Exegesis of what happened to King Saul of Israel, the seven years of chaos after Saul, honoring Mephibosheth, the end of the House of Saul, and another Saul persecutes David’s lineage.
–– Saul dies in battle (2 versions)
One version is that Saul fell on his sword (1 Sam. 31 & 1 Chr. 10)
1 Sam. 31:3-6:: The battle became fierce against Saul. The archers hit him, and he was severely wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armorbearer, “Draw your sword, and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised men come and thrust me through and abuse me.” But his armorbearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell on it. When his armorbearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword, and died with him. So Saul, his three sons, his armorbearer, and all his men died together that same day.
Another version is that an Amalekite killed Saul (2 Sam. 1)
2 Sam. 1:1-2:: Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David had returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had stayed two days in Ziklag, on the third day, behold, it happened that a man came from Saul’s camp with his clothes torn and dust on his head.
2 Sam. 1:10:: I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown that was on his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord.
So why two versions? Was the Amalekite lying? Did he think he would be rewarded? The idea of Saul having fallen could be that even after falling on his sword he did not die right away and so the Amalekite’s testimony was true. After Saul being finished off by the Amalekite the armorbearer also killed himself. It is also possible the Amalekite was just plain lying and thought David despised Saul because Saul tried to kill him so many times. Thinking of rewards, he hands over Saul’s armament and gives his testimony. David had him executed on the spot. He was probably lying to try to curry favor and reward from David. He was not rewarded.
The mention of another 3 days according to the probably false narrative of the Amalekite does make me wonder if on the third day when David caught up to the Amalekites was about the same day that Saul met his demise at the hands of the Philisteans. For Saul continued to attack the wrong enemy. David prevailed Saul got defeated.2 Sam. 4:10 supports the idea that the Amalekite was executed during the two days David remained in Ziklag. The Philistines continued to be a thorn in the side of Israel until the time of Hezekiah.
A lying spirit got into the jewish rulers in the time of Yeshua’s death. They had a false narrative spread abroad that the disciples of Yeshua stole away his body in the night (Matt. 28:12-15). They were given a large sum of money to spread this lie. The jews continue to be a thorn in the side of Apostle Paul for much of his ministry. This lie eventually resulted in the death of over 1 million jews according to Josephus. For we must not lie about things, for that lie will eventually catch up with us. It is only by grace did David survive.
— Seven years of the split kingdom under King David (respecting Saul’s son)
There was a long war between the leaders of Saul’s army (2 Sam. 3:1). It is a very confusing and chaotic period for Israel and Judah. The imporant thing is ‘David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul grew weaker and weaker’.
In the first four chapters of 2 Samuel there was much chaos in Judah and Israel. There was fighting between the generals of David and Ishbosheth, David took back Mical as wife despite her new husbands grief, Joab (David’s general) murders Abner (Saul’s general). This is because Abner killed Joab’s brother. Eventually Ishbosheth got murdered by his own captains. David even had chaos in his own camp with the sons of Zuruaih and even with Abner. Let’s review what happened politically.
2 Sam. 2:10-11:: Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. Only the house of Judah followed David. The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.
So if this is accurate what happened to the other five years that David reined in Hebron? I believe that the text in 2 Sam. 2:8-9 gives us a clue: Abner the son of Ner, commander of Saul’s army, took Ishbosheth the son of Saul and brought him over to Mahanaim; and he made him king. Isbosheth reined because of Abner!
2 Sam. 3:7-10:: Saul had a concubine, whose name was Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. So Ishbosheth said to Abner, “Why have you gone in to my father’s concubine?” Then Abner became very angry at the words of Ishbosheth, and said, “Am I a dog’s head that belongs to Judah? Today I show loyalty to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not delivered you into the hand of David; and you charge me today with a fault concerning this woman? May God do so to Abner, and more also, if I do not do for David as the LORD has sworn to him— to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah
So in essence Abner transferred the rule of all Israel over to King David yet David was never going to disrespect the prodigy of Saul.
2 Sam. 5:4-5:: David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. In Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty-three years over all Israel and Judah.
David respected the children of Saul enough to not disturb Ishbosheth’s rule until he died about five years later.
Even leaders of Sauls troops seemed to disregard Ishbosheth after awhile and fled the area before formenting sedition. When sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah killed Ishbosheth and beheaded him it did not go well with them, just as it did not for the Amalekite who lied about killing Saul.
David commanded his young men, and they executed them (Rechab and Baanah), cut off their hands and feet, and hanged them by the pool in Hebron. But they took the head of Ishbosheth and buried it in the tomb of Abner in Hebron (2 Sam. 4:12)
The idea of a legacy to you children or even children’s children is not new and probably event in the life of David gave rise to subequent wisdom:
Prov. 13:22:: A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
Prov. 22:6:: Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
However, it remains to be seen how good Saul was. Anointings cannot be transferred because of heritage despite David’s honor to the house of Saul.
Sometimes we see in church empires leaders trying to transfer the kingdom to their sons. This can occur as did David leave a legacy to Solomon but it can often fail when it comes to Saul transferring the kingdom to Ishbosheth. One key difference here was David was a man after God’s own heart so tranfer was godly. Saul did not have that kind of kingdom. A transfer to Jonathan could have been honored and was through Mephisobeth. Yet it skipped a generation due to a son honoring an ungodly father. So Jonathan died before fulfilling his destiny.
— Mephibosheth (the last son to be honored)
Another (grand)Son of Saul gets honored even longer than Ishbosheth:
2 Sam. 4:4:: Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel; and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.
2 Sam. 9:1:: David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
We hear that Mephibosheth was to eat at the king’s table all of the days of his life for David had made a covenant with Jonathan (1 Sam. 18:3) and even between their descendants.
1 Sam. 20:42:: Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants, forever
Despite David and Jonathan have a love like no spouse only through Mephibosheth was the covenant to Jonathan fulfilled. This is a case of delayed fulfillment. Following an ungodly father can skip a blessing despite godly friendships.
— More death in the House of Saul
In 2 Sam. 21 we read about seven offspring of Saul being murdered by the Gibeonites. If you remember, the Gibeonites are ones who made a covenant with Joshua when the children of Israel came into Canaan. It was a ruse but the covenant of peace remained intact, at least until King Saul violated the agreement.
2 Sam. 21:2: the Gibeonites were not of the children of Israel, but of the remnant of the Amorites; the children of Israel had sworn protection to them, but Saul had sought to kill them in his zeal for the children of Israel and Judah.
I won’t go into detail on the seven grandchildren of Saul murdered by the Gibeonites but to say two were of Saul’s concubine Aiah and five of Saul daughter Michal (or Merab). This might have ended the house of Saul save for Mephibosheth.
In verse 1 it says there was a famine in the days of David for three years, year after year; and David inquired of the LORD. And the LORD answered, “It is because of Saul and his bloodthirsty house, because he killed the Gibeonites.
Even when Shimei the son of Gera of the house of Saul cursed David and threw stones at him, claiming that David murdered the house of Saul, David left him alone (2 Sam. 16:10). This protection, however, did not extend to all Benjamites like Sheba the son of Bichri (2 Sam. 20).
The Lord in many ways protected David from having to deal with Saul and his descendants. Yet, David either protected descendants like Mephiboseth or others murdered the family of Saul. David had nothing to do with the death of Saul and his sons at the battle of Gilboa because of God’s mercy and providence (the Philistine princes rejecting David).
— Another Saul persecutes the lineage of David
Many years later there was another Saul, one of Tarshish who was also a Benjamite. I want to make a posit here that in some ways the house of Saul represents greater Israel which got scattered throughout the world. Many joined King David of Judah as did Abner, just as many joined Judah after the Babylonian captivity. It would take 1000 years after David for greater Israel to reach out again after the death of Yeshua when Apostle Paul takes up the mantle for Benjamin to spread the influence of Israel into the world. Ben-jamin means ‘son of my right hand’. This is prophetic for Psalm 110 when King David stated this:
The LORD said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand (yāmîm),
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool (Ps. 110:1)
So I maintain that it was necessary for a Benjamite named Saul to be involved in the spread of the gospel to the whole world. Remember it is Saul of Yeshua’s day which pursued and persecuted Yeshua’s church. In Paul’s own words he said “we all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice say to me in Hebrew, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me'” (Acts 9:4).
In many ways Apostle Saul replays persecuting David, at least until his encounter on the road to Damascus.
Sources:
https://www.gotquestions.org/David-and-Ish-bosheth.html
https://nshorechurch.com/2020/10/21/the-life-of-david-sauls-massacre-at-nob-10-18-20/