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you you well good evening everyone welcome to Mount Baptist Church take your song books and turn the song 228 song 228 in your song books will sing I love to tell the story if you would stand we'll sing song 228 I love to tell the story of on seen things above of Jesus and his glory of Jesus and his love I love to tell the story because I know tastes true it satisfies my longings as nothing else can do I love to tell the story 12 be my theme and glory to tell the old old story of Jesus and his love I love to tell the story more wonderful it seems then all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams I love to tell the story it did so much for me and that is just the reason I tell it now to thee I love to tell the story be my theme and glory to tell the old old story of Jesus and his love I love to tell the story tears pleasant to repeat what seems each time I tell it more wonderfully sweet I love to tell the story for some have never heard the message of salvation from God's own holy word I love to tell the story 12 be my theme and glory to tell the old old story of Jesus and his love I do tell the story for those who know it best seem hungering and thirsty to hear it like the rest and when in scenes of glory I see the new new song 12 be the old old story that I have loved so long I love to tell the story 12 be my theme and glory to tell the old old story of Jesus and his love all right let's pray Heavenly Father Lord again we just want to thank you God for another night there we get to meet in your house and hear your word preached to us I pray Lord now that you would just fill our paths with your power and spirit we love you for it's in Jesus name we ask all but Amen alright you may be seated and take your mountain Baptist Psalms hymns and spiritual song books and turn to page number eight page number eight in your mountain Baptist Psalms hymns and spiritual song books we'll sing Psalm 126 on page number eight when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion we were lying than that dream then was our mouth filled with laughter and her tongue with singing then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord had done great things for us where of we are glad turn again our captivity Oh Lord as the streams and the south they that so in tears shall reap enjoy they that so in tears shall reap enjoy then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord has done great things for us where of we are glad he that go with forth and weep at bearing precious seed shut down let's come again shut down let's come again with rejoicing bringing his sheeps with him then said they among the heathen the Lord had done great things for them the Lord had done great things for us where of we are glad amen we'll welcome out Baptist Church on this Wednesday evening just some announcements here to get started as far as church services go everything should be normal nothing's really out of the ordinary there so this Sunday everything will be normal there and then sewing time 1 p.m. our main sewing time this Sunday and then the regional times just note that that will be a little kind of up in the air this coming week because actually all the men will be that are leading up these times will be on the missions trips so be in prayer for them and all those that are gonna be going out to either out to India or out the police and just being prayer there for them and then as far as sewing marathons coming up we do have the nitro soul winning marathon that brother Jim is leading up here in April and then in May at the end of May the 25th the Lancaster won the Lancaster PA so winning marathon and then in June there'll be a Philadelphia missile-winning marathon so so yeah just being prayer for those as those come up and our Bible memory for the month is Jonah chapter 3 so jumping into the book of into the chapter 3 of the book of Jonah as we try to memorize the whole book and then Hosea 13 for our Hosea 13 14 is our memory verse for the week and got all the anniversaries and all that stuff but Sunday and then on the pregnancy list there being prayer for Crystal McCloy you're prepared for all ladies that just had little ones and all of that tonight we're gonna be finishing up the book of first Samuel and so but we're gonna be going right into second Samuel so the story just picks up where it leaves off but we are finishing up with the book of first Samuel commonly called the first book of Kings right so but excited to get through that and then second Samuel is definitely some interesting stories and a lot dealing with the reign of David and all that so I think that's about all I have for announcements that I can think of so the offering box is in the back there if you want to give a tie there an offering and the mother baby rooms for the mothers babies only but Dave's gonna come who's reading tonight so but David but Dave is gonna be reading first sandwich chapter 31 I have to do one more song right take your song books and turn to song 261 song 261 in your song books will sing turn your eyes upon Jesus song 261 oh so are you weary and troubled no light and darkness you see there's light for a look at the Savior and life more abundant and free turn your eyes upon Jesus look full and his wonder full face and the things of earth will grow strangely to him and the light of his glory and grace through death and to life everlasting he passed and we followed him there over us and no more hath dominion for more than conquers we are turn your eyes upon Jesus look full and his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strangely in the light of his glory and grace his word shall not fail you he promised believe him and all will be well then go to a world that is dying his perfect salvation to tell turn your eyes upon Jesus look full and his wonderful face and the things of earth will grow strange leads him and the light of his glory and grace all right if you would take your Bibles and turn to the book of first Samuel chapter number 31 first Samuel chapter more 31 in your Bibles we'll have brother David read that for us all righty first Samuel 31 if you're any place amen now the Bible reads now the Philistines fought against Israel and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines and fell down slain in Mount Gabor and the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchusua to Saul's sons and the battle would soar against Saul and the archers hit him and he was so wounded of the archers then said Saul unto his armor-bearer draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith lest these I'm circumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me but his armor-bearer would not for he was so afraid therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it and when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead he fell likewise upon his sword and died with them so Saul died and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men the same day together and when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley and they that were on the other side Jordan saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and his sons were dead they forsook the cities and fled and the Philistines came and dwelt in them and it came to pass on the morrow when the Philistines came to strip the slain they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gabor and they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent into the land of the Philistines roundabout to policy in the house of their idols and among the people and they put and they put his armor in the house of Asoroth and they fastened his body to the wall of Bethsan and when the inhabitants of Jabez Gilead heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethsan and came to Jabez and burnt them there and they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabez and fasted seven days. Let's pray. Dear Lord, I thank you for this opportunity to come back to your house. I pray that you fell past your spirit. I'll be storing something. In Jesus' name, Amen. Amen. So you're there in First Samuel chapter 31 and this is the last chapter. This is where Saul is, where he dies in battle and his sons die in battle. Specifically, Jonathan dies. And so when you think about the story, I just think about just kind of how sad it is that Jonathan dies in this battle. I mean, Saul, you know, it's foretold. I'm going to show you that. Obviously, it's been kind of a long time coming that Saul dies in battle. But Jonathan, you read about that and it's just a shame when you think about Jonathan dying in this battle. But look there in verse one, it says, Now the Philistines fought against Israel and the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines fell down, slain in Mount Gilboa. And so this, the idea of the Philistines coming and fighting against Israel, this has been going on for chapters now. So actually, the last few chapters, if you will, chapter 27, you're dealing with, I'm sorry, chapter 28, you're dealing with the woman with a familiar spirit and all of that. And then you have all this back and forth with David with the Philistines and all that. And it's all basically happening. Chapter 28 is just the day before. OK, so and then you get all this other information that's going on down the line. But this is where Saul is going to die in battle. And notice what it says here in verse two. It says, And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons, and the Philistines slew Jonathan and Abinadab and Mount Gishuah, Saul's sons. So I believe that's basically his sons die before he does. And then it says in verse three, it says, And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him, and he was sore wounded of the archers. So get the picture, obviously gets hit with arrows. And he's basically wounded to the point where, you know, it doesn't say he's mortally wounded or that he will die. But I believe Saul obviously thinks he's going to die or basically that he can't get out of the situation that he's in with the wounds that he has. And the name goes on to say in verse four, it says, Then said Saul unto his armor-bearer, Draw on thy sword, and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come, and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it. And when his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he felt likewise upon his sword and died with him. So Saul died and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men that same day together. So basically, he gets wounded. But then he ends up falling on his own sword, ends up killing himself. And then his armor-bearer does the same thing. But this is being foretold for chapters now. Go to chapter 26. And David obviously doesn't end up killing Saul, even though he has two chances to kill Saul. And the fact that it's basically given into his hand, he's given it to his hand to kill him. But David says that he's not going to stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed. He's not going to slay Saul. But in this story right here in chapter 26 and verse 6, we have Abishai, who's wanting to kill him. They basically are in the camp right next to Saul. Everybody's sleeping. And Abishai wants to kill him, but David says no. And notice what it says in verse 6. It says, then answered David and said to Ahimelek, the Hittite, and to Abishai, the son of Jeruiah, brother to Joab, saying, who will go down with me to Saul to the camp? And Abishai said, I will go down with thee. So David and Abishai came to the people by night. And behold, Saul lay sleeping within the trench, and his spear stuck in the ground at his bolster. But Abner and the people lay round about him. Then said Abishai to David, God hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day. Now therefore, let me smite him, I pray thee, with the spear even to the earth at once. I will not smite him the second time. And David said to Abishai, destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord's anointed and be guiltless? David said furthermore, as the Lord liveth, the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall descend in the battle and perish. So that last one, that last or, if you will, is what ends up happening, is that he ends up descending in the battle and dying. And it says, and the Lord forbid that I should stretch forth mine hand against the Lord's anointed, but I pray thee, take thou now the spear that is at his bolster and the cruise of water and let us go. And obviously, we know the story, we've already gone through that. And, but, David is already knowing that, hey, he's going to die, his time's coming, and either the Lord's just gonna kill him, or he's just gonna die, or he's gonna go and descend in the battle and perish. And that's exactly what happens in chapter 31. Go to chapter 28. Chapter 28, this is where he goes to the woman with the familiar spirit, or the witch at Endor, as we would call it, is the fact that he comes to her, and Samuel is brought up, and Samuel tells him that he's gonna die in battle the next day. So chapter 28 is literally the day before, and we see here in verse 15, and so we've been kind of reading through these chapters and we're like, all right, he's gonna die, he's gonna die, he's gonna die, he's gonna die, and then he finally does in chapter 31. And verse 15, it says, and Samuel said to Saul, why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul answered, I am sore to stress, for the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answerth me no more, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore, I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. Then said Samuel, wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy? And the Lord hath done to him as he spake by me, for the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. Because thou abatest not the voice of the Lord, nor executest his fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee this day. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. The Lord also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines. So, long time coming, David knows that he's going to die, and he doesn't, David didn't know exactly how he was gonna die, but basically he knew that his time was coming. Basically, he was on slippery slopes. And then obviously, Saul was even told, you're going to die tomorrow. But not only him, but his sons as well. And which, the one thing that, the sad part about the story is that, you know, to our knowledge, Jonathan really hadn't done anything really wrong, but it shows you that how your sins, and basically what you do can affect your children. And so, you know, obviously we're, the Bible talks about not being put to death for the sins of the son, or the sins of the father, meaning that no man is to be put to death for someone else's sins. You to be put to death for your own sin, right? But, it does talk about how the sins of the father are visited upon the children unto the third and fourth generation, meaning that they suffer the consequences of the sins. Okay, not the death penalty, right? I mean, if someone commits murder, it's the person that commits murder that is put to death, not the child or the, you know, whatever, right? It's, that specifically has to be on that person. But in this case, the sins of Saul has basically caused Jonathan to die. And that's something to think about when it comes to our sins and how we live, you know, we are to live to the Lord, keep his commandments, because what we do can affect our children, can affect other people around us and all of that, right? And not just his sons, right? Because it was all his men that died. So, you know, your sins affect more than you think. And so, but go to 1 Samuel chapter 31 again in verse four. Go to 1 Samuel chapter 31 again in verse four. So Saul, he didn't want the Philistines to kill him. And notice what it says here in verse four. It says, then said Saul unto his armor-bearer, draw thy sword and thrust me through therewith, lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was so afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it. So basically, the reason that he ended up killing himself is because I don't want the Philistines to be the ones that kill me. And you can see that it's more so you think about the fact of him being abused by the Philistines, because it may not be just like some quick death. It could be like some, you know, torture or whatever the case may be. So you can kind of understand where he's coming from with it. But this kind of reminds me of a story. It's similar, meaning this is that this idea of being ashamed to be killed by certain people, okay? And go to Judges chapter nine. I think about the story of Abimelech. So Abimelech judges Israel, but Abimelech actually, they make him king, right? Now obviously God didn't appoint Abimelech being king. But he ends up getting finally punished and he ends up dying for the sins that he committed. And, but I want you to see the story here because it just kind of reminds me of this. It's similar in the fact that he's basically wanting someone to basically kill him so that, you know, it's not someone else that killed him, okay? But in Judges chapter nine in verse 52, it says, and Abimelech came unto the tower and fought against it and went hard unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire. And a certain woman cast a piece of a millstone upon Abimelech's head and all to break his skull. Then he called hastily unto the young man, his armor bearer, and said unto him, draw thy sword and slay me, that men say not of me, a woman slew him. And his young man thrust him through and he died. So now this is obviously a little different. He's basically like, I don't want it to be said that a woman killed me. So he's like, you kill me. Like basically, he'd rather be killed by his own man, right, than basically say a woman killed him. And just to see, you know, the fact that he's getting his due reward, it says, and when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, they departed every man unto his place. Thus God rendered the witness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father in slaying his 70 brethren. Okay, so he, this is the story, if you remember, one of those, one of those, one of his brothers escapes and basically curses him and basically, and all this stuff. But he doesn't immediately get punished. This hasn't happened until later. And so anyway, this just reminds me of this story. And it's funny because this guy, you know, Abimelech, he's like, I don't want people to know that a woman killed me. And yet, we're reading about it, aren't we? But on top of that, go to 2 Samuel chapter 11. Dealing with the death of Uriah, this story's brought up because if you know the story of Uriah and the fact of how David said in the heat of the battle, basically, draw back and basically leave Uriah out there to just get annihilated, but basically, this story's brought up, be like, did you not know about the story? Like, why would you do this, right? Why would you allow this to happen? And in verse 21, it says, so 2 Samuel 11, verse 21, it says, who smote Abimelech, the son of Jerub, who smote Abimelech, the son of Jerub-esheth, did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall that he died in Thebes? And it says, why went ye nigh the wall? Then say thou, thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also. I mean, basically, Abimelech is a proverb and basically an example of what not to do in battle. Right, because Uriah dies and he's basically like, Abimelech, don't you remember what happened to Abimelech? He was killed by a woman. And it's just funny to me that Abimelech's like, I don't wanna be known as being killed by a woman, and it is like a well-known fact that he was killed by a woman to the point where that's the strategy in war is like, don't come nigh the wall. Don't be like Abimelech that was killed by a woman. That's like a standard of knowledge that's out there. And same thing with Saul is that we all know that he ends up killing himself in this story. Now when it comes to this, this is an example of how suicide is not some unforgivable sin. The interesting thing about this is I was actually at the gym today and a guy that I see there all the time at the gym, and I've probably given him the gospel before and all this stuff, he's not saved. But we were listening to everything, and for whatever reason he was joking about the fact of jumping off this balcony that's over there at the gym or whatever. And anyway, and he's like, yeah, if I did that, I wouldn't make it to the other side or whatever. I'm like, what, the other side of the turf? What are you talking about? Just not gathering, not comprehending what he's laying down. And then he's like, no, heaven. Or I'm like, that's not true. I'm like, I'm actually preaching on the fact that Saul killed himself and he's in heaven right now. So anyway, it was one of those things where I was obviously explaining how Jesus died for every sin. But the thing with that is that suicide isn't necessarily brought up as some commandment or anything like that. But what you have to understand is that it is the same commandment as thou shalt do no murder. I mean, the idea is that you're murdering yourself instead of murdering someone else. But the idea is like not killing a person or not murdering a person, and suicide would be that. And in Saul's case, I mean, he's committing suicide, he's basically killing himself, and that would be a sin. But if suicide was to cause someone to not go to heaven, then murder would be too, right? But the thing is that you have to understand, we were just talking about David, a man after God's own heart, and David was already saved. I mean, he's a sweet psalmist of Israel. And the Bible says in 2 Samuel 12, nine, about David and Uriah, and it says that wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight, thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. And so the murderer of Uriah is put on David. But David doesn't want, one, he's already saved, but second, he doesn't lose his salvation because he says, restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, right? So this idea of like suicide being some unforgivable sin, what it really comes down to is a misunderstanding that you have to confess your sins to be saved, and that that's how you get saved or how you stay saved. So once you realize that's not a thing, then what's the point, then what's the deal, right? How is suicide different from murder when it comes to murdering someone else or murdering yourself? It's still murder, okay? And obviously, it's not right. Obviously, it would be a sin. That's not the way that you should go. And so Saul is a great example of this because Samuel says, tomorrow, you and your son shall be with me. And we know that Samuel was obviously saved, Samuel's with the Lord, all of that. And the same thing with, think about Paul. I mean, Paul, many times, he's stating the fact that he basically consented unto the death of Stephen and other Christians, and he's breathing out threatenings and slaughter. And I mean, this is what he says in Acts chapter 22, in verse 20, it says, and when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. Acts 26, 10 says, which thing I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them. So Saul wasn't the person executing the death penalty, but he was consenting unto it. Same thing with David. David wasn't the one that literally killed Uriah, right? He's not the one that, however he died, whether it's by sword or by arrow or whatever, he's not the one that literally did it, but he gave the commandment to cause it to happen, right? So and God says, you killed Uriah. And so Paul indirectly obviously caused people to be put to death, caused Christians to be put to death, and that's on him. Now here's the thing. Did Jesus pay for that sin? Obviously, or Paul wouldn't have gotten saved. So when it comes to this is what people don't realize is that we're justified from all things. Isn't thou shalt do no murder a commandment? And didn't Jesus become a curse? Cursed is everyone that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them, and he has made a curse for us. And the idea is that he is the end of the law to everyone that believe it. And the Bible says this in Acts 13, 38. It says, but be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you for the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses. All means all, right? It's not just stealing, it's not just lying. It's murder, it's adultery, and guess what? David's covered under that. Now that doesn't mean that David didn't have consequences for what he did, but in the end, this idea of suicide being some unforgivable sin or something that would send you straight to hell. Listen, if you don't believe on Christ, then yeah, you're going to hell, but you would have gone to hell even if you didn't commit suicide. So obviously it's a sin, and those that commit that that aren't saved, they're gonna be punished in hell for that, but those that are believers, when you get saved, you're saved from all your sins, past, present, future, and even if a Christian were to commit suicide, which I believe has happened, Saul's an example of that, a saved believer that commits suicide, they're going to heaven because those sins have been forgiven and it's been covered and all of that. Now that's not the way you wanna go, right? Do you wanna be remembered? How did you finish your course? I killed myself. That's not the way you wanna go, right? That's not an honorable way to go. Now I'll say this, I do believe there's a little bit, there is a difference between Saul and Samson. Now you could argue that Samson committed suicide, or you could argue that he laid down his life, okay? And I think that Samson's more of one of those where it's kind of a in-between, right? Because obviously Jesus didn't commit suicide, he laid down his life, does that make sense? And Samson, you have this kind of realm that he laid down his life to kill his enemies, but he also kind of committed suicide to kill his enemies, you know what I mean? It's kind of like Samson, there's some honor in the fact that he did that, but at the same time, did he really have to do that? Obviously the Lord gave him the strength to do it, but I do think that's different than Saul, right? The way that Samson went out is different than the way Saul went out. You can't just link those two the same. So Samson, I think, is an example of someone that basically does something, dies doing it, knowing that he's gonna die doing it, and you could argue whether that's suicide or not. I mean, he does ultimately die, but it's a little different than Saul, okay? So I'll say, in the end, even if there was no example like Saul in the Bible on this, you either believe that Jesus paid for all your sins or he didn't. And if you believe you can lose your salvation, you're not saved, simple as that. And if you believe that there's any sin that you could commit to where you would not go to heaven, then you don't believe the record, you don't believe that it's eternal life, you don't believe that you're forgiven of your sins, and you're saying that Christ died in vain because you're frustrated in the grace of God. But in the end, the thing that I would say to someone that says, well, no, you can't commit suicide or you'll go to hell, I'd say chapter and verse. The burden of proof's on them, isn't it? I mean, I have all these verses that say I'm justified from all things, that he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world, right? I mean, I have all these verses saying it's for every sin, all sin, all of that. Show me the chapter and verse where it says that you commit suicide, you go to hell. I mean, you'd have to find the same verse that I would find where it's talking about murder, wouldn't you? And yet, obviously, murderers are forgiven if they believe on Christ. And so, that being said, obviously, Saul, I think, is an example of someone that does a lot of bad things, in the end, kills himself, still in heaven. Now, he doesn't, he's not gonna have the rewards that David has, right? I mean, he's not gonna be glorified like David. Because you say, well, what's the point then? What's the point of being Saul or David? I mean, do you have the time for me to go through all the reasons of the difference between those two, okay? But after Saul and his sons are killed, basically, Israel is basically in disarray. And this is kinda what happens when the leader is taken out. Even when Jesus is taken in the Garden of Gethsemane, it says, smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered, right? The idea of taking out leadership basically just kinda disbands the whole thing. And so, in verse seven, so 1 Samuel 31 and verse seven, it says, and when the men of Israel that were on the other side of the valley and they that were on the other side Jordan saw that the men of Israel fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook the cities and fled and the Philistines came and dwelled in them. So basically, everything's done after that, right? I mean, the king's dead, the sons are dead, right? You can imagine if Jonathan survived, they'd be like, all right, let's get behind Jonathan. But it's kinda like the whole house of Saul destroyed right there on the battlefield. What do you do at that point? Whose commands are you taking? Even if you had the men to fight, it's like, well, who's gonna take over, right? It's kinda like, think about our government and the fact that you have the president, the vice president, the Speaker of the House, and as far as the chain of command, if something were to happen to leaders, of course, we're done. I mean, we already have a vegetable as a president, right? We have some geriatric patient that doesn't know what year he's in. And then you have some whore as the next one in line that can't even make, probably can't read hop on pop and make sense of it. And then, I guess the Speaker of the House would be the next best thing, right? I don't know. Isn't that the third in command, the Speaker of the House? Anyway, but all I have to say is that, well, let's say you lost all of that. I guess our Constitution does go down the line pretty far, as far as where you would go to leadership after that. But it's kinda that way in war, where you would basically break rank, and you're just like, all right, we're done. So basically, when this happens, the Philistines come in, and they are going to desecrate Saul's body and his sons. And notice what it says here in verse eight. It says, and it came to pass on the morrow, when the Philistines came to strip the slain, so basically it's kinda like you think about getting the spoils, all that stuff of the war, and of all those that they killed. They stripped the slain that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboa. And they cut off his head and stripped off his garment and sent into the land of the Philistines roundabout to publish it in the house of their idols, and among the people, and they put his armor in the house of Asheroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan. Clara and Anna stopped talking and looked forward. So the thing that I never really noticed about this is when you cross-reference this with 1 Chronicles, it's actually some, and also in 2 Samuel, some interesting information as far as just some specifics that was done here. Because it talks about Asheroth, right? The house of Asheroth. And it talks about their idols, the house of their idols. And basically, they have multiple gods. Now, in Judges chapter 10, go to Judges chapter 10 and verse six, because this isn't new, like the god of Asheroth or Balaam or Baal, right? Balaam and Balaam, like there's the man Balaam. It's spelled different though than Balaam, meaning like Baal. Balaam is more like plural. Baal is kind of like a false god. Balaam is like false gods, okay? It's kind of like a generic term for basically devils or idols or false gods, right? And so that's where you get Baals above, right? And so all of that. But it's kind of generic in that sense, meaning like a god, obviously a false god. But in Judges 10, verse six, it says, and the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the Lord and served Balaam and Asheroth. So Balaam would be like false gods, kind of generalized. And then Asheroth is a specific, right, false god. And the gods of Syria and the gods of Zidon and the gods of Moab and the gods of the children of Ammon and the gods of the Philistines and forsook the Lord and served not him. And the angry Lord was hot against Israel and he sold them into the hands of the Philistines and into the hands of the children of Ammon. So these gods, Balaam and Asheroth, are the gods of all these areas. Now specifically, who are we dealing with is the Philistines. And so Asheroth makes sense because that's what was back in Judges. And obviously in Judges, who's enemy number one in the book of Judges? The Philistines, okay? Speaking of Samson, that's enemy number one. But even in First Samuel, chapter seven, dealing with Samuel and when Samuel's judging, he commands them to put away Balaam and Asheroth. So look at First Samuel, chapter seven, First Samuel, chapter seven, and verse four. So this has been kind of a stumbling block. And if you read through the book of Judges, what you have is the children of Israel, they go after other gods, they kind of follow after the people that are around them, and then God punishes them and puts them in bondage to them, basically, to the people that they are kind of following after. And then he raises up a judge or a savior to basically bring them out of that. And it's just this back and forth, right? It's kind of like they had peace for 20 years, 40 years of bondage, you know? Peace for 20 years, 40 years of being, you know, under bondage of the Philistines or whoever, right? So it's just this back and forth that's going on that they keep getting sucked into these false gods. But in First Samuel, chapter seven, verse four, it says, then the children of Israel did put away Balaam and Ashtoreth and served the Lord only. And what you have to understand is that they were serving the Lord too, but they were kind of like adding this on as something else to do. And obviously the Lord was not happy with that. And I mean, it's the second commandment of the 10 commandments is not to have any grain images that you're worshiping and all this stuff. And they messed up at the very beginning with the golden calves. But go to Second Samuel, chapter 21. Second Samuel, chapter 21. What I want you to see here is that when they take and desecrate their bodies, they basically, there's three different places that they take these elements to, okay? So we saw that they put the armor, specifically, because when you first read it, it's just kind of like, they basically just like put it all in one place. Like you're kind of just reading that and be like, oh, it's just kind of in one place, but it's not, okay? There's actually three specific places that they put three specific things, okay? So specifically in First Samuel 31, 10, it says they put his armor in the house of Astro. So the house of Astro, that's where they put his armor. Okay, it doesn't say that he put his body there. It doesn't say he put his head there or anything like that, okay? They put the armor there, okay? Then it says in Second Samuel 21 and verse 12, it says, and David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan, his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead, which had stolen them, notice this, from the street of Bethshan, where the Philistines had hanged them, when the Philistines had slain Saul and Gilboa. Now, when you read this in First Samuel, it says that they fastened his body to the wall of Bethshan. So when you're kind of reading this, at least me, when I'm reading through this, I'm thinking like, they put his armor in the house of Asheroth and basically nailed his body to the wall. And I was just kind of thinking like, maybe that's what the name of the wall is in this house of Asheroth, but that's not the case. There's a wall in the street of Bethshan, okay? Basically, it's kind of like a city wall or basically maybe a wall within the city, and they basically nailed their bodies to the wall in the street, okay? So the armor's put into the house of Asheroth, their bodies are nailed to the wall in Bethshan, and go to First Chronicles chapter 10, First Chronicles chapter 10. You ever ask yourself like, why are there different accounts? Well, there's more information, right? You say, is this pertinent information? Yeah, I think it is, right? I mean, wouldn't every detail be pertinent? I mean, don't you wanna know all the details when you're thinking about this story? And listen, there's probably a reason to all of it. As far as why would they put the armor in Asheroth? Maybe their god is like the god of war or something like that, and it's like, oh, we got the armor of our enemy or something. I don't know, you know, who knows what the reasoning is behind why they did that. But the bodies were, but you remember that they cut off Saul's head, right? And notice what it says in First Chronicles chapter 10, verse nine. It says, and when they had stripped him, they took his head and his armor and sent into the land of the Philistines round about. So at this point, it's kinda just generically, they took it to the Philistines, right? To carry tidings unto their idols and to the people, and they put his armor in the house of their gods, which, obviously, we know specifically is the god of Asheroth, right? And fastened his head in the temple of Dagon. So his armor's in the house of Asheroth, his head is in the temple of Dagon, and his body is on the wall in Veshan. And so three specific places that they basically split all this around there. And this isn't something that's unique to this situation. They do this a lot, especially if you look up the history of wars and enemies that they would destroy, they would literally split up the person and send their body parts to different places in the country as an example, and basically as kinda like a testimony of here's what happens when you mess with us, right? And so this kinda makes sense, right? Even when, probably one of the most horrendous stories in the Bible is in Judges 19, he takes and basically cuts up the woman and sends her body parts to the 12 tribes of Israel, okay? And I'm not saying that was right for him to do that, but it's kinda like a common practice that you'll see. It's in the Bible, it's in history, it's just things that they did, right? But that's just something that, just studying this, that I never really noticed those three specific places. I just kinda like, you kinda read it and you're just like, oh, okay. Because let's just be honest, you're not really usually just reading like 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel together all in one sitting. Does that make sense? Like you're not just sit there, if I read 1 Samuel 31, I'm not usually going all the way to 2 Samuel 21 and then hearing about like, oh, okay, this is where specifically they put his body. And then I'm like, I'm going, well, I've already done 2 Samuel, let's go to 1 Chronicles and just plow through this right today. I've done it once, like where I've like read through the Bible in a month where you would maybe be doing that, where you're just reading that much. But let's just be honest, most people aren't doing that. So by the time you get to these other chapters, I mean, odds are you're not thinking about those specific things as far as like, you're gonna remember the story similar, but you're not gonna really be like, where'd they put his head though? Like, where'd they put this armor? So this is something where obviously studying it out and kind of just looking at parallel passages, you'll see those type of things. If you remember though, the house of Dagon, the story of obviously the stump of Dagon, right? And the fact that his head and his hands, so it's interesting that they put Saul's head there when Dagon lost his head. So there's some kind of parallels there, I'm sure. But going on from that in the story, Emma, look up here and stop looking behind. In 1 Samuel 31, sorry if I have to yell at my children, but that's just the way it is. When you're a pastor and your wife's in the mother-baby room, she's gotta do it. So if anybody's ever listening out there and you're like, I know your kids' names, it is what it is. So gotta deal with it. 1 Samuel 31 and verse 11, this is interesting that, and Dave is going to, in the next chapter, when we go into 2 Samuel chapter one, he's actually gonna honor, actually it's either chapter one or chapter two, forgive me, it's basically in the beginning of 2 Samuel, he's gonna honor these men for what they do here. But these men from Jabesh Gilead are gonna go get the bodies of these men, so of Saul and of his sons. And notice what it says here in verse 11, it says, and when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard of that, which the Philistines had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and went all night and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beschan and came to Jabesh and burned them there, and they took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh and fasted seven days. This is intense, right? I mean, go to 1 Chronicles chapter 10 because it's a parallel passage, but also I just kinda wanna show you too that it talks about these men, but it also gives you the reason of why Saul died, right? 1 Chronicles kinda just lays out, this is why he dies in battle here, okay? But 1 Chronicles chapter 10 in verse 11, it says, and when all Jabesh Gilead heard, all that the Philistines had done to Saul, they arose, all the valiant men, 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. So here you can see, a little more specific, right? The type of tree. It says, and fasted seven days. So Saul died for his transgression, which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of that, of one that had a familiar spirit to inquire of it and inquired not of the Lord, therefore he slew him and turned the kingdom unto David, the son of Jesse. So it kinda lays out like, hey, here's why. And you know what, inquiring of that, the woman with the familiar spirit was kinda like the final straw, where that was included in why he died. And so, but when it comes to these men, you may ask yourself, why did they do this, right? Like, what's special about these men? Like, what's the reasoning? Like, why would they be the ones that do it, right? Why not anybody else, or whatever? And the thing is that I think the reason why is because, go back to 1 Samuel chapter 11, the first thing that Saul does as king, Saul is anointed king, and he's stated to be king in chapter 10, but it's not until what happens here in Jabesh Gilead that they recognize him as being king, that they basically say, yes, you're our king. And the first act that he does as king is he saves those of Jabesh Gilead. And what you have to understand is that what he does, they've remembered. They've remembered, and when they heard what was done to Saul, they remembered what he did. I believe that they remember that he saved them, and they basically are gonna go honor his body and give him an honorable burial and all of that. Which kinda shows you that what you do for people may affect them deeper than you think, right? And the fact that the loyalty and the love that someone may have for you for doing something for them that maybe was like decades ago. I mean, think about it, Saul reigned for about 40 years, the Bible says. So, I mean, you're talking like 40 years gone by that they're like, it's like, we're gonna go take care of this. We're gonna go into enemy. I mean, listen, where were their bodies at? Were they just like off in some alleyway outside the city? Their bodies were in the midst of the city, I mean, on the wall. His head was in the house of Dagon. You're going into the lion's den, right? You're going into enemy territory. And these valiant men went in and they gave both Saul and his sons an honorable burial. And 1 Samuel 11 and verse one, just to see the story here, it says, then Naash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said unto Naash, make a covenant with us and we will serve thee. And Naash the Ammonite answered them, on this condition will I make a covenant with you that I may thrust out all your right eyes and lay it for reproach upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said unto him, give us seven days respite that we may send messengers onto all the coast of Israel. And then if there be no man to save us, we will come out to thee. Basically they're in dire straits to where, if no one comes to help them, they're gonna have to basically take this covenant or die. Basically they get their eyes taken out or the right eye taken out. And it says, verse four, then came the messengers of Gibeah of Saul to Gibeah of Saul and told the tidings in the ears of the people and all the people lifted up their voices and wept. And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field and Saul said, what aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the spirit of the Lord came upon Saul when he heard those tidings and his anger was kindled greatly. And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in pieces and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, whosoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his oxen. And the fear of the Lord fell on the people and they came out with one consent. And when they numbered them in Bizek, the children of Israel were 300,000 and the men of Judah 30,000. And they said unto the messengers that came, thus shall you say unto the men of Jabesh Gilead, tomorrow by that time the sun be hot, he shall have help. And the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh and they were glad. Therefore, the men of Jabesh said, tomorrow will we come out unto you and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good unto you. And it was so on the morrow that Saul put the people in three companies and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And it came to pass that they which remained were scattered so that two of them were not left together. I believe that that event right there is what was in their mind when they heard that Saul died. And not only that Saul died, but what they did to his bodies, right? Because what does it say? It says that Jabesh Gilead, it says heard of that which the Philistines had done to Saul, right? Not just that he died, but what they had done to Saul. That's when they said no. Basically they went into enemy territory. And sometimes you read these stories and you kind of read past what they had to do to go get these bodies. It's kind of like when, obviously, David's men went into enemy territory to go get water. Remember, David's just like, just have the water, you know? And they bring the water and he wouldn't even drink it. He poured it out to his homies. No, I mean, he did pour it out though. But he basically couldn't drink it because they jeopardized their life for him. So he didn't feel worthy, obviously, of that. But that shows you just the love that they had for Saul. And that Saul, it's kind of like this final reminder that Saul used to be good. That Saul had a great beginning. The last thing that's said here is basically these men of Jabesh went and basically got his body and they gave an honorable burial. And it brings you back full circle to the very beginning of Saul as king. This is what he was. This is who he used to be. And when it comes to Saul, it's a tragic story because of the potential that Saul had. The potential that Saul had and it just went down the drain. But it's an example to us to know, hey, as Christians, we can have a great beginning and we can be doing great things for God, but that can all go downhill. You're never gonna lose your salvation. And even in the dire ending of Saul where he ends up killing himself, Saul's still in heaven. But that's not the way we wanna go out. We wanna go out like Paul, where I've kept the faith, I've finished my course, and there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness. The idea of just, how do you wanna go out of this life? And the sad, it's just this tragic story. And obviously, the next chapter is really gonna be kind of like this sad moment where David is mourning the fact that they died and just thinking about how the mighty have fallen. And really, the idea of just kind of, Jabesh, and you go back to that story, it's just really sad to think about like, this is how it started. 40 years ago, when he started to be king, he's a good king. He's a good king that fought the battles of Israel, that was victorious, and this is his end. This is what happened. And so, the book of 1 Samuel, obviously a great book, great stories. David is throughout it. 2 Samuel, we're really gonna be getting into David's kingdom, right? And that's kind of a long time coming, too. I mean, chapter 16, he was anointed to be king. And we're finally gonna be getting, and it's not just that it just happens immediately, and they just put the crown on him and be like, you're king. It's a little bit of a battle for him to become king of all of Israel. He first becomes king, he's king of Judah, and then they have the battle to get all of Israel. And even with that, there's battles back and forth because of his sin that causes a rift there as well. Excited to go into 2 Samuel because I feel like 2 Samuel's one of those books that I don't know as well as I know 1 Samuel, right? They're just like, you know the stories, but I just don't feel like I know all the details of the stories. And so, I'm excited to go through it because it helps me study it, helps me kind of look into the details of all of it. And so, hopefully it'll be a blessing as we go through that. After 2 Samuel, probably going to the New Testament. So, taking a break from the old once we're done with that. But we have a few chapters to get through there. So, let's end with a word of prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for today. Thank you for the book of 1 Samuel. Thank you for all these passages and stories and help us to learn from them. And Lord, I know that it only touched the very surface of all that we can learn in the book of 1 Samuel. But Lord, I just pray that you'd help us to use it. And Lord, help me to preach through the book of 2 Samuel going forward. And Lord, we just thank you for these passages and just help us, Lord, to follow you, to obey you, Lord, and to obey your commandments as best we can and to learn from mistakes of people in the Bible. And Lord, we love you. Pray also in Jesus Christ's name, amen. But they will come and sing one more song and that will be dismissed. All right, take your song books and turn to song 310. Song 310 in your song books will sing Footprints of Jesus. And if you would stand, we'll sing song 310. Sweetly, Lord, have we heard thee calling. Come, follow me. And we see where thy footprints falling. Lead us to thee. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus where'er they go. Though they lead o'er the cold, dark mountain, seeking his sheep, or along by Solomon's fountains helping the weak. Footprints of Jesus that make the pathway glow. We will follow the steps of Jesus where'er they go.