1 Samuel 31: Suicide

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You'll find more and see more than I can ever articulate. Welcome to chapter by chapter and today's chapter is first Samuel 31, suicide. I'm very careful to say the words God told me to people. There are two reasons for this. First, I've seen it abused and people manipulated when those three words are affixed on a statement. Second, however, I do believe God speaks and I believe it's a sobering weight to carry when you say that. It's sobering when God really speaks to you. A few years ago on a Sunday morning at our church in New York City, I said the three words. We stopped our service in the middle of worship and I came up to the microphone and said God told me during the worship for us to pray for those that are contemplating suicide. If the thought of ending it all came upon you this week and I'm convinced that God wants to give you hope and life and I want you to come to the altar so we can pray for you. I really thought it was for one person in the church. Maybe two. That Sunday morning, 50 to 60 people came without shame and came for hope and freedom. God rescued them from suicide. First, Samuel 31 is the tragic end of a wasted life by suicide. Saul commits suicide. It was Saul's final battle and it was against the Philistines. Israel's enemy overtook them which caused Saul's army to retreat and leaving the king vulnerable. This is how first Samuel 31 describes Saul's end in verse three. The battle went heavily against Saul and the archers hid him and he was badly wounded by the archers. Then Saul said to his armor bearer, "Joyer's sword and pierce me through with it. Otherwise, these uncircumcised will come and pierce me through and make sport of me. But his armor bearer would not, for he was greatly afraid. So Saul took his sword and fell on it. When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his sword and died with him. Thus Saul died with his three sons, his armor bearer, and all his men on that day together. I hate to say it, but every time Saul is overtaken by an enemy, whether within or without, he never seems to choose the right response. When he is overtaken with suspicion and jealousy, he chooses spear throwing at David. When he is overtaken with impatience, he chooses to become a priest and sacrifice an animal. When he is overtaken with really nice things, he keeps the amalachite stuff and loses his throne. Now he is overtaken by the Philistines and he chooses to fall on his sword. What would have happened if Saul fell on his knees instead of falling on a sword and asked God for forgiveness or another chance? Can you imagine Saul falling on the mercy of God and not falling on a sword? His story would have been told a different way. Saul's end does not surprise me. Death is Satan's answer to being overwhelmed. He wants you to be removed from this life. Jesus says this in John 10, 10, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and might have it abundantly." I read something interesting not too long ago that was chilling of the most famous ship. Scientists now say that a series of slits, not a giant gash, sank the Titanic. The opulent 900 foot cruise ship sank in 1912 on its first voyage, traveling from England to New York. The worst maritime disaster of the time took the lives of 1,500 people. The most widely health theory is that the ship hit an iceberg which opened a huge gash in the side of the liner. In August of 1996, an international team of divers and scientists used sound waves to probe through the wreckage buried in mud, two and 1/2 miles down in the North Atlantic. Their discovery, the damage was surprisingly small. And instead of this huge gash, they found six relatively narrow slits across the six watertight holes. Satan who is committed to your death is cunning because this is what he does on your soul to speed up your death. He cuts open the vulnerable parts of us. It's usually not one big iceberg moment that sinks us, but a series of slits until life pleads out of us and we hit rock bottom. A big iceberg collision makes me turn to God, but those little slits goes unnoticable while hope is leaking from my soul. I've seen the devil more effective with the six slits than a giant iceberg against people. Saul's life was a series of those six gashes. Saul did not die at the hands of the Philistine. Saul had been dying for 40 years of his reign. The six gashes on someone's soul starts like this. First, gash number one is when we're overwhelmed with life. Gash number two is the in rush of discouragement and despair. That leads to gash number three, which comes with depression. Gash number four is seeing no way out and no way forward. Gash number five is the internal conversation that you have with yourself about ending your life. It seems plausible because it's the last thing you can control. And gash number six is I have let God down so many times. He doesn't love me any longer. Life is so fragile and our life can change so fast and so quickly. The Philistine battle wasn't the reason Saul fell on his sword. The Philistine battle was the sixth gash that put him to the bottom of the ocean that God has forsaken him. I'll never forget reading this in a business book some years ago. I'm not sure I saw the correlation, but it was powerful. The ancient Greek writers said this, be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. They're fighting the six gashes and you have no idea what is going on with them. I take it very seriously. Every time I stand up to speak each Sunday over the 40 years of ministry, I've had on my list men and women who have been in our church on Sunday and died on Monday either by accident or even by suicide and it has shaken me. Life can take a turn in an instant. A Philistine battle can show up and overtake you. I've even told our choir and our musicians at various times, sing with joy because this could be somebody's last Sunday here today. Suicide is not an answer, it's an assault. Premature death is the mo of the enemy. He is devaluing your existence and life. Death is the thief of John 10, 10's answer. When the Apostle Paul tells us about the six gash arguments that overwhelm the soul, he is speaking about a stronghold. He says this in second Corinthians 10, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but of divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments in every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. Notice the strongholds are arguments and opinions of yourself and life and God that block out God. The enemy is raised up a stronghold in John 10, 10 to make you think the first part is the only part of the verse. He will give you lofty opinions and arguments to block out the response to the assault. Here's the response, John 10, 10. The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Life abundantly is the answer to the sword. Always remember if you have an internal bleeding from the six gashes that if Jesus died for the whole world, then you are valuable. You may feel messed up, beat up, and stepped on today but you still have value to God. Everyone is a strugglinger. Everyone will feel overwhelmed and wounded in a Philistine battle. But you must remember that everyone is valuable just because you have had a thought about suicide doesn't mean you are less valuable. For those that have gotten to gash number six and feel like you've let God down time after time, always remember these words. How can you let God down when you aren't even holding him up? The great reformer Martin Luther was plagued with questions of whether God was with him during the intense battles he faced, during the reformation. Luther's wife watched Martin battle bouts of depression, even questioning God's willingness or ability to keep him through the most difficult trials. He had so many gashes in his soul that it looked hopeless. Without saying a word one day, Katharina, his wife, came out one day with a black dress and a veil reserved for funerals of that day. When Luther asked why she was dressed that way, she commented, "It's obvious. By the way you're acting that God is dead, don't fall on your sword, fall on your hands and knees, and I promise God will come and so will abundant life choose life." Thank you for joining chapter by chapter. Every chapter from the greatest book, the Bible, the Word of God, seven minutes a day, seven days a week. We'll see you tomorrow.