied the Lord three times.
e. Paul and Barnabas had a split in the ministry.
4. However, the overall direction of David was right.
a. It is not perfection that God seeks, but movement in the right
direction.
b. It was David’s direction that earned him the title, "a man
after God’s own heart." \\#1Sam 13:14\\
c. Salvation and repentance is what sets us moving in the right
direction.
d. Constant self-examination and repentance is what keeps us
moving in the right direction.
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
