Honor Rubs Off on the Giver
[8] The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa. [9] So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. [10] They put his armor in the temple of Ashtaroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. [11] But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, [12] all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. [13] And they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted seven days. (ESV)
1 Samuel 31:8–13 ESV Read More
Saul has fallen, along with his three sons, in a battle against the Philistines. After years of fighting, from Samuel and his thunderclaps, to Goliath’s fall, to the death of Saul, Israel has been a formidable enemy. To celebrate, they hang up the dead bodies to further dishonor Israel and Saul and the God of Israel.
It was all spiritual to these people. The temples of their gods and goddesses were closely aligned to their seats of government and commerce. To hang Saul’s armor up in a temple was like filling a trophy case of the might of their god. As the body decayed and birds came and picked at it, that would further the disgrace upon Saul and his family.
The men of Jabesh-gilead heard what had happened, from the battle to the final desecration of Saul. We don’t know how they heard, but many of the people of Israel had fled their homes as the army fell and the Philistines came into their cities. Numerous people had fled the battle with stories to tell. News of Saul dying would have hit Jabesh-gilead hard. They never forgot how Saul’s first act as king was to rescue their city from the Ammonites who wanted to blind one eye of every man in the city and take them as slaves.
These valiant men marched right into enemy territory, after a devastating war, and stole the trophy from the Philistines! That is a bold move! These guys are brave, and tough, and bold, and completely capable of heroic exploits…so where were they when Saul was falling in battle?
We get no explanation in the scriptures, but there is something there for us. These men honored Saul in his death, but would not follow him into battle. Maybe they weren’t chosen or maybe they chose to not follow for themselves, but they were not a part of Saul’s army.
Just because someone fights a battle that isn’t mine, doesn’t mean I have to dishonor them. These men honored Saul but avoided participating with him in his folly against the Lord. They are described here as heroes and later, when King David wants to honor Saul, he will honor them as he retrieves the bones from them.
There is honor and glory in honoring others. Even in honoring others that are not worthy of the honor you give them! Saul had fallen a long way from where he was when he was the hero of Jabesh-gilead, but the men and their sons and grandsons did not hold that against him. 40 years later, they honored him like the victorious king, not the madman who hated David and consulted a witch. May we hold honor and not grudges as well as the valiant men of Jabesh-gilead.
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