Daily Reflections From Higher Things®

Daily Lectionary: 1 Samuel 31:1-13; 1 Corinthians 7:1-24 So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines, to carry the good news to the house of their idols and to the people. (1 Samuel 31:9) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. It ended so badly for Saul. The one whom the prophet Samuel had anointed as king over Israel dies by his own hand in the midst of a battle that he never should have fought. Saul's death wasn't an honorable one. His body was mutilated and hung on a city wall. What was good news for the Philistines was deflating news for Israel. The dishonorable death of Saul was the sad result of his lack of fear, love, and trust in God. In fact, his last recorded meal was in the house of a medium after he consulted with a demonic spirit masquerading as the ghost of the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 28). But that isn't the whole story for Israel. David had been anointed king (1 Samuel 16:1-13) and was alive. God's promise to have an "anointed one