1 Chronicles 10:8

1Ch 10:8 And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in mount Gilboa.

Ver. 8. And it came to pass on the morrow.] They flew not on the spoil, till they had secured the victory: for

“ Victorem a victo superari saepe videmus. ”

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Ch_10:8-10

And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul.

A good beginning with a bad ending

Many men begin with influential parentage, social station, ample education, pecuniary competence, yet they travel a downhill road, falling first into neglect and then into oblivion. Physical greatness, social security, public applause are being continually rebuked, humiliated, and put to shame. The proverb wisely says, Call no man happy until he is dead. The meaning is that at the very best a man may make a slip which will bring his whole life into degradation in every sense of the term. There is but a step between man and death--not physical death only, but the death of character, reputation, and influence. It remains with each man to say whether a good beginning shall have a good ending. This is a question of personal discipline, holy fellowship with God, and an acceptance of all processes which have been divinely established for the training and sanctification of man. The word comes with special urgency to young persons, to men of influence, to successful men, and to all who are plied by the temptations incident to high station and wide influence. (J. Parker, D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hebrew, fallen.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Here, I. From the triumph of the Philistines over the body of Saul we may learn, 1. That the greater dignity men are advanced to the greater disgrace they are in danger of falling into. Saul's dead body, because he was king, was abused more than any other of the slain. Advancement makes men a mark for malice. 2. That, if we give not to God the glory of our successes, even the Philistines will rise up in judgment against us and condemn us; for, when they had obtained a victory over Saul, they sent tidings to their idols - poor idols, that knew not what was done a few miles off till the tidings were brought to them, nor then either! They also put Saul's armour in the house of their gods, Ch1 10:10. Shall Dagon have so honourable a share in their triumphs and the true and living God be forgotten in ours?

II. From the triumph of the men of Jabesh-Gilead in the rescue of the bodies of Saul and his sons we learn that there is a respect due to the remains of the deceased, especially of deceased princes. We are not to enquire concerning the eternal state; that must be left to God: but we must treat the dead body as those who remember it has been united to an immortal soul and must be so again.

III. From the triumphs of divine Justice in the ruin of Saul we may learn, 1. That the sin of sinners will certainly find them out, sooner or later: Saul died for his transgression. 2. That no man's greatness can exempt him from the judgments of God. 3. Disobedience is a killing thing. Saul died for not keeping the word of the Lord, by which he was ordered to destroy the Amalekites. 4. Consulting with witches is a sin that fills the measure of iniquity as soon as any thing. Saul enquired of one that had a familiar spirit, and enquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him, Ch1 10:13, Ch1 10:14. Saul slew himself, and yet it is said, God slew him. What is done by wicked hands is yet done by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. Those that abandon themselves to the devil shall be abandoned to him; so shall their doom be. It is said (Sa1 28:6) that Saul did enquire of the Lord and he answered him not: but here it is said, Saul did not enquire of God; for he did not till he was brought to the last extremity, and then it was too late.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(8) His sons.—Samuel, “his three sons.” Otherwise the two verses are word for word the same.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And his sons. The parallel (1Sa_31:8) says explicitly, "And his three sons."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The Triumph of the Philistines

v. 8. And it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, to make the customary plunder of personal belongings, that they found Saul and his sons fallen in Mount Gilboa.

v. 9. And when they had stripped him, they took his head, and his armor, and sent into the land of the Philistines round about, to carry tidings unto their idols, to whom they attributed this victory, and to the people.

v. 10. And they put his armor in the house of their gods, in the temple of Astarte, as trophies of the great victory, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon, their chief god, while the trunk was affixed to the wall of Beth-shan, 1Sa 31:10.

v. 11. And when all Jabesh-gilead, the inhabitants of the city east of Jordan, which owed so much to Saul, heard all that the Philistines had done to Saul,

v. 12. they arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, from the wall of Beth-shan, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days, in token of mourning. Cf 1Sa 31:11-13.

v. 13. So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, 1Sa 13:13, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it, 1Sa 28:1;

v. 14. and enquired not of the Lord, namely, after sound repentance; therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David, the son of Jesse. Rejecting the Word of God is equivalent to rejecting the Lord Himself and is followed by the same punishment. A professed Christian who seeks the advice of the modern necromancers and fortune-tellers by that fact sets aside his Christian faith, sinning against the Second Commandment.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.