1 Samuel 31:3-6 The absence of any kind of sorrow or repentance or crying out to God!

 ”The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.“

‭‭I Samuel‬ ‭31‬:‭3‬-‭6‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

a. The battle became fierce against Saul: Saul, struck by many arrows and severely wounded, knew the battle was completely lost. He pleaded with his armor bearer to kill him, and when he would not, Saul killed himself (Saul took a sword and fell on it).

i. In the way most people think of suicide, Saul’s death was not suicide. Clarke explains well: “He was to all appearance mortally wounded, when he begged his armour bearer to extinguish the remaining spark of life…. though this wound accelerated his death, yet it could not be properly the cause of it, as he was mortally wounded before, and did it on the conviction that he could not survive.”

b. All his men died together that same day: As sad as anything was in this account, sad is the absence of any kind of sorrow or repentance or crying out to God at all on Saul’s part. He was told the previous day that he would die (1 Samuel 28:19), yet he did not seem to prepare his soul to meet God in any way.

i. At the end of his life Saul became so hardened to sin that he did not want to repent. Many people put off getting right with God until a later time, assuming they will still want to get right with God then. But that is a dangerous assumption because repentance is a gift from God and if it is here today it should be received today.

ii. “It is a very solemn thought! No career could begin with fairer, brighter prospects than Saul had, and none could close in more absolute midnight of despair; and yet such a fate may befall us, unless we watch, and pray, and walk humbly with our God.” (Meyer)

c. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead: In 2 Samuel 1:4-10, an Amalekite came to David with the report that Saul had died in battle and that he actually delivered the death-blow to Saul. Does the Amalekite’s statement contradict this passage, where it seems Saul killed himself? It may be that Saul fell on his sword, and life still lingered in him, so he asked this Amalekite to finish him off. Or it may be that the Amalekite simply lied and was the first one to come upon Saul’s dead body and that he told David that he killed him because he thought David would be pleased and he would be rewarded. (Guzik)

The absence of any kind of sorrow or repentance or crying out to God!

Don’t let this escape you! Saul was told he was going to die the next day and he didn’t repent! When I think back on the Bible and its lessons set before us I think of Samson and how he wasted his gift and calling from God, BUT the difference with Samson was this: ”Then Samson called to the Lord, saying, “O Lord God, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God, that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!”“ ‭‭Judges‬ ‭16‬:‭28‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Guzik says of Saul, “yet he did not seem to prepare his soul to meet God in any way.”

Have you prepared your soul to meet God?

Blessings