5 Smooth Stones

1 Samuel 15:16 “Then Samuel said to Saul, "Be quiet! And I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." And he said to him, "Speak on." 17 So Samuel said, "When you were li tt le in your own eyes, were you not head of the tribes of Israel? And did not the Lord anoint you king over Israel? 18 Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, and u tt erly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fi ght against them until they are consumed.' 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?" 1 Samuel 15:26 “But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel." 27 And as Samuel turned around to go away, Saul seized the edge of his robe, and it tore. 28 So Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is be tt er than you.” Interpreting these sections of scripture it is important to understand the scriptural principle of scriptural progression, sometimes also called scriptural build-up. One section of scripture need not contain all information pertaining to an event, and all scriptures pertaining to a section or event may be compiled in order to get the more thorough story, or more complete record. In compiling all of these records it is clear that in the ba tt le Saul was fatally wounded. He understood this and did not want to fall into his enemy’s hands while still alive. His armor bearer had too much fear of the Lord to strike the anointed of God and so killed himself when he saw Saul fall upon his own sword. Saul and his sons did die, as is recorded in 1 Samuel 31 and 1 Chronicles 10. After this an Amalekite came along and either found Saul still alive and killed him at his own request or found him dead and made up the story thinking it would impress David, his clear successor, and from Saul’s perspective, rival. By piecing together the various records we compile a more complete understanding of all the events and some di ff erent perspectives from various records. However, there is the record in 1 Chronicles 10: 1 Chronicles 10:13 “So Saul died for his unfaithfulness which he had commi tt ed against the Lord, because he did not keep the word of the Lord, and also because he consulted a medium for guidance. 14 But he did not inquire of the Lord; therefore He killed him, and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse.” This record says that God killed Saul for his unfaithfulness and he did not keep the word of the Lord (1 Samuel 15), and for further consulting the witch at Endor (1 Samuel 28). This certainly seems to be a contradiction 199