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Speaker 1: I'm John Stangi, and today we're in First Chronicles, chapter ten,
Speaker 1: and we'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Now,
Speaker 1: the Philistines attacked Israel, and the men of Israel fled
Speaker 1: before them. Many were slaughtered on the slopes of Mount Gilboa.
Speaker 1: The Philistines closed in on Saul and his sons, and
Speaker 1: they killed three of his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malkishua.
Speaker 1: The fighting grew very fierce around Saul, and the Philistine
Speaker 1: archers caught up with him and wounded him. Saul grown
Speaker 1: to his armor, bear, take your sword and kill me
Speaker 1: before these pagan Philistines come to taunt and torture me.
Speaker 1: But his armor bearer was afraid and would not do it.
Speaker 1: So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
Speaker 1: When his armor bearer realized that Saul was dead, he
Speaker 1: fell on his own sword and died. So Saul and
Speaker 1: his three sons died there together, bringing his dynasty to
Speaker 1: an end. When all the Israelites in the Jezreel Valley
Speaker 1: saw that their army had fled and that Saul and
Speaker 1: his sons were dead. They abandoned their towns and fled,
Speaker 1: so the Philistines moved in and occupied their towns. The
Speaker 1: next day, when the Philistines went out to strip the dead,
Speaker 1: they found the bodies of Saul and his sons on
Speaker 1: Mount Gilboa. So they stripped off Saul's armor and cut
Speaker 1: off his head. Then they proclaimed the good news of
Speaker 1: Saul's death before their idols and to the people throughout
Speaker 1: the land of Pelistia. They placed his armor in the
Speaker 1: temple of their gods, and they fastened his head to
Speaker 1: the Temple of Dagon. But when everyone in Jabish Gilead
Speaker 1: heard about everything the Philistines had done to Saul, all
Speaker 1: their mighty warriors brought the bodies of Saul and his
Speaker 1: sons back to Jabesh. Then they buried their bones beneath
Speaker 1: the Great Tree at Jabesh, and they fasted for seven days.
Speaker 1: So Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord.
Speaker 1: He failed to obey the Lord's command, and he even
Speaker 1: consulted a medium instead of asking the Lord for guidance.
Speaker 1: So the Lord killed him and turned the kingdom over
Speaker 1: to David son of Jesse. Let's pray, Lord, we thank
Speaker 1: you for your word, and we thank you for the
Speaker 1: privilege of being able to look at this chapter of
Speaker 1: scripture today. And we're thankful Lord that we have the
Speaker 1: opportunity to see this account of what happened to Saul.
Speaker 1: We know Lord, that you raised up Saul and you
Speaker 1: gave him the opportunity to be king over Israel, but
Speaker 1: he disobeyed you, unfaithful to you. He consulted a medium
Speaker 1: instead of asking you for guidance, and you revealed to
Speaker 1: him that you were going to take the kingdom away
Speaker 1: from him. And that's exactly what you did, and this
Speaker 1: scripture records it, and you turn the kingdom over to David.
Speaker 1: And when we look at what scripture tells us, we're
Speaker 1: told that David was a man after your own heart.
Speaker 1: And David ruled and reigned over your kingdom, but he
Speaker 1: was a picture of a greater king who was to come,
Speaker 1: one who would come through David's line, and who would
Speaker 1: rule and who would reign with perfect righteousness, and all
Speaker 1: the nations would come before him, and every tongue would
Speaker 1: confess that he is Lord to your glory, and we
Speaker 1: know Lord that that was fulfilled and is being fulfilled
Speaker 1: in the person of your son Jesus Christ, who is
Speaker 1: the greater King to come, the greatest King of all.
Speaker 1: So Lord, we're grateful for the fact that we have
Speaker 1: the privilege to experience a relationship with you through your
Speaker 1: son Jesus Christ. And we pray that every single day
Speaker 1: that we live would be a day that we would
Speaker 1: put you first, that we would be faithful to you,
Speaker 1: even though many who have come before us have not
Speaker 1: been faithful. But we know Lord that that faithfulness can
Speaker 1: only be prompted by the power of your son Jesus
Speaker 1: Christ at work in us through your Holy Spirit. So
Speaker 1: we pray Lord that that would be the case in
Speaker 1: our lives today and every day. And we commit this
Speaker 1: day to your care, and we thank you for your
Speaker 1: presence with us. We pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.