1 Chronicles 10:1-14
Much of Chronicles was written in the books of I and II Kings. The original purpose of the return to the first kings of Israel was meant to boost spiritual morale, to remind the children of Israel of their history with God. Seventy years of captivity has ended, it is essential that they reestablish their nation through their covenant with God.
In 1 Samuel 8:4-5, the children of Israel request a human king to rule over them, "Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah, and said to him, “Look, you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.” The children of Israel changed their priority: instead of wanting to be like God, they desired to be like the people around them. In 1 John 2:5 Jesus warned us of loving the way of the world. The values of the world are opposite the core values God impresses upon us; therefore, they lead to an entirely different, opposite, quality of life. God and the prophet Samuel also warned of the consequences of human kings: their fickle and selfish nature would taint and destroy, 1 Samuel 8:9-18. They did not heed the caution of God, 1 Samuel 8:19-20.
In 1 Kings 12, the tribes of the children of Israel split into two houses: Israel and Judah. Israel became the northern kingdom, comprised of 10 of the tribes; Judah became the southern kingdom, comprised of the other two tribes. In 1 Kings 11:31-32 God reveals that He is aware of the coming separation. The division is another consequence of their insistence on a man king. The sovereign God meets the needs of all but politics embroil the election of human kings. They received their wish: they became like other nations, constantly warring against each other, isolating themselves, and suffering the reign of incapable kings.
Deuteronomy 17:14-20 contains instructions for the kings that would come. Not only did the kings over Israel and Judah neglect each one, they ignored the most important, Deuteronomy 17:18-20:
“Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment to the right hand or to the left, and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel.
If they could have kept that one command, well... if we could keep that one command, life would be entirely different. We would live in an entirely different society and world. If they could have kept that command, they would not have rendered themselves vulnerable to the sin which desires to devour them. Separate from God, they became slaves to their desires, turning down any avenue, no matter how corrupt, to satisfy their slave-drivers.
An intimate, consistent and ever-evolving relationship with God provides the wisdom lack, but need, to live joyful and productive lives. Peaceful lives. Righteous lives. We just do not have, naturally, the complete information we need to succeed in joy in life. But God has it all figured out because He created all. He figured it. Proverbs 1:1-7:
To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
God provides that wisdom. He ensures our understanding. He had it written down for those kings and He has it written down for us. He has put together this incredible, all-encompassing guide to life, to joy, to productivity, purpose, wisdom and love. There is no more relevant or comprehensive work.
The children of Israel and Judah are crawling out of captivity and the writer of Chronicles hopes that they will step into the light. That they will crawl from the cave of discipline and consequence and into understanding and commitment, finally, to a covenant with God. Chronicles is meant to show how when a king and nation lived united in righteousness under God, they prospered.
10:1 The first king of the children of Israel, Saul, lived a selfish life. He began humbly but power and wealth made him desperate and insecure, reliant on the way of the world rather than the way of God. His refusal to follow the instructions God gave him to protect the kingdom resulted in vulnerability to enemies.
10:2-3 We began this book with Israel (not yet divided) in a bad place: dead and dying at the hand of their enemies. Saul's sons are killed and Saul himself is hit and wounded by an arrow. Their king is pierced, the entire kingdom in a precarious condition.
10:4 Saul succumbs immediately to his wound; there is no more fight left in him. The strong spirit of Saul diminished throughout his life, in each choice he made that stifled rather than nourished it. Even in this final and desperate moment, Saul does not consult God. Saul commands his armor-bearer to finish him. The man refuses to kill his king, so Saul pushes himself onto his own sword. This is rather a symbolic death, Saul caused his own end: every time he chose sin, he rejected life.
10:5 In the midst of absolute chaos and strife, the armor-bearer also kills himself. There is no hope in these men because there is no God in these men.
10:6 Saul's family dies. Saul's line will not continue the kingship. This is partially orchestrated by God. Saul and his family could have retained the kingdom if they were obedient to the True Sovereign of the kingdom: God. But God would not allow a corrupt family to lead his people indefinitely. God knows our hearts even before we are born; He could already see a better leader for this group. David, who, through his faith, would set a precedent for future kings and nations.
God does not punish children for the actions of their parents, Ezekiel 18:20 and Jeremiah 31:30. Saul's family would no longer inherit the kingdom but that does not mean that God did not have other important purposes for them. Just because one may not be qualified to lead, does not mean they are not suitably qualified for something else. Saul's sons die because their father led their kingdom into war, not because God dismissed them for their relation to Saul.
10:7 The panicked and distraught Israel fled at the news of the death of their king. The King that could lead them out of their situation was very much alive, but God was not consulted and thus the enemy made a home in the abandoned territory. Do not let enemies camp in your territory! God encamps around His children, Psalm 34:7, blocking our enemies from entrance. We rarely realize when allow enemies in because it happens in small moments. The small moments when we give in to anger, fear or desire open doors for desolation to enter: one, then two and suddenly an army is camped in our lives. This army manifests itself in different ways. For the children of Israel, it is a literal army. But any sin allowed to become a system, a lifestyle, in a nation or an individual is an army.
God does not want to see us crawling away in desperation for rough and impromptu shelter. He does not want us to live, cringing on the outskirts of our own lives. Through scripture, He shows His heart and provides a way for us to remain the masters of our own territory. The events of the Old Testament occurred as examples for us, 1 Corinthians 10:6, so that these things never happen to us.
10:8-10 As evil always will, Psalm 13:4, the Philistine boast their victory over Israel. But we can see what neither the Philistines nor the Israelites could yet see: the Philistines did not so much earn a victory as the children of Israel surrendered theirs. There is no result of defeat for children of God. Our weakness even reinforces God's strength, 2 Corinthians 12:10. If our borders are ever broken, it is because we walked out of God's sphere of protection.
10:11-12 Saul is taken down and buried. The Philistines might have delighted in his death but God does not find fulfillment it. God wants us to avoid this inevitable result of corruption, that is why He tries to prepare and discipline us so vehemently! The Philistines gave Saul a fatal wound but Saul had begun dying a spiritual death long before that. Saul refused the intervention of God's healing and instructive Hand in the moments that could have truly saved his life.
10:13-14 So Saul died for his unfaithfulness... Saul did not re-prioritize his life. He did not stifle his desire for wealth, fame or power. He allowed those things to grow and fester until they consumed his mind and then his life. He neglected the guidance of God, the philosophy of God and he therefore did not have the material, tools or aptitude to deny, escape, extinguish the things which stole his soul.
