The Ruin at Gilboa / Ruined Leadership

Every road that leads the believer away from the things that Christ loves and deviates towards those things that Christ hates, will always lead to ruin and loss. Gilboa was such a place for Saul and Israel, it was here that God’s people fell and the enemies of the Lord were seen to triumph. This was a place where political negotiations with Amalek had drawn two generations of God’s people to suffer defeat and ruin. Sadly, Israel of old had turned away from following the LORD of hosts and had followed Saul into battle.

The second book of Samuel opens with perhaps the darkest chapter in the history of God’s people, when the ruin at Gilboa was announced. Ironically, the tidings of Israel’s defeat and ruin came to David at Ziklag from the lips of an Amalekite, one that had assisted in Saul’s death. Remember, it was Saul, who, after some political negotiations had consented to the early release of Agag, king of the Amalekites. When David heard of the sad ruin at Gilboa, the scriptures declare that; ‘Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.’

As David lamented the tragic loss on Gilboa’s battlefield, he used the phrase; ‘how are the mighty fallen,’ three times; this phrase punctuates, ruined leadership, ruined friendship and ruined fellowship among God’s people. This provides yet another parallel with the ruin of evangelical protestant testimony in our nation of late, ‘how are the mighty fallen’

Leadership ruined
As David heard of the devastation that had overtaken Israel; in one day two generations in Israel suffered humiliation and defeat. Israel’s leadership had been wiped out, the mighty had fallen on Gilboa. David was not so much interested in the details of the enemy victory; he was more concerned with the former testimony of Israel’s leadership that had tragically fallen. He said, ‘the beauty of Israel is slain’ – ‘Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.’ David didn’t attack the former leaders; he mourned their ruined leadership and the loss amongst God’s people. ‘Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.’

David did not want the place of defeat and ruin remembered or celebrated either; ‘Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings:’ Neither did David want there to be occasion for the enemy to reproach the name of the Lord; the ruin of God’s people was not to be published in a vain glorious fashion. ‘Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph’. All David could say in response to the ruined leadership of God’s people at Gilboa, was, ‘how are the mighty fallen’


How could such ruin overtake Israel’s leadership at Gilboa? How could such champions in Israel be defeated? How could mighty men as Saul and Jonathan fall before the enemy? These were brave men; they had indeed fought previously in the Lord’s battles and triumphed through God. ‘From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty’. David hits the answer to some, if not to all of these questions; ‘for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.’ God is the shield and buckler of His redeemed; but when God’s people cast off the Lord then they cannot stand before the enemy; they stand as if they are the same as the enemy; ‘as though he had not been anointed with oil’ Saul had cast off the commandment of the Lord and clad himself in the rags of political compromise. The secret talks and deals at Endor could afford no protection for Israel’s leadership as they fell at Gilboa. ‘how are the mighty fallen’

Now for the very painful parallel with the evangelical protestant leadership of our day which have been ruined and sore defeated in recent times. A political agreement was reached at Hillsborough whereby policing and justice will be placed in the remit of the terrorist inclusive, amoral executive at Stormont. This agreement is the consummation of the Belfast and St Andrews agreements and has the approval and support of evangelical protestant leaders. Evangelical protestant leaders signed up to the St Andrews agreement, sat down in partnership government with unrepentant terrorists and then advocated the full devolution of policing and justice powers to the executive.

By implication and association, this means that our evangelical protestant leaders support the early release of murderers into society; this is contrary to God’s Word, which states that the evil doer should be punished. Moreover they have helped, whether by association or by deed, to implement and support a terrorist inclusive government, which appears to have a secular humanistic foundation; it must also be said that this government has no opposition party. First and second generation Free Presbyterians, who entered into solemn covenant with the Lord, vowed to love the things which Christ loves, and to hate the things that Christ hates; now, how can a covenant such as this stand, when their leadership have not condemned the undemocratic, amoral and terrorist inclusive executive at Stormont? ‘how are the mighty fallen’

Our civil and religious liberty, which was purchased at such cost, has been cut adrift by central and devolved government that is intent on the implementation of legislation which is supportive of secular humanistic opinion and is destructive towards the authoritative Word of Almighty God. When the ruin of evangelical protestant leadership is brought into focus like this, we who are saved by grace alone through faith alone, can only but hang our heads before the One who loved us and gave himself for us; and cry, ‘how are the mighty fallen’!