The Death of King Saul (1 Samuel 28:15-19; 31:1-13)

2026-02-07

Here, we consider the death of King Saul. It did not come unexpectantly; Saul was told that he would die. Let us look at the prophecy and then the fulfillment.

The Prophecy of Saul’s Death

And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me, to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams: therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. (16) Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? (17) And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me: for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbour, even to David: (18) Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the LORD done this thing unto thee this day. (19) Moreover the LORD will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and to morrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: the LORD also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. (1 Samuel 28:15-19)

Saul had tried to get answers from the LORD concerning an upcoming battle with the Philistines, but He never gave any answer. Though he had previously ridden the land of all those with familiar spirits (think witchdoctor sorts of things), the king thought he could force an answer by contacting the recently deceased prophet, Samuel. He went to a woman who had a familiar spirit, or someone who claimed to have contact with the spirit world.

This is very bad. The Scriptures say this concerning the matter: “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:27). This is not to be cruel to these people that are being put to death; this is to protect the congregation from a very dark evil. This is Satanism.

This is a typical animistic approach. The peoples of the world think that the Creator God is aloof, and that He does not, will not, or cannot answer, so they go to the spirit world for answers to survive in this world. Saul knew better than the animists, but he was desperate. “If God won’t answer me, I will go to someone who will.”

The woman with the familiar spirit called up the deceased Samuel and seemed surprised when he showed up. This was different from what normally happened in these situations. “And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul” (1 Samuel 28:12). Maybe in the past she saw demons or maybe she was altogether a con artist, but this time was different, because God allowed Samuel to appear. To go beyond what we see in this passage is speculation. We can see that this was a special case that God allowed Samuel’s appearance and this was not the normal experience when contacting the spirit world.

The LORD Is Departed from Thee

Why was Saul “sore distressed”? He had fought the Philistines before. Knowing that God would not answer him anymore made him feel alone and hopeless. As you continue to walk away from God, you begin to despair.

“...the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?” Here was a man who had become king and was once anointed with the Spirit. God was then Saul’s enemy. God is the enemy of sinners, and only by faith do we receive any mercy. The king continually walked away from God starting years before; it appears this sin of necromancy was the final straw with the LORD.

Become Thine Enemy

Why was Saul God’s enemy according to this context? Because of disobedience. Samuel reaffirmed the transfer of the kingdom from Saul to David because “Because thou obeyedst not the voice of the LORD, nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek.” Recall these two events, first of which was Saul’s sacrifice:

Therefore said I, The Philistines will come down now upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the LORD: I forced myself therefore, and offered a burnt offering. (13) And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever. (14) But now thy kingdom shall not continue: the LORD hath sought him a man after his own heart, and the LORD hath commanded him to be captain over his people, because thou hast not kept that which the LORD commanded thee. (1 Samuel 13:12-14)

And again, when Saul did not destroy the king of Amalek and all the spoil:

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly. (10) Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying, (11) It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments. And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night. (1 Samuel 15:9-11)

The Host of Israel Fell

The deceased Samuel prophesied from the grave that Saul and his sons would die, and all Israel would be delivered to the Philistines. What he said came to pass. Saul feared greatly, but he still went to battle, and he died there.

Here is the account of Israel’s defeat:

Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. (2) And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. (1 Samuel 31:1-2)

We see the army fled, but the enemy pursued Saul’s sons and they died. This included three of Saul’s sons, the potential heirs of the kingdom. Saul’s other son, Ishbosheth, survived and became king of the northern kingdom.

And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. (4) Then said Saul unto his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it. (5) And when his armourbearer saw that Saul was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, and died with him. (6) So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armourbearer, and all his men, that same day together. (1 Samuel 31:3-6)

The king was hit by arrows and severely wounded. Knowing he would die, both by his wounds and by the prophecy, he wanted the armorbearer to kill him.

Why would Saul want to be killed? He wanted to avoid being tortured by the Philistines. Saul could not escape because of his severe wounds, and he would fall into their hands.

The Philistines were cruel people. Of Samson’s fiancée, we read, “Then the Philistines said, Who hath done this? And they answered, Samson, the son in law of the Timnite, because he had taken his wife, and given her to his companion. And the Philistines came up, and burnt her and her father with fire” (Judges 15:6). Of Samson himself: “But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house” (Judges 16:21). Saul would have known this history, and he avoided its repeat by dying.

Saul also likely did not want to be defeated by the heathen: “lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through.” Even in his rebellion, he would not want their gods to get the credit for slaying their enemy, though they attempted that credit anyway.

Why did the armorbearer not kill his master? “But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid.” Why afraid? Perhaps he was like David and would not lay his hands on the LORD’s anointed. Perhaps also he would be accused of murder. His own suicide suggests this may be a reason. Compare this with the Amalekite that told David that he killed Saul, and how he met his doom, thinking he would have been promoted.

The Men of Israel Flee

And when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley, and they that were on the other side Jordan, saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. (1 Samuel 31:7)

In addition to the army that fled and fell, all the Israelites in the area and on the other side of the river all fled. If the army and the king and his sons could not stand before the Philistines, they reasoned that they could not either. The Philistines then took those abandoned cities.

Jabeshgilead Remembers Saul’s Favor

And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in mount Gilboa. (9) And they cut off his head, and stripped off his armour, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people. (10) And they put his armour in the house of Ashtaroth: and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. (11) And when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of that which 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 Bethshan, and came to Jabesh, and burnt them there. (13) And they took their bones, and buried them under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. (1 Samuel 31:8-13)

Saul’s fears were warranted. He was beheaded and his body shamefully fastened to a wall. They shamelessly credited their fake gods to this victory. His armor was placed in a pagan temple. The display of his stripped body in Bethshan would be a warning to the Philistines’ enemies. This was significant because these false gods were receiving worship because of the fall of Israel. The real reason for the defeat was the rebellion of King Saul.

The men of Jabesh remembered Saul’s act of valiance in delivering them from the Ammonites. “And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together” (1 Samuel 11:11). These men crossed the river Jordan to get the bodies of Saul and his sons, burying them properly in Jabesh. These men were later commended by King David. “And David sent messengers unto the men of Jabeshgilead, and said unto them, Blessed be ye of the LORD, that ye have shewed this kindness unto your lord, even unto Saul, and have buried him” (2 Samuel 2:5).

These men were valiant because they crossed into a territory now occupied by the enemy to retrieve the body of Saul. They could have stayed home, but they risked their lives to get the body of their master.