Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Lessons From the Grave | Historical Books | 1 Samuel 31

Episode Date: May 27, 2025

What can we learn from Saul's death? What does repentance look like? Is your love for Jesus growing? In today's episode, Tanya shares how 1 Samuel 31 warns us against letting our hearts grow harder over the years. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Samuel 31

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. There's a little book called Guidepost. Maybe you've heard of it. My grandmother used to get it every month, and then after she passed, my mom kept the subscription going. When I stayed with either of them, I'd sometimes pick it up for a quick read before bed. The stories inside were short, they were heartfelt.

They were usually written and submitted by everyday people. One of those people was a woman named Lenora. Lenora was a trained surgical nurse, but when she found herself caring for her grandfather at the end of his life as he was dying of pangoratic cancer, something in her shifted. And she discovered that she had a deep compassion for people as they were dying. And so she became a hospice nurse. Lenora said people often ask, why would you want to do that? Isn't it depressing? But Lenora has a different perspective that is shaped by years at the bedside of the dying.

she says, I've learned that death is not something to fear. I've come to understand the joy God has prepared for his children. The closer my patients come to death, the more their eyes and spirits open to a reality I can only clumps. They have an extraordinary awareness of God's presence. Sins they agonized over for years, suddenly feel forgiven. Grievances they've held on to for a lifetime vanish. That's when I realize death is an ending only for those of us still wrapped up in the story of our earthly lives. So why are we talking about this? Why are we talking about hospice and the end of life today? Well, because today we're looking at the final chapter of first simul, chapter 31, and it is the end of an era for Israel. King Saul is dead. Israel's first king, the one they thought would save

them from the Philistines, has fallen. Chapter 31 tells us, Saul's army is completely defeated. His sons are killed. Saul fatally wounded falls on his own sword to avoid capture. The Philistines move in and take over the region. Chapter 31, verse 6 sums it up. It says, thus Saul died and his three sons and his armor bear and all his men on the same day together. Well, that is not very hopeful, but there is one good thing in this chapter. The men of Jebelius, Besh Gilead, the very people Saul once saved, travel 11 miles overnight to retrieve the bodies of Saul and his son so they can be buried with honor. Other than that, it's a really tragic ending. But how? Why did we get here? Saul was chosen by God. Saul was impressive in stature. Saul was filled with

the spirit. Saul was transformed at one point into a new man. Even early in his reign, he was victorious. He rescued the people of Jabesh-Gyliad from the Ammonites, like we just mentioned. No one would have guessed who would end like this. And if this is how Saul's story ends, we have to wonder, will the new King David do any better? But David does have a different story. David sends, he sins deeply, but he is deeply forgiven. David's life will be marked by repentance and by God's deliverance. So what is the difference between these two kings? Why does Saul's life end so tragically? It might be as simple and as big as repentance.

See, when Saul was confronted by the prophet Samuel about his disobedience, Saul became defensive. He didn't show sorrow. He wasn't regretful. He doesn't change throughout his life into a better person. Instead, he clings to power. He begins a long life of rebellion against God. He tries to hold onto the throne even after God has removed his blessing from it.

We don't know exactly when Saul's heart changed from soft and open to hard and closed, but it looks like it did. The message in this book of Samuel is not about trying to be better people than Saul. It's about recognizing how much we need repentance, how often we need repentance, and how powerful forgiveness can be to bring joy and change and hope into our lives. See, we're never going to live sinless lives, but we can live repentant lives. Tim Keller said that most Christians think of repentance as something we only do when we have made a big mistake. But repentance is meant to be a daily rhythm. It's how we grow.

Let's look at this story in Luke chapter 7. Jesus gives us a picture of what repentance looks like. Jesus is at the home of a Pharisee named Simon, and a woman walks in. She is someone who is known to be a sinner. When she comes in, she brings with her an expensive jar of perfume, and she kneels at Jesus' feet, and she begins to wash his feet with her tears and the perfume. Simon, the Pharisee, is appalled by this. He thinks, if Jesus were really a prophet, he would

know what kind of woman this is. He would not let her touch him. But Jesus knew what Simon was thinking. So Jesus tells a parable. He says to Simon, Simon, Simon, two people owed money. One owed 500 denary and the other 50. The lender forgives both debts. And Jesus asks, which of them will love him more? Simon answers, the one who had the larger debt canceled. And Jesus says, you were right. Then he turns to the woman and says, Therefore, I tell you, your many sins are forgiven, as your great love has shown, but whoever has been forgiven little loves little.

None of us want to end up like Simon, critical, judgmental, closed off. None of us want to end like Saul, holding on so tightly to something that we lose the joy of walking with God. And yet, we have to ask ourselves, Are we getting in our own way? This is what Jesus was showing Simon.

This is what we see in Saul. A lack of repentance can become a barrier between us and love, between us and true joy. Now, we may treat repentance like an event, like something we did last week or last month or last year. But it's meant to be a habit, a way of life, a condition of our hearts. Let me put it this way.

If you took your child to the doctor and found they were not growing, you would want to know why. You would ask, what do they need? What needs to change? Now ask yourself, is your love for Jesus growing? Is your heart becoming softer? Is your joy expanding? If not, maybe it's time to check the source. Are we repentant or defensive and self-assured? I do not want to end like, we see Saul end in chapter 31. I want my heart to grow softer, not harder. I want my love to grow deeper, not thinner. I want my joy to be full, not forced. So I need repentance. I need to experience the true forgiveness from Jesus again and again. What about you? God, we admit that it's easy to rely on our own strength and to protect ourselves with pride.

But you invite us into something more beautiful. You invite us into a life shaped by forgiveness and mercy. You invite us to receive a heart that is softened by repentance. Give us the humility that we cannot possibly have on our own to turn to you, not just once, but as a way of life. Thank you for meeting us with mercy and filling us with joy. Amen.