And the battle went sore against Saul.
The death of Saul
Learn
I. That a splendid beginning may have an awful ending.
II. That Divine judgments overtake men’s sins.
III. That in national calamities the godly suffer with the ungodly. (J. Wolfendale.)
The departure of God, the departure of strength
Why was the battle sore against the king of Israel? Saul believes himself to be forsaken of God, and therefore to have become the sport of man. Here we are reminded of the analogy of the vine and the branches. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can the Church make vital and faithful progress, except by continual fellowship with God. Saul was muscular as ever, as ambitious as ever, and as energetic as ever; but he had lost the consciousness of the nearness of the Almighty. What are all church buildings, formularies, ceremonies, pecuniary resources, literary achievements, when the Spirit of God has been grieved or quenched? (J. Parker, D. D.)
An unblest leader does not necessarily represent an unblest cause
Although the battle went sore against Saul, we must not suppose that Saul represented an unblest cause. The reason may be in Saul himself, rather than in the cause for which he fought. Sometimes leaders, captains, and commanders have to be overborne or displaced, in order that the great cause which they fail to grasp, and adequately to represent, may vindicate its own claim to a position of confidence and honour. It does not follow that because a man has been once a leader, that he must be always at the head of the army. Sometimes by the infirmity of old age the very princes of the Church are displaced and put behind. There are some trusts which we only keep as long as we keep our character. (J. Wolfendale.)