4. The End of Saul (chs. 28-31)
David’s future was endangered when the Philistines confronted Israel again. Achish expected David to accompany him (28:1-2; cf. 14:21). David had to agree or risk blowing his cover. But going along meant Israelites would view him as a traitor. How would David extricate himself from this impossible situation?
The answer is not immediately given. Instead, the narrative recalls Samuel’s death (28:3; cf. 25:1) and its import for Saul since he had expelled mediums and spiritists, which cut off his access to the divine world. Ironically, the hapless Saul was even disadvantaged by observing Torah (cf. Lev 19:31; 20:6, 27)!
As before, Saul panicked when facing the Philistines without Samuel (28:4-5; cf. ch. 13). He sought (š'l) the Lord through dreams, Urim, and prophets, but received no reply (cf. 14:37). So in desperation he sought (š'l) a medium (28:6-7). This required secrecy and setting aside the penalty for necromancy, but eventually Saul succeeded in having an old and robed Samuel conjured from the grave (cf. 8:1, 5; 12:2; 15:27-28). Samuel listened to the king’s woes (note that Saul mentioned prophets first; v.15; cf. v.6), but then offered that his Amalekite prophecy was being fulfilled. There was, however, one final twist. Samuel added that Israel would lose its pending battle and Saul and Jonathan would be with him (i.e., in the nether world) on that day (vv.18-19; cf. 2:34). Saul finally got an answer from God, but hardly the one he wanted!
Saul’s reaction was worse than the medium’s had been (28:20; cf. v.12). Indeed, he was reduced to receiving comfort from the very woman whose actions led to a confirmation of prophetic judgment against him. Worse, this king who had disobeyed Samuel and God ended up obeying an outlawed medium (vv.20-25).
David’s situation finally was resolved when Achish’s colleagues questioned the Israelite’s loyalty. Though Achish defended him, the others were dubious (29:1-3; cf. 14:21; ch. 17). Their mentioning David’s “taking the heads of our own men” and the singing of a victory song after the Goliath triumph were hardly subtle (vv.4-5)! Achish had to dismiss David because of the latter’s surely disingenuous protest (vv.6-11). Once again events had worked in David’s favor.
An Amalekite raid against Ziklag (cf. 27:6) presented David with another opportunity. The raid had resulted not only in the city’s destruction but in the abduction of women and children, including David’s wives. David was as distraught as anyone, but emotion was so high his men contemplated assassination (30:1-6a). However, unlike Saul’s reaction in stressful moments, David found strength in the Lord and, with Abiathar’s help, asked (š'l) God whether he should pursue the offenders. Instead of silence, he received instruction and a promise about the positive outcome (vv.6b-8). With the help of an abandoned slave turned informer, David caught the raiding party and retrieved everything that had been taken (vv.9-20). God’s word was good.
David demonstrated his magnanimity (and his suitability to be king?) by insisting on dividing the booty—which after all belonged to God (30:23)—equally with his troops. He made this a regular practice (vv.21-25). He also ingratiated himself with Judah’s elders by distributing booty among them, something that would pay dividends later on (vv.26-31).
As David’s lot improved, Saul’s deteriorated. When the Philistines attacked, Samuel’s prophecy (28:16-19) came tragically true, except that Saul was only wounded (30:1-3). There is a bitter irony in Saul’s command that his armor-bearer finish him off, for his original armor-bearer (16:21) was indirectly responsible for the king’s present plight. When the armor-bearer refused—again unwittingly mirroring David (cf. chs. 24, 26)—the king took his own life, his aide pathetically following suit (30:4-6). In a reversal of the Goliath incident, the Israelites fled while the Philistines occupied the abandoned territory and the next day did to Saul what David had done to their champion: desecrated the corpse and stashed the armor (31:8-10; cf. 17:51-54). The only respect accorded Saul in this final sorry episode was that some of his countrymen recovered his and his son’s bodies and buried them in Israelite territory.