1 Chronicles 10:1-7: a reflection

1Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain on Mount Gilboa. 2The Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul. 3The battle went hard against Saul, and the archers overtook him; and he was distressed by reason of the archers. 4Then 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. 5When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died. 6So Saul died with his three sons; and all his house died together. 7When 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.

This passage records the tragic end of King Saul. Defeated by the Philistines on Mount Gilboa, his sons killed, wounded and surrounded, Saul dies by his own hand rather than fall into enemy hands, and his armor-bearer dies with him. It is a grim and sorrowful end. And the chronicler will go on to explain the deeper cause: Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, for a life that had begun with such promise but turned away from God. The trajectory that began in disobedience ended here, in defeat and death.

Notice the sorrowful trajectory of Saul's life. He had begun as God's chosen king, with every advantage and great promise; but he turned from God, disobeyed, grew jealous and fearful, and gradually drifted far from the God who had raised him up. And the drift that began small ended here, in tragedy. Saul's end was not a sudden reversal, but the culmination of a long turning away from God; the trajectory that began in disobedience carried him, over years, to this grim end.

That sobering trajectory is a warning worth heeding. A life can begin with great promise, with every advantage, and yet, through a gradual turning from God, come to a tragic end. Saul's story reminds us that the small turnings from God, the disobediences we excuse, the drift we do not correct, have a direction, and that direction, unchecked, leads away from God and toward ruin. Do not presume on a good beginning, or excuse the small turnings from God, thinking they lead nowhere. Saul began well but turned away, and his turning, unchecked, led to tragedy. Take care where your small turnings from God are heading; a life is not secured by its promising start, but by faithfulness continued to the end. Guard against the drift that carried Saul, from a promising beginning to a sorrowful end, by turning back to God wherever you have begun to turn away.

Lord, this passage records the tragic end of Saul, defeated and dying on Mount Gilboa, the culmination of a life that began with great promise but turned away from you; he died, the chronicler says, for his unfaithfulness. Let that sobering trajectory warn me. A life can begin with great promise, with every advantage, and yet, through a gradual turning from you, come to a tragic end. Saul's story reminds me that the small turnings from you, the disobediences I excuse, the drift I do not correct, have a direction, and that direction, unchecked, leads away from you and toward ruin. Keep me from presuming on a good beginning, or excusing the small turnings from you, thinking they lead nowhere. Saul began well but turned away, and his turning, unchecked, led to tragedy. Help me take care where my small turnings from you are heading; a life is not secured by its promising start, but by faithfulness continued to the end. Guard me against the drift that carried Saul from a promising beginning to a sorrowful end, and help me turn back to you wherever I have begun to turn away. Keep me faithful to the end, Lord.