10:1The chronology of chapters 1-9 covers Israelite history from Creation to the exile in Babylon (586 B.C.). At this point, the narrative goes back to the beginning of Israel’s kingdom period, picking up with {srael’s first king, Saul. First Chronicles 10 begins with Saul’s death. To learn about his reign, read 1 Samuel.
Life Application Study Bible1 ChroniclesChapter 10
1 Chronicles 10
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original page: 636
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101 Chronicles 10
The Death of King Saul
1Now the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and they killed three of his sons—Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua. $The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine archers caught up with him and wounded him. 4Saul groaned to his armor bearer, “Take your sword and kill me before these pagan Philistines come to taunt and torture me.” But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he fell on his own sword and died. 6So Saul and his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to an end. 7When all the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley saw that their army had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their towns and fled. So the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. 8The next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead, they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on Mount Gilboa. 9So they stripped off Saul’s armor and cut off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of Saul’s death before their idols and to the people throughout the land of Philistia. 10They placed his armor in the temple of their gods, and they fastened his head to the temple of Dagon. 11But when everyone in Jabesh-gilead heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, 12all their mighty warriors brought the bodies of Saul and his sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones beneath the great tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days. 13So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD. He failed to obey the LORD’s command, and he even consulted a medium 14instead of asking the LORD for guidance. So the LORD killed him and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.
Life Application Notes 6 notes
10:10Dagon, the most important god of the Philistines, was believed to bring rain and provide rich harvests. The Philistines built temples to him when they settled in the grain-producing land of Canaan. In times of drought, people begged Dagon for pity, even to the point of sacrificing their children in his temples. In times of plenty, the temples were used for twisted forms of entertainment, such as the humiliation of captives (see Judges 16:23-30). But Dagon, like the other pagan gods, was powerless against the one true God (1 Samuel 5:1-7).
10:11,12The actions of the valiant warriors who brought back and buried the bodies of King Saul and his sons should encourage us to respect our God-given leaders. David showed respect for Saul’s positian, even when Saul was chasing him te kiil him (1 Samuel 26). How easy it is to be critical of those in authority over us, focusing only on their weaknesses. We cannot excuse sin, but we should respect the positions of those in authority, whether at work, at church, or in government. First Thessalonians
10:14Throughout much of Saul’s reign, David was forced to hide from him (1 Samuel 19-30). During this time David had opportunities to kilt Saul (1 Samuel 24; 26) and to assume the throne that God had promised him (1 Samuel 16:1-13). But David trusted in God’s promise that he would be king in God’s good timing. It was not up to David to decide when Saul's reign woutd end. During the battle, God ended Saul’s reign just as he had promised.
10:14Why does this verse say that the LORD killed Saul, when Saul took his own life (1 Samuel 31:3, 4)? God had rejected Saul because of his stubbornness and rebellion (1 Samuel 15:22-26) and had judged him for his sins (1 Samuel 28:16-19). God arranged a defeat in battle so that Saul would die and his kingdom would be taken from his family. If Saul had not taken his own life, the Philistine soldiers would have killed him.
10:43,14in the account in 1 Samuel 28, Saul asked the LORD for guidance but received no answer; this account implies that he did not ask God for help. The answer to this apparent contradiction lies in understanding Saul’s motives and the timing of his request to God. His frantic requests came only when he had tried everything his own way. He never went to God unless there was nowhere else to turn. When he finally asked, God refused to answer. Saul sought God only when it suited him, and God rejected him for his constant stubbornness and rebellion.