1 Chronicles 10
McGeeCHAPTER 10THEME: Saul’s ReignHere we can see the distinction that God is making between the Books of Samuel and Kings and the Books of Chronicles. In the Books of Samuel we find a great deal about King Saul. In fact, his entire history is given there. When we come to Chronicles and see God’s viewpoint, we find only one chapter given. The rest of 1 Chronicles is all about David, and it goes on into 2 Chronicles with the history of David’s family. David is the subject, not Saul. Down here from the human viewpoint Saul occupied a prominent place. That is why it is amazing here to find only one chapter devoted to Saul. Now what is the subject of this chapter? Did the Lord pick out some outstanding performance of Saul? No. Works do not commend a person to God. The chapter is not about Saul’s works. It is about his death and how he was slain. I am of the opinion that a great many men and women who have occupied a large place in human history will not get much of a write-up in heaven. This is certainly true of Saul! You will recall that when we were studying 1 and 2 Samuel, we attempted to determine who had slain Saul. Who was the one that was responsible for his murder? Or did he commit suicide? The record in those books goes something like this: Saul was mortally wounded in the battle with the Philistines. Then he told his armorbearer to kill him because he didn’t want the disgrace of being killed by a Philistine. The armorbearer refused to take his sword to kill the king.
So Saul fell on his own sword. Was Saul physically able to kill himself? Did he commit suicide? That has always been a question. Then a young man of the Amalekites told David that when he came upon the scene, Saul was still alive and that Saul had asked him to kill him. The young Amalekite claimed that he was the one who had slain King Saul, and he brought Saul’s crown and bracelet to David to prove his story.
King David had the Amalekite slain, saying, “…Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD’S anointed” (2Sa_1:16). Now who is responsible for the death of King Saul? We almost need to call in the FBI. But actually it won’t be necessary to call them into the case, because we will have a confession here from the one who is responsible for Saul’s death.
1 Chronicles 10:1
He was wounded by the Philistines, but he did not die from that wound.
1 Chronicles 10:4
I assume from this record that when that Amalekite came along, Saul was already dead. The Amalekite knew that David and Saul had been enemies, so he went into the presence of David and took credit for the slaying of Saul. The motive which he had was the hope that David would bestow some honor upon him and give him some reward for the slaying of Saul. He didn’t dream that David would react as he did. David executed him on his own confessionDavid said that he was condemned out of his own mouth. However, it appears that the young man was lying, and that he really did not slay the king.
1 Chronicles 10:8
The Philistines did this terrible dishonor to Saul’s body. The temple of Dagon was in Ashdod. You remember that Samson had pulled down the pillars in the temple of Dagon when they were making sport of him there. Now this is where the Philistines brought the head and the armor of Saul.
1 Chronicles 10:11
Does this close the case? No, we still haven’t been told who really killed King Saul. But the final verses of this chapter will give us the confession we have been waiting for.
1 Chronicles 10:13
Now, who was it that slew Saul? It says that he inquired not of the Lord; therefore He slew him. Who is he? The Lord is the One who took his life. It is as Job said, “…the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job_1:21). The Lord takes the responsibility. God says that He removed Saul. God executed him. Do you wish to find fault with the Lord? Can God be arrested for murder? My friend, God has taken many a person. By the way, that is the reason God says you and I are never to take a human life. The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Until you and I can give life, we have no business in taking life. Only God can give life; so God can take away life, and for Him it is not murder. For you and me it is murder to take a life, and we must surrender our own lives when we do it. This is the reason David executed the Amalekite when he claimed he had murdered King Saul. Why was Saul executed? He died “for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit"Saul turned to Satan for advice. For these reasons God took his life. In the New Testament we find that God took the lives of Ananias and Sapphira. A great many people give Simon Peter the credit (or the blame) for that. I believe that Simon Peter was the most surprised person there that day. God was the One responsible for their deaths. And Saul died because of his transgression. Many times God reaches in and takes a human life because of that. I have lived long enough now so that I can look back and see that many times God has put a man aside. He can put a man on the shelf by putting him out of His service. He can remove him from an office. God moves in the affairs of men. God has not abdicated today. He is still running the universe. It is His universe and He will run it His way. If He wants to remove someone, that is His business, not yours or mine. He is not accountable to us, but we are accountable to Him. He is the One who calls the shots. He is the One who is the umpire, and He will make the decisions. By the way, to whom are you listening today? Do you hear God’s voice? Or are you listening to man’s voice, even to Satan’s voice? This is the sin that causes God to move into the affairs of men. What a chapter this is! It throws heaven’s light on a very moot subject.