069. XLVII. Saul’s Defeat And Death

§ XLVII. SAUL’S DEFEAT AND DEATH 1 Samuel 28, 31; 2 Samuel 1

1. Saul’s desire for a revelation. Now Samuel had died and all Israel had lamented for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had put the mediums and the wizards out of the land. And when the Philistines assembled and came and encamped in Shunem, Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped in Gilboa. And when Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart was filled with apprehension. And Saul inquired of Jehovah, but Jehovah did not answer him either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, Find for me a medium who has a talisman, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is at Endor a medium who has a talisman.

2. The midnight scene at Endor. Therefore Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went, taking two men with him, and they came to the woman by night. And he said, Divine for me by the talisman and bring up for me the one whom I shall name to you. And the woman said to him, Behold, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life, to put me to death? And Saul swore to her by Jehovah, saying, As Jehovah liveth, no guilt shall come upon you for this thing. Then the woman said, Whom shall I bring up to you? And he said, Bring up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she screamed. And the woman said to Saul, Why have you deceived me, for you are Saul? And the king said to her, Do not be afraid! What do you see? And the woman said to Saul, I see a god coming out of the earth. And he said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a mantle. Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the earth and worshipped.

3. The message of doom. And Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? And Saul answered, I am in great straits, for the Philistines are making war against me and God has turned from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have called you to tell me what I shall do. And Samuel said, Why do you ask of me when Jehovah hath turned from you and become your adversary? And to-morrow you and your sons with you shall fall; Jehovah will deliver the army of Israel also into the power of the Philistines.

4. Effect upon Saul. Then Saul fell at once at full length upon the earth and was greatly afraid, because of the words of Samuel; also he had no strength in him, for he had not eaten bread during all the day and all the night. And when the woman came to Saul and saw that he was greatly troubled, she said to him, See, your maid-servant has heeded your voice, and I have taken my life in my hand and have listened to your words which you spoke to me. Now therefore, listen also to the advice of your maid-servant and let me set before you a morsel of meat, and eat that you may have strength, when you go on your way. But he refused, and said, I will not eat. But his servants, together with the woman, urged him, until he listened to their advice. So he rose from the earth and sat upon the couch. And the woman had a fatted calf in the house; and she quickly killed it, and took flour and kneaded it and baked from it unleavened bread. And she set it before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they rose up and went away that night.

5. Defeat of the Israelites and death of Saul. Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the Israelites fled from before the Philistines and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed close after Saul and his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. And they pressed hard upon Saul, and the archers found him out, and he was wounded by the archers. Then said Saul to his armorbearer, Draw your sword and run me through with it, lest these uncircumcised Philistines come and make sport of me. But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took his own sword and fell upon it. And when his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell upon his sword and died with him. So Saul and his three sons and his armorbearer died together on the same day.

6. Fate of Saul’s body. And when the Israelites, who were in the cities of the valley and in the cities of the Jordan, saw that the Israelites had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they also left the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and remained in them. But when on the following day the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent throughout the land of the Philistines to bring good news to their idols and to the people. And they put his armor in the temple of Ashtarte, and they fastened his body on the wall of Bethshan. And when the inhabitants of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and marched all night and took the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Bethshan; and they came to Jabesh and lamented over them there. And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.

7. Arrival of the messenger. Now, after the death of Saul, when David had returned from smiting the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag. Then on the third day there came a man out of the camp from Saul, with his clothes torn and with earth upon his head. And as soon as he came to David, he fell to the earth and did obeisance. And David said to him, Whence do you come? And he answered him, From the camp of Israel have I escaped. And David said to him, How was the affair? Tell me. And he answered, The people fled from the battle, and many of the people fell, and also Saul and Jonathan his son are dead.

8. Lamentation over the fallen. Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them; and all the men who were with him did likewise. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son and for the people of Jehovah and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.

9. David’s dirge. Then David sang this dirge over Saul and Jonathan his son (behold, it is written in the Book of Jashar), and said, 10. Greatness of the calamity.

Weep, O Judah!

Grieve, O Israel! On thy heights are the slain!

How the mighty have fallen!

Tell it not in Philistine Gath, Declare it not in the streets of Askelon;

Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised exult.

Ye mountains of Gilboa, may no dew descend, Nor rain upon you, O ye fields of death! For there was the shield of the mighty thrown down, The shield of Saul, not anointed with oil.

11. Valor of the fallen. From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, The bow of Jonathan turned not back, The sword of Saul returned not empty.

12. Their attractiveness.

Saul and Jonathan, the beloved and the lovely! In life and in death they were not parted;

They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

13. Saul’s services to Israel.

Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, Who clothed you daintily in finest linen, Golden ornaments he placed on your garments, How the mighty have fallen in the midst of battle!

14. David’s love for Jonathan.

Jonathan, in thy death me thou hast wounded!

O Jonathan, my brother, for thee I’m in anguish, To me thou wert surpassingly dear, Thy love were far more than the love of woman!

15. The lament, How the mighty have fallen, And the weapons of war perished!

I. Saul’s Visit to the Medium of Endor. Samuel appears but once in the earliest narratives. The occasion was his memorable meeting with Saul. His activity at that great crisis in Israel’s history rightly won for him a place beside Moses and Deborah. The fact that a large body of later traditions gather about his name confirms still further his title to greatness. From this later group of traditions apparently comes the account of Saul’s visit to the medium of Endor. It throws much light on the life and thought of early Israel, and gives a tragic picture of Saul in his later days. Deprived of the counsel and support of the priests and prophets of his realm, he resorted to one of the representatives of the old heathenism, which still survived in Palestine. For the gigantic Saul disguise was futile. The medium whom he consulted regarding the outcome of the impending battle, must have recognized him from the first. Her methods are those employed by mediums of all ages. She, not Saul, claims to see the dead prophet Samuel and interprets the message to the king. The message itself was clearly suggested by the political situation. Before the organized and powerful army of the Philistines, only defeat awaited the Hebrews. As Saul goes forth to fight his last, losing battle, he commands both pity and a certain admiration.

II. The Battle on Mount Gilboa. Very briefly the early David narrative records the disastrous event. In approaching Israel along the plain of Esdraelon, the Philistines apparently aimed to separate Saul from his northern subjects. The elders of the southern Palestinian towns, who received the spoil sent them by David, had apparently not rallied about Saul. It would seem, therefore, that with only a part of his subjects, he met the Philistine attack. The heights about Gilboa on the southeastern side of the plain of Esdraelon, where the advantages would be with the defenders, were chosen by Saul as a battle field. The Hebrews, however, were so lacking in courage that the battle soon became a mad rout. Although forsaken by their warriors, Saul and his sons and his armorbearer refused to flee. When his sons had already fallen beside him and he was himself severely wounded Saul chose to die by his own sword rather than to fall into the hands of the pitiless foes. The treatment of Saul’s body by the Philistines reveals the brutality of the age and suggests the indignities which Saul escaped by his self-inflicted death. One bright gleam lights up the sad scene. In gratitude for the deliverance which Saul had brought them at the beginning of his reign, the citizens of Jabesh in Gilead across the Jordan rescued the body of the dead king from the walls of Bethshan and buried it under a famous tree near their city.

III. David’s Lamentation over Saul and Jonathan. The men of Jabesh did not lament alone over the death of the fallen heroes. When at length a fugitive escaped from Saul and bore the news of the disaster to David, he and his followers joined in the universal lamentation. The desire to conciliate the northern tribes undoubtedly influenced the conduct of David, but a deeper motive, that of genuine sorrow, breathes through the dirge which tradition attributes to him. There is good ground for believing that tradition is right in ascribing this noble song of lamentation to the singer who had so often soothed Saul’s perturbed spirits. The ancient minstrel appears to have improvised as he played. A part of David’s charm was apparently his skill as a poet. The occasion was one which would naturally lead him to exercise this skill. The detailed references in the song fit well the lips of David. The genuine pathos and sorrow, especially over the death of the beloved Jonathan, all point to David as the author. The artistic beauty of the poem is unsurpassed. It opens with a stanza in the quick two-beat measure, which rises in the second stanza to the three beat, and in the third to the four-beat measure, which is maintained throughout the song, until the last refrain is introduced, giving the effect of a final sob. In the first stanza the nation is called upon to join in the lamentation, in the second the cruel exultation of the Philistines is viewed with horror and in the third Nature and especially the mountains of Gilboa, the scene of the disastrous battle, are called upon to join in the universal lamentation. In the next two stanzas the courage, the prowess and the virtues of Saul and Jonathan are powerfully presented. The women of Israel, who led in the ancient lamentations, are reminded of what Saul has done for them and the nation. The culmination of the poem is reached in the pathetic stanza in which David protests his deep love for Jonathan and voices his own bitter sorrow.

IV. Saul’s Strength and Weakness. The estimates regarding the character of Saul vary greatly. The task of determining the real character of Saul is complicated by the fact that we are dependent for our knowledge of the latter part of this period upon a group of narratives in which the interest is with David rather than with Israel’s first king. Even in the early Saul narratives, his rash impulsiveness is revealed in the vow which he made, while in pursuit of the Philistines. His faults are especially glaring because they are so unkingly. Self-will, anger, jealousy and intemperate action are almost inexcusable in him who is called to rule others. There are suggestions in the ancient narrative that these faults were largely due to physical causes, and if so they do not represent the real Saul. At the same time physical maladies are in many cases the result of moral defects. That Saul from the first was lacking in self-control, breadth of vision and a deep religious instinct seems clear. It was perhaps too much to expect that the rude age in which he lived would produce a fully developed ruler of men. With his courage, enthusiasm and patriotic zeal Saul satisfied the demands of the moment. His natural impulses were noble and generous. There was much in his character to command admiration. David’s tribute to him rests upon a substantial basis of fact. His closing years, there fore, are all the more tragic because his petty faults gained the ascendency and obscured the true nobility of his nature.

V. The Significance of Saul’s Reign. David’s brilliant achieve ments almost completely overshadow those of Saul. Yet it is important to remember that David’s work would have been impossible had not Saul prepared the way. By his courage and patriotism he accomplished the almost impossible task of uniting the rival Hebrew tribes. By personal example and direction he taught the Israelites, on many a hard-fought battle-field, how to wield the sword and to win victories from their powerful foes. Against great odds, he threw off the Philistine yoke and established Israel’s prestige among the nations. He also opened the highways of commerce, so that the Hebrews began to enjoy the products of that highly civilized ancient world. The simplicity and severity of his own life and court kept back for a time that wave of oriental luxury which was destined all too soon to engulf Israel. He did much to fix in the minds of the Israelites that high, democratic ideal of the kingship, which tyrants, like Solomon and Ahab, were unable to dislodge. Thus Saul established those noble precedents which David, in more favorable circumstances, followed with far greater glory and success.