This man Saul had such an opportunity. Remember, God gave him a fresh start in life, gave him a heart to serve. He cannot go to heaven and stand before God and say, I deserve heaven because I didn't get a fair shot. 1 Samuel 10, verse 9.
So it was when he turned his back to go from Samuel that God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day. Opportunities are no guarantees of success if you treat those opportunities as something other than what they are supposed to be. You're listening to Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about Cross-Reference Radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. 1 Samuel chapter 31 is the text Pastor Rick will be teaching from today on this edition of Cross-Reference Radio. Christ knew he'd hit his target when he met the woman at the well. When he said, You've had five husbands, and the one you're with now is not your husband, she tried to change the subject.
Oh, I think you're a prophet. And he was easy with her. He didn't say, no, wait, let's talk about these five husbands. He lets that fall to the side. But then he continues to minister to her.
And what is the effect? She becomes an evangelist. She goes to the village, and all the men come out to see this. Come see the man who told me everything. I mean, he's amazing.
And they come out and he stays there for a couple of days.
So, the lessons that fly off the pages of Scripture are for us. And in spite of whatever failures you may incur, if you plow your field, you will have a harvest. Or you can just say, I'm not worthy to preach the gospel, and just let Satan just gag you. Verse 5, and when his armor-bearer saw Saul was dead, he fell on his sword. And died with him.
You know the wording, it makes them sound so clumsy. Hey, he fell on his sword, and he said, What a fool. Anyway, of course, that's a euphemism for. They are. Uh kill themselves.
And, but who lived to tell the story?
Well, there are survivors. As the battle is intensifying, There are survivors. Who are getting away? The armor bearer likely thinks he's not going to get away. The fact that they're using archers at this point indicates the enemy is not close enough for sword to sword combat.
So there's some time, but again, the archer may be in a position like if I run, they're going to get me in the back, and I don't want that. then I'll be incapacitated and they'll torture me. And so that may be some of his logic. Saul here. Trying to reconcile this account of his death with the Amalekites' account that's mixed with lies, and when we get that in the next chapter, first chapter of 2 Samuel.
The Amalekite He claims that he killed Saul.
Well, if that part is accurate, which that part of it probably is, it's because Saul is here, passed out. He falls on his sword, he's filled with arrows, or he has arrows in him. Uh he He kills, falls on his sword, probably props it on the ground and impales himself. But he just passes out. And he then comes to later when the Amalekite, who was a battlefield scavenger, is looting the dead and comes across Saul.
Uh which is Part of history to this day. They are battlefield scavengers.
So that would account for some of how the events are taking place. This armor-bearer ended his life.
Now, again, if he's saying I can't get away and I'd rather do this to myself than let them get me, that's one thing. But if it is out of some sense, misguided sense of loyalty to Saul, then he was a fool too. And Saul did have fools around him and sycophants that just did whatever he wanted to do. Where's Abner when all of this is going on?
Well, he's probably commanding other on this is a large battle, sprawling. It's not just on Mount Gilboa. Saul likely moved to Mount Gilboa. The higher ground gave you the advantage, a great advantage. It does to this day.
Uh and thinking that this was going to You know, be a good place to hold off the enemy, and it did not work.
So, The Amalekite, he has less regard for life. David will dispatch him. David, first David hears the story, grieves, and says, starts to think about it and says, wait a minute. This guy's got some holes in his stories. He's just a murderer.
And David kills him.
So we'll get that next session if things go according to plan. David here, not anywhere near the battlefield. But this is an interesting thing. David had said. that one day Saul's going to kill me.
But he didn't say it under the anointing. I have noticed that I can tend to not be so accurate about a lot of things when I'm in the pulpit. Not in the pulpit. We'll catch that one. Not in the pulpit, but when I'm in the pulpit.
I just see things that I think that are God-given. And David, of course, God, and you too, you know that. Maybe you've gotten in front of someone and shared the gospel. But God was just there. I could feel the anointing.
Well, David, when he made that remark, was not under the anointing. When he wrote his Psalms, he was under the anointing. And the simple test is the circumstances surrounding, the realities, the truths, the facts, all pile up together to either point upward or outward. And but David was wrong. Saul did not catch him one day, and Saul did not kill him.
And that is not beating up on David. That is identifying with David. Because we get to that place in our own experiences in life where we feel like, you know what, this is just, God is not, He's not gonna shield me. Or he's not going to do this, and it's going to be bad. And we just, okay, fine, I just submit one day I'm going to this crash and burn.
And that did not happen. Uh fortunately, it was not a superstitious thing. But we can be superstitious. Watch out for that. If someone wrote me a check for $666, I would cash it and spend it.
I would not say, ooh, that's an evil number. I'm not cashing that.
So, if you get a check for $666 and you got that superstition going on, give me the check. and I'll cash it for me. John's Gospel, chapter 6, verse 66. There's nothing evil about that verse.
So, watch out for those superstitions. The Antichrist has his mark, but there's more to the story than just that number. There is the fact that they get the chip.
Well, there's still more to the story, that they willfully worshiped him. There's the crime right there.
So, I mean, there are humans that have chips in them now.
Some have them on their shoulders, and some have them barbecued. But anyway, verse 6: So, Saul and his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men died together that same day. Again, they should not have died this death, but they did because of Saul. And this man, Saul, had such an opportunity. Remember, God gave him a fresh start in life, gave him a heart to serve.
He cannot go to heaven and stand before God and say, I deserve heaven because I didn't get a fair shot. 1 Samuel 10, verse 9.
So it was when he turned his back to go from Samuel that God gave him another heart. And all those signs came to pass that day. Opportunities are no guarantees of success. Success if you treat those opportunities as something other than what they are supposed to be. All his men died the same day.
Together, it says here, referring to those troops that made up Saul's unit was not the entire army and not all the men on the hill, his immediate guard more than likely. Else, we wouldn't have the story as we do. I mentioned Abner, Saul's general, is missing because he is in other parts of the theater fighting, and he will end up promoting Saul's son Ishboseth to king. And again, Ishboseth will be assassinated. We have a lot of intrigue coming.
Verse 7, when we get to 2 Samuel, verse 7: And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those who were on the other side of the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them.
So this is an overview of the aftermath built in, not a play-by-play. But they Here you see the men on the battlefield in verse 7 are fleeing, so they're not all dead. It was a rout, but it was not absolute slaughter, awful defeat. Hosea, centuries later, makes this comment. Hosea 13, verse 11, speaking to the Jews who were up in the northern kingdom, and almost all of the leaders were apostates and monsters.
And so this prophet Hosea, of course, speaks to them. He tries to minister to them so gently. He tries to say, you know, I had an unfaithful wife, and this is how you are with God. And he tries to appeal to them. That, of course, did not work for many of them.
And so then the prophecies turn into straight-out direct prophecy to the nation. Hosea 13:11, God speaks through him and says, I gave you a king in my anger and took him away in my wrath. And that is sort of an overview. God's saying, fine, you want a king. You don't want a man of God like Samuel, a prophet over you?
I'll give you what you want. But it's not my first choice. And then Saul, of course, his behavior brought the day of judgment, which Yeah. Don't tell the Lord, but I think he is a little slow in judging Saul. Because God is long-suffering, and Willing that none should perish.
And although Saul did not respond, others have. When we get to Manasseh, Manasseh was king for 55 years, and he was a monster. Even and he gets converted in the end. But even after his conversion, he did so much damage that later God said, because Manasseh did this. You reap what you sow, you're still suffering from his evil.
So it's a real life. It's not a God is not a statistician that says, well, these are the odds, no sense in playing the game. It's like, well, this is what's going to happen, and we're going to play the game. We're going to follow this through. A very serious affair.
Uh so they demanded a king. And they gloried in that king. and his low spiritual character. And God was not first, and so Hosea says just what he says: In my wrath I gave you a king, because you've got spiritual issues. and if I had not gone that route it would have been worse for you.
But in my wrath, I took him away because you really weren't interested in me. And part of the proof of that is that you still have a nation that. Followed Saul. And not David. Verse 8.
So it happened the next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
Now, this is looting of the troops, of the looting of the I mean, guys wore jewelry into combat and or, you know, and uh once they died, they It happens to this day. In World War two, if you ambushed a a German patrol, uh you or what's he gonna do with his watch? If you don't take it, some Frenchman might get it, so or somebody else.
So this is not um This is how it is.
So, what we have here between verses 7 and 8, right between those two verses, are the battlefield scavengers before. the troops come and loot. And that's where that Amalekite would have gotten in. He said, I'm not waiting until tomorrow. I got a flashlight.
I know about where Saul was, and that's where the good stuff is. And he goes there and And uh Loots. You know, whole families in history, whole families would go out and loot the battlefield. Little kids, women, and men, even in World War II, this was They would have to send troops to guard the battlefield where the dead were.
Well, that's more than enough. Would you like to hear more? I can.
So uh Um We we'll get to that this again in chapter In the first chapter of 2 Samuel.
Now remember, it was one book of Samuel. Originally. But those scrolls, I mean, if you just have one giant scroll, it would be more like Too heavy to lift, so they had to split the books.
so that they could carry the scrolls around.
Now, when a dignitary died on the battlefield, They would look to get him off right away because they knew the other side would abuse him. The Philistines would love to have beaten David to the body of Goliath.
So that David couldn't do, you know, hack his head off and carry it, but they were unable to. And that is the case here. The troops that scattered and retreated left the hill, and there was nobody to take the bodies away. Verse 9. And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent word throughout the land of the Philistines, to proclaim it in the temple of their idols, and among the people.
The Amalekite probably said, Oh, I need is the crown and the rings, and I'm good. Maybe the robe, but the armor he had no use for that, so he leaves it. This is payback. David did this to Goliath. And they're doing this to Saul.
Saul's body, they're going to take it, they're going to hang it from a wall, they're going to stick his head in their temple. And uh This is similar to David. First Chronicles 10, and we'll comment on this again. Then they put his armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his head. in the temple of Dagon.
It's the same Dagon that was toppled over when they had the ark and they found his head and hands on the floor, that same fake god. And so here when they strip Saul of his armor, They're going to put his head as a trophy. Their God has brought this battle, they think, but Samuel called it. It's not their victory. Verse 10, then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtareths.
And they fastened his body on the wall of Beth Shan. Again, payback for David. 1 Samuel 17, verse 54. And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem and put his armor in his tent.
So David was busy. He hacks the head off, takes the armor. It's pretty heavy. He's got to lug that and the head. And then he's got to salt the head or else the flies would be overwhelming.
Maybe they had, you know, a glass case. No, they did not. Anyhow, the sword of David, where does that end up? It ends up in the temple because David goes to the temple. And so this was what they did back then.
And the Philistines are now doing it. It's their turn to gloat. Mount Gilboa is about seven miles from Beth Shan, where they, so that's how far they travel with it. And that kind of enters into the story because the men of Jabesh-Gilead are going to rise up and retrieve the body of Saul. And we'll come to that now.
They're about 10 miles from Bethshan.
So not too far for these things to take place. Verse 11: Now, when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard that the Philistines Had done what the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valent men arose and traveled all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, and they came to Jabeth and burned them there. You're reading this and say, all the valent men arose. What did the invalent? That's probably not a word, invalent, but what are the men that weren't so brave doing?
They probably all got up and said, let's go, boys. These men of Jabesh Gilead They had been delivered. From the threats of an Ammonite king, King Naash, years ago. When Saul first became king, His first challenge was this threat. You know, we're going to take out the eyes of all the men of Jabesh, Gilead, if you surrender, and we'll conquer you.
And they sent to Saul, we need help, and Saul. goes and he he fights and he wins. They never forgot that. It was Saul's first military battle, it is probably his only. Decent thing he really did, and really his motive wasn't Yahweh, Saul, you know.
Although Yahweh inspired him, So they want to honor the memory of Saul for delivering them. And again, just 10 miles away, but it says they traveled all night.
So it's a night mission. They know that the Philistines. They've defeated any foe that there's no foe to really worry about, having vanquished the Jews earlier. And they're all going to be sleeping. And the men of Jabesh-Gilead, they know that.
And uh here It is good to point out, even though I don't agree with these well uh like y you can't fault them For saying, hey, you know, Saul delivered us, and we owe him a little more honor in his death. You know, I don't fault them for that. No other city in Israel raised a finger to save. The body of Saul from desecration. But these men remembered his kindness.
uh from years gone by, they n pr knew of his wickedness also. But in gratitude to the deed? They put their lives at risk. And uh they all went. To the stronghold of the Philistines, and they got the job done.
And that brings us to the topic of. loyal Volunteers. I mean there are Disloyal volunteers. There are volunteers that pretend to be loyal and they're really not. But then there are those that are genuine, and those I'd like to just talk about because.
The world will tell you Well, there's one. Military Person gets the credit for saying, don't be the first, don't be the last, and whatever you do, don't volunteer. I don't want to be a foxhole mate with him. I don't want to be a shipmate with that guy. Uh he's a minimalist.
You know, just don't over, you know, don't, you know, okay, don't get on their radar and be the last guy. But whatever you do, don't be the best either. and don't volunteer.
Well, that might be true in the world with the world's commanders. I've m been under leaders that I wouldn't volunteer to do anything with. But then I've been under others that it would I would be a An honor to volunteer to do something they requested. Volunteers are needed to do the dirty work. The job no one else wants to do.
That needs to be done or should be done, and this is the case with the men of Jabesh-Gilead, the assignment that others avoid. They take on. This is pointed out in the Psalms when it comes to the righteous and now serving the King. Psalm 110, verse 3. Which is a messianic psalm.
It's a psalm that is set in the context of the coming Christ. Your people, speaking about the Christ, the Messiah, your people shall be volunteers. in the day of your power. and the beauties of holiness.
Well, the days of his power, in one sense, are they begin when we become born again. We are in the days of his power. Volunteers are an asset if they are capable. They are a liability if they're not. You know, somebody who can't drive volunteering to drive you somewhere, it doesn't worry, you know what, I'll walk.
But when they are capable. They most certainly are an asset.
So let's talk about some of the volunteers from Scripture. And there are quite a few, but let's do all of them. There's Hannah.
Okay, she volunteered somebody else for the mission. But she suffered too. She volunteered her son, her firstborn. The one she wanted so badly, she gave them away. To the Lord.
I mean, you just can't top that. David himself, who is this Philistine? I'll take him out. He volunteered, he went forward. Abishai.
David's comrade. We've read about Abishai. Like, David says, Who will go with me down to the camp? I'll go with you, David. I've got your back.
Itai the Gittite, we've talked about him. Wherever you are, my king, there I'll be too. Life or death? Even ruthless Joab, Joab was a great guy as long as you did not give him a reason to kill you. And it didn't take much.
But he's still, you know, who will climb up the well at Jabos, which would be Jerusalem. And open the gate for us. And Joab says, I'll do it. And he had to go up, you know, sort of vertical, feet on one side of the wall, of the well wall, and hands on the other side. And he was a tough guy.
They were the water boys of Bethlehem. When David said, I would love a drink from Bethlehem, I'm from Bethlehem. But the Philistines have a garrison there, and And they didn't say anything. They just went and got the job done. They come back with the water.
Baby couldn't drink, I can't drink this. I cannot. Just in a good conscience, you men risked your blood so that I could have water. Isaiah the prophet. God says, who will I send?
I said, I'll go.
However, God was a Yeah. God didn't tell him they're going to not like you for this message. If God didn't say, here's the message, who will deliver it? God says, I have a message, who will deliver it? And Isaiah says, I'll do it.
And God says, okay, say to them, woe unto them. How to win friends and influence people. Obadiah the servant. Of Ahab the wicked king. You know, Elijah pronounced a drought and he left, and God hid him.
He says, Go by the book, Kiriath. And there the ravens brought him bread and brought him meat. Roadkill. I mean, ravens don't usually kill anything. I mean, they kill small chicks or something like that, but that's roadkill.
of some sort. I would have gone, ew. I'm not eating that bread from a bird's mouth. Birds are dirty. Just get a birdcage.
You'll find out. Anyway. Uh God hides the prophet there. The well dries up.
So again, what you know, keeping him dependent. And he takes him to the widow, and then it gets worse. The kid dies of the widow. Oh, man of God, have you come here? And just what a story.
Anyhow. Oh, but so then God then says to Elijah.
Okay, I'm gonna end the drought. I want you to show up to the king. And the king and Obadiah said, we're going to have to find food.
So we don't have to kill the horses and fight, you know, we just. Find food.
So you go in this direction, I'll go this one.
So they go.
Well, Obadiah, as he's looking, he comes across Elijah the prophet. And what does Elijah say? Elijah says, Go tell the king, Elijah is here. Just like that. Elijah is here.
Just tell him my name. And in the Hebrew, it's just Elijah. And Obadiah says, no way. Because you're going to send me Elijah's here, and I go, and you go, God leads you who knows where? That's what He says: God will lead you who knows where.
And then the king will kill me because we have searched everywhere for you. Because you brought the drought.
So Elijah says, as the Lord lives, I'll be here. But before they get to that, I'll be here. Obadiah says, Haven't you heard what I've done for the servants of the Lord, risking my own neck? Hiding 50 to a cave, bringing them bread, and what do you know how hard it is to feed 50 men in a cave and not bring attention to yourself? Why would you put me in a situation where Ahab's going to kill me?
And Elijah, you know, tough Elijah, dressed, you know, leather and stuff and Calling fire down on armies. And he says, you know, go I'm I'm not going to go anywhere. And he says, This is a tender moment, the only tender moment of Elijah. No, it's not. But Obadiah the servant volunteered to keep the prophets alive, who Jezebel was having killed.
Another volunteer in Scripture. Then we get to the New Testament, of course, Peter. Lord, I'll step out in that water. I mean, he volunteered to do that. in front of everybody.
And he was doing pretty good there for a while. I mean, it's like a cartoon, you know, when they walk off the cliff and they keep walking until they realize that they're not on the cliff anymore, then they fall, and that's always puzzled me as a kid. Why didn't they just walk down to the ground? Anyhow. Looney Tunes of Real Stories.
So Peter, of course, always volunteering the first word. And again, if you the value of that Is take Peter's words out of your New Testament. You have to then take the answers of the Lord with them and how. cheated we would be. Yeah.
No. Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreferenceradio.com.
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