Bible study · 1 Samuel 31:1-13
1 Samuel 31: Under the tamarisk tree
Read 1 Samuel 31:1-13 before you meet.
In a few lines
The town Saul's army rescued in chapter 11 is the town whose valiant men went all night to take his body and his sons' bodies from the wall of Beth Shan (11:9-11; 31:11-12). And his bones were buried under a tamarisk tree (31:13), a word the Hebrew Bible uses only three times, once for the tree Saul sat under in Gibeah with his spear in his hand (22:6).
The verse to carry
“They took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.”
1 Samuel 31:13
To talk about
1. Jonathan loved David "as his own soul" (18:1), and he died on Mount Gilboa with his father Saul (31:2, 31:6). How do you live with two loyalties that pull in different directions?
2. The men of Jabesh Gilead "went all night" (31:12) so that Saul and his sons could be buried, and David called it kindness (2 Samuel 2:5). Who could you show that kind of costly kindness to this week?
3. The men of Jabesh Gilead "fasted seven days" (31:13), and David and his men "mourned, wept, and fasted until evening" (2 Samuel 1:12). What has helped you grieve a loss alongside other people?