S) "4 Then Saul said to his armor bearer, 'Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, otherwise these uncircumcised will come and abuse me.' But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he likewise fell on his sword and died."
1 Chronicles 10:4-5 (NASB)
O) To the last, Saul was fearful and foolish. He was going to die that day regardless (see 1 Samuel 28:19), but Saul took his own life in arrogance. Like he had done at other points in his life, he still tried to pass the buck, and he commanded his armor bearer to kill him; which brings up another point.
His armor bearer, like David, refused to kill his king, although the LORD was clearly against him. The question, though, is why exactly. David always refused because God had put Saul on the throne, and David deferred to the LORD to remove him from the throne. David would not strike against God's elected king, even knowing that he had been anointed to replace him. This armor bearer, though, was "greatly afraid." But, the Bible doesn't say, exactly, what he feared. He feared the consequences of killing the reigning king, but was it the fear of the LORD? or the fear of man? What makes this especially perplexing, is that in the next verse, he kills himself. He clearly did not fear death itself, because he takes his own life. If his fear of killing Saul was truly a fear of the LORD, it seems likely to me that he would have fled the scene and tried to live. However, if he feared being caught by the enemy, or possibly being caught by Israelites who found him next to their dead king, then his fears might have been about a fate worse than death (extreme torture, for example).
A) There are a few key things to take away from this passage. First, from Saul, I need to remember that arrogance is deadly. It will cause me to do stupid things which can cost me my life. I know this is an extreme example, but even in small doses, arrogance is dangerous. Second, from his armor bearer, I cannot be afraid to stand up for what I know is right. I think, based on David's examples of sparing Saul, the armor bearer was right to stay his hand; however, it was for the wrong reasons. That brings me to the third point, again from the armor bearer. I need to be sure that I am always fearing the LORD more than I am fearing man. Jesus warned us, in Matthew 10:28, that the wrath of man is nothing compared to the wrath of God.
P) Father, keep me from arrogance and pride, which I know will cause my own destruction. Remind me, by Your Spirit, that such sin, as all sin, is truly deadly. There are no victimless crimes, and there are no harmless sins. Father, I confess that I do not fear You as I should. I know, in my head, that You are mighty and powerful; I rely on that acknowledgement when it's for my own benefit. Help me to believe it with my whole heart, though, to behave in such a way that submits to Your sovereignty over my own life. Open my eyes to see how awesome and overwhelming Your glory really is. Help me focus and remember how easily I can be consumed by Your holiness, if not for the blood of Christ. Thank You for sparing me, in Your grace and mercy. Thank You for providing me with the cover of the righteousness of Your Son. In Jesus's name I pray. Amen.
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