Bringing Honor from Back When Saul was Honorable
[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. 1 Samuel 31:11–13 ESV
When Saul was killed in a battle against the Philistines, they found his body the next day and hung it up on the wall of one of their cities as a trophy. It was a difficult and not the most honorable death, and now the shame is multiplied with this mockery. God had given up on Saul being king at this point and had even told Saul ahead of time that he was going to die.
The men of Jabesh-Gilead heard that this had happened and travelled non-stop through the night to rescue the body of Saul and give him a proper burial. These were the men that called out to Saul for a rescue 42 years earlier, when he was just at the start of being a king. They were threatened to be blinded if they didn’t make a treaty, so Saul gathered the first army of his kingdom and rescued the city. The victorious army and the rescued city gathered others, they crowned Saul king, and he had reigned ever since.
God had regretted making Saul king. Plenty of mistakes, of trying to do his own thing and make it look religious, passivity, rebellion all led to Saul’s downfall. Throughout all of that, though, David respected the king that God had put in place. Now that Saul has died, there is one other group that still has respect for Saul, and that is the men of Jabesh-Gilead. Anybody in Israel could have now looked to the new king. Anybody could have just let Saul’s body rot on that Philistine wall.
At some point, the time for grudges, bitterness, and remembering failures has to move on. These men, at the risk of their own lives, were determined to give Saul an honorable burial. Anybody could have stopped them, “C’mon, Saul killed his thousands but David killed ten thousands! Let’s go find David and bring him back, not the body of Saul.” But they would not have it.
The names of the complimenters are written here, but the names of the critics are not. Romans 13:7 says to give honor to those who deserve honor. Over 42 years Saul hadn’t always been honorable, but note that in giving honor to Saul for a good thing he did long ago also brought some honor back to the men of Jabesh-Gilead.
Do you know some dishonorable people that actually did some good things years ago? You might not have the luxury of 42 years, but ask God to help you overlook their recent folly. Giving honor makes more honor, and all honor and authority comes from God. Some of it might carry over to others as well.