1 Samuel 31:5 And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him.

March 5th, 2010 by Pastor Ed in devotional

The immediate terrible result of King Saul’s suicide is it’s influence on his young armor bearer who followed his example and fell into the same sin. In this chapter we are left to assume that Saul is successful in his suicide. However in 2 Samuel 1 we will be told that Saul is not yet dead. There a young Amalekites comes to David with Saul’s crown and bracelet and a story of how the king was leaning on his sword near death, but his life was still lingering. According to his story, Saul begged him to come near and kill him, and the young man obliged. Suicide always presents a struggle for those left behind and many ‘what if’ questions left unanswered. We believe that suicide is both the ultimate act of selfishness and Satan’s ultimate trap. The person takes matters into his own hands doing something that God does not allow any person to decide. This self-directed act of final control comes after a thought process something like, ‘I can’t control anything else around me so I’ll take control of it all by shutting it all off.’ How important it is for any person caught up in that kind of thinking to go to someone they trust in their life like a teacher, good friend, or relative and tell them. Saul’s suicide is the final expression of his faithlessness towards God. He should have called on God and fought on or at least surrendered, trusting God to get him through. David himself would later write the solution in Psalm 55:22, “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” David was depressed at this time over having been betrayed by a close friend as well as his own son seizing his throne. But even though David was struggling he recognized the only solution was to turn it over to God. By pushing over our burdens or difficulties in life onto the Lord we commit the ultimate act of faithfulness. We are saying that we trust God to give us the grace to get us through the struggle in front of us. And God will give the grace to persevere through the trial and will uphold the believer in the most difficult trials. Mountains will come into every ones life but if we will submit and place our burdens at the foot of the cross of Jesus, He will either remove that mountain or give us the strength to climb.  “LORD, You are the One we turn over our burdens to this day.”