Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not; for he was sore afraid. So Saul took a sword, and fell upon it.
This account of Saul's death is the same with that which we had, Sa1 31:1, etc. We need not repeat the exposition of it. Only let us observe, 1. Princes sin and the people suffer for it. It was a bad time with Israel when they fled before the Philistines and fell down slain (Ch1 10:1), when they quitted their cities, and the Philistines came...
Commenting on 1 Chronicles 10:1-7
his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid--He was, of course, placed in the same perilous condition as Saul. But it is probable that the feelings that restrained him from complying with Saul's wish were a profound respect for royalty, mingled with apprehension of the shock which such a catastrophe would give to the national feelings and interests.
The account of the ruin of Saul and his house in 1Ch 10:1-14, cf. 1 Sam, forms the introduction to the history of the kingship of David, which is narrated in two sections. In the first, 1 Chron 11-21, we have a consecutive narrative of the most important events of David’s life, and his attempts to settle the kingship of Israel on a firmer basis...
Commenting on 1 Chronicles 10:1-7