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they will find you out

1 Samuel 31:1-13 (JDV)

1 Samuel 31:1 The Philistines fought against Israel, and Israel’s men fled from them and fell dead on Mount Gilboa.
1 Samuel 31:2 The Philistines chased Saul and his sons and killed his sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
1 Samuel 31:3 When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers found him and severely wounded him.
1 Samuel 31:4 Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer would not do it because he was terrified. Then Saul took his sword and fell on it.
1 Samuel 31:5 When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his own sword and died with him.
1 Samuel 31:6 So on that day, Saul died together with his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men.
1 Samuel 31:7 When the men of Israel on the other side of the valley and on the other side of the Jordan saw that Israel’s men had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned the cities and fled. So, the Philistines came and settled in them.
1 Samuel 31:8 The next day when the Philistines came to strip the slain, they found Saul and his three sons dead on Mount Gilboa.
1 Samuel 31:9 They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news in the temples of their idols and among the people.
1 Samuel 31:10 Then they put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
1 Samuel 31:11 When the residents of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
1 Samuel 31:12 all their efficient men set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.
1 Samuel 31:13 Afterward, they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh and fasted for seven days.

they will find you out

The leader chosen by the Israelite people dies a shameful death and loses all his fighting men, his sons, his armor bearer, and his base camps. The body of one who was expected to rescue the people from the Philistines had to be rescued. The anger and envy that had destroyed his family finally destroyed him – and put his country in danger. It is a serious thing to presume to lead others while not dealing with your own sins. They will find you out.

Oh LORD, forgive us our sins. Purify us, so that we might serve and lead with integrity. May such a dismal day of sin’s consequences never come to us.