8th June 2026

8th June 2026


Pray (ACts)


Read (1 Samuel 31 focus v1-6)


Message (Alan Burke) 


I’m a big fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. When The Lord of the Rings was made into a film, I was sceptical of how well it would turn out. To be fair, Peter Jackson did an alright job of it; he cut the character ‘Tom Bombadil’ and ‘The Scouring of the Shire’, which in my mind was horrific, but still overall it was an alright adaptation, although he ruined The Hobbit, so don’t bother watching it. There are some epic depictions of battles in the books, and in the film adaptation, Jackson does a good job of portraying them. If you’ve ever watched the films or even the likes of Braveheart, Highlander, or Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (I’m sure there are others), the battle scenes are vivid portrayals of the brutality of war, arrows flying, the sound of swords striking, of course, the smell of copper in the air from the bloodshed can’t be conveyed in a film; we don’t have Smell-O-Vision, and it’s best that we don’t. Here though, in 1 Samuel, the details of the battle are scarce, we can surmise what it would have looked like but we are to focus not on the battle but rather on Saul and what happens to him. 


Here he is wounded, critically, and he’s afraid of what the Amalekites would do to him. Even if Saul didn’t survive, they could have made his last moments as painful and humiliating as possible. If he survived, then it would have been much, much worse. The treatment of captured rulers at the time saw them being tortured, mutilated, sexually humiliated, facing sexual violence. Filled with such fear that the only way that he felt that he could escape what the Philistines could do to him brought him to believe that the only way out was to fall on his sword. Such inner anguish, pain, and fear had come over Saul. What we have to remember though is that even in this, the LORD’s will was being done. For the LORD had passed judgement on Saul (1 Sam 28:18-19). And this, the very next day after the judgement of the LORD came through Samuel, Saul’s sons are dead, and he has taken his own life. 


It was the judgement of the LORD because he had rejected the word of the LORD; this is the LORD’s work, his will; this was an act of the Sovereign LORD that Saul faced the consequences of his actions in this present life, yet death is not the end. While his earthly journey had come to an end for Saul, he would also face the LORD’s judgement for all eternity. I think this is the most terrifying thing that we often overlook, that for those who die outside of faith Christ is that as 1 Thessalonians reminds us that: He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thes 1:8-9). This should spur us as believers to action, to share the gospel, to pray for our family, friends, and neighbours. It should also fill us with praise to the LORD our God for his grace towards us that we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God (Rom 5:9).


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q88 What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, Sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.
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