1 Chronicles 10

Big idea: Saul's whole reign is fourteen verses, and thirteen of them are his death. The last verse is the obituary, and it names the reason in a single sentence: he did not seek Yahweh, and he did enquire of a medium.

Chronicles begins its narrative at the moment the first monarchy fails, so that the second is introduced as a replacement rather than a rival.

10:1–14 — He did not seek Yahweh

Everything 1 Samuel spends fifteen chapters on is absent. There is no anointing, no Goliath, no jealousy, no pursuit, no witch of Endor scene — the account opens with the Philistines already fighting and Israel already fleeing. The battle, the armour-bearer's refusal, the suicide, the stripped body and the head fixed in the temple of Dagon take twelve verses, and the men of Jabesh Gilead's night march to recover the bodies takes two more.

¹ Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. ² The Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. ³ The battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers. ⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was terrified. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell on it. ⁵ When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died. ⁶ So Saul died with his three sons; and all his house died together. ⁷ When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them. ⁸ On the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They stripped him and took his head and his armor, then sent into the land of the Philistines all around to carry the news to their idols and to the people. ¹⁰ They put his armor in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the house of Dagon. ¹¹ When all Jabesh Gilead heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² all the valiant men arose and took away the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days. ¹³ So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against Yahweh, because of Yahweh’s word, which he didn’t keep, and also because he asked counsel of one who had a familiar spirit, to inquire, ¹⁴ and didn’t inquire of Yahweh. Therefore he killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.

Scripture text: World English Bible (public domain).

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