Don’t Lose Out
“On the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head. So it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the ground and prostrated himself” (2 Samuel 1:2).
No battle is filled with more shame than at Gilboa. Herein is where Jonathan and his father Saul, the King of Israel, died. Saul was deserted by the Lord and the Philistines ransacked the nation and Saul preferred suicide than to fall into the hands of his enemy.
A more noble death could have been Saul’s tenure. Yet he continually refused the Word and will of the Lord, for he rebelled and reneged on his only hope. We should pray, “Lord, help us to end well.” Saul had a good beginning but it had a terrible ending.
One can start in light and end in darkness, begin with great courage and end in fear, to start with wisdom and fall into folly and foolishness. David ended his life in great standing before God. Though David was a great sinner we learn that David had a great Savior. He prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
Defeat, death, and disgrace hounded Saul because Saul chose to disdain God’s chastening hand. He lost his crown, his life, his family, and his nation. Saul lost what he could have found. Let us end well.
