1 Chronicles Chapter 10

"Now the Philistines fought against Israel: and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down slain in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinidab, and Malchi-shua, the sons of Saul. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was wounded of the archers." Chap. 10: 1-3. And then we find his death and his armour bearer's death: "So Saul died, and his three sons, and all his house died together." This is the introduction to the book of Chronicles.

The consequence was that all the men of Israel fled. Their hope was gone. But God was able to bring in the dawn of a better day; and, although the Philistines triumphed, and Saul was stripped, and his head was taken, and his armour, and sent to the land of the Philistines, carrying tidings to their idols and to the people; and although they put his armour in the house of their gods, and fastened his head in the temple of Dagon, and it seemed as if they had entirely their own way, yet the triumph of the wicked is for a very brief season. There were those who had sufficient respect for Saul to arise - certain valiant men of Jabesh-Gilead. "They arose, all the valiant men, and took away the body of Saul, and the bodies of his sons, and brought them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh, and fasted seven days." It was a noble act, and acceptable to God; and yet it was not but what Saul was an offence to God.

This is beautiful, this is grace, that God should specially single out the deed of these men, even for a king with whom He was so deeply offended. How little we enter into the mind of God! Very likely we should have thought the men of Jabesh-Gilead were very foolish. Why should they meddle? No doubt there was many a follower of David that would have blamed the men of Jabesh-Gilead. David did not. David understood the mind of God; and David is nowhere more noble than when he pours out his lament over not only Jonathan, but Saul. Indeed, it was what he had lived in; for if Saul envied and hated David, never did David so feel toward king Saul. "So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against Jehovah, even against the word of Jehovah, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it."

There was both the disobedience to God's word, and the seeking of the word that was not of God, but of the devil. "And enquired not of Jehovah: therefore He slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse." But all the intervening circumstances are left out. It is the purpose of God that is the point here - not history, not responsibility, but purpose, divine purpose. This is the key to the difference between Kings and Chronicles.