The Fall of King Sha’ul
First Samuel 21:1 to 31:13
First Chronicles 10:1-14 and 12:1-22
The more Sha’ul tried to hold on to his kingship, the tighter he gripped the crown, the more it seemed to slip through his fingers. Samuel had already rebuked him (to see link click Cc – Samuel Rebukes Sha’ul), and told him that God would raise up another after His own heart to lead the nation. More importantly, ADONAI had also rejected him (see Ck – God Rejects Sha’ul); nevertheless, Sha’ul, becoming more and more paranoid, thought the answer to his problems was to kill David (see Cz – Sha’ul Pursues David). As he moved further and further away from ADONAI, he became more and more under the control of Satan. The Bible teaches us that the thief comes only to kill and steal and destroy (John 10:10a), and the first thing Sha’ul does in this section was to kill all the priests of Nov, including their wives, their children, and their cattle, donkeys and sheep (see Cx – Sha’ul Kills the Priests at Nov). Then, the last thing he did was to consult a medium (see Dj – Sha’ul and the Medium of Endor), before killing himself (see Dk – Sha’ul Takes His Own Life). Sha’ul died because he was unfaithful to ADONAI. The accusation of faithlessness is especially severe. The Hebrew word used is ma’al, which is normally reserved for serious sin against God, often associated with idolatry and carrying with it the death sentence. It is the seriousness, rather than the particular kind of sin, that the word implies.380 He did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted with a medium for guidance, nor did he inquire of YHVH, but did what was best in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). So Ha’Shem put him to death and turned the Kingdom over to David son of Jesse (First Chronicles 10:13-14). His career began with promise, but ended in tragedy; it began with victory, but ended in defeat; it began with hope but ended with despair.381
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