INTRODUCTION:

The situation was bleak.  The people of God faced ridicule from the heathen.  Saul had been defeated.  
He killed himself.  His body was on display upon the wall of the Philistine city of Beth-shan along with those of his sons.  His head had been removed and displayed before the heathen.  His armor was a trophy displayed in the house of Ashtaroth.

By these acts the Philistines had slapped the face of the children of Israel and mocked their God.  Most of the men of Israel fled their cities and allowed the Philistine to occupy them.  It was a time of shame and humiliation.

Saul had done wrong.  He had consulted the woman of Endor who, he was told, had a familiar spirit (I Samuel 28:7-14).  Samuel had given him a message from the grave that God had departed from him, had given his 
kingdom to David, and that Saul and his sons would join him in the place of the dead the next day.  Saul had 
committed suicide and his sons were also killed (I Samuel 31:4,5).  These were dark days of shame in Israel with the enemy celebrating over armor and the earthly remains of their king and his sons.

 And when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the
 Philistine had done to Saul, all the valiant men arose and 
 traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of
 his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh 
 and burned them there.  Then they took their bones and buried 
 under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days
 (I Samuel 31:11-13).

DISCUSSION:

Valiant men tend to come to light on such occasions.  While others flee, give up, look to their own personal interests, and hide their faces in shame, valiant men, with firm resolve, seek solutions no matter how others choose to act.  Good men who are valiant do not allow the political winds blowing against them to cause them to change direction.  They seek what is right, true, good, and honorable.  They find the strength to pursue the right course of action even if they must do so in small numbers--or completely alone.  They seek no compromises with evil men or activities.  They stand their God-appointed ground and move to obtain their God-appointed objectives.  No amount or form of intimidation causes them to turn aside.

The men of Jabesh-Gilead were valiant men!  While we have no direct statement revealing that they were directed by God to take action (and we would, perhaps, be presumptuous in claiming for certain that they were), we cannot help but strongly suspect as we read the account that their cause was right and good.  The heathen raged over the remains of their king (who had earlier delivered their city from the Ammonites; I Samuel 11:4-11), his armor, and his sons.  The morale of God's people had been broken.

These men embarked upon a bold and dangerous mission.  In territory controlled by a hostile and aggressive enemy they traveled through the night and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons.  Arriving back at Jabesh they cremated them and buried the bones under the tamarisk tree in that place.  Then they fasted seven days.

We are left to imagine in more detail what it was like to be among this valiant patrol.  No doubt many
 drops of anxious perspiration fell from many a brow as suspicious sounds were heard about them.  Enemy positions were likely unknown to them.  Under such circumstances and under cover of darkness or possibly upon the moonlit landscape, enemy soldiers, bushes, and stumps would have been difficult to distinguish.  A fleeing deer would have sent shivers of terror into the hearts of the bravest men.

Imagine approaching the very wall of Beth-shan--and then the bodies of Saul and his sons.  Picture the anxious moments when those bodies were being removed from the wall.  Hear the snap of a twig and the clanking sound of some careless sword upon stone.  Stop!  Hear the footsteps of the watchman on the wall and the muffled sounds of human activity beyond the wall.  Your heart is pounding, your hands are shaking, and your throat is dry--but you have work to do.

Slowed by the bodies that you now carry, you cover the distance to Jabesh once again.  Has your "theft" been discovered?  Are enemy soldiers pursuing you?  These are dangerous questions for which you have no certain 
answers as you press along toward home.

As day breaks you arrive home--exhausted.  You help pile the wood and brush to burn the remains of Saul and his sons.  You light the funeral pyre and watch the flames consume flesh that can never again be used to heap ridicule upon the people of God.  Still looking over your shoulder in the direction of Beth-shan you dig the hole beneath the stately tamarisk tree and watch it receive with dignity the smoldering bones of your former king and his sons.  As you cover them with soil you feel a sense of accomplishment that is not shared with your brethren who ran and hid.  This mission has been completed.  And you wonder, "To what missions will duty call me in the future?"

CONCLUSION:

 If one would argue that this was a self-imposed mission and not one divinely-appointed, no harm is done to our main points.  The fact that men have risked their lives, reputations, and friendships to accomplish tasks of doubtful value ought to cause us to become even more valiant in carrying out our divinely-given duty.  When we open our Bibles and discover the will of God regarding any matter there ought not to be the slightest hint of a question about whether we will comply or not.  With our orders in hand, with our King on His throne, and with our armor in place, the valiant army of God has no right or reason to hesitate, to retreat, or to alter its duties.

        Tim Nichols