Old Testament 2 Lesson 6

himself was wounded by an arrow. He commanded his armour-bearer to
finish killing him, “lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through,
and abuse me.” However, the armour-bearer was afraid to do so. Then, Saul
fell upon his own sword, and died. The armour-bearer, seeing his master was
dead, did likewise (I Samuel 31:1-6).
When the Philistines came and found Saul dead, they cut off his head,
and stripped off his armour, and sent them to be exhibited in the land of
the Philistines. His armour was put in the house of Ashtaroth (a goddess),
and his body was fastened to the wall of Beth-shan, a city of Mannaseh that
Israel had never been able to conquer and possess.
When the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard of that which the Philistines
had done, the valiant men among them rose up and stole the bodies of Saul
and his sons from off the wall of the city, and came to Jabesh, and burnt
them there. Then they buried their bones under a tree at Jabesh, and fasted
for seven days as an act of mourning (I Samuel 31:8-13).
DAVID HEARS OF THE DEATH OF SAUL AND
JONATHAN
On the third day after David and his men had returned to Ziklag, a man
came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent (torn to show grief),
and earth upon his head. He fell down to the earth before David. He told
David that he had escaped from the battle. David asked how the battle went,
and the man replied that Saul and Jonathan were dead.
When David was convinced that the man was telling the truth, he tore his
clothes, and all the others around him did likewise. They mourned and
wept until evening for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of
the LORD that were killed in the battle (II Samuel 1:1-12).
The following is the lamentation that David lamented over the death of
Saul and Jonathan:
The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!
Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of
the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you,
nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the
shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.
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