Saul and his sons are slaughtered

and their bodies are desecrated

The Philistines defamed Saul and

Jonathan. They took their bodies

and violated them by debasing

them and hanging their bodies

out to rot in public dishonor.

It was a savage outrage.

The people of Jabesh Gilead

heard what the Philistines had

done to Saul.

And Their valiant men sprang

into action.

They traveled all night,

They took the corpses of Saul

and his three sons from the wall

that the Philistines had strung

them up on at Beth Shan,

and carried them back to

Jabesh …

They then buried the bones

under the tamarisk tree in

Jabesh and fasted in

mourning for seven days.

The bodies of those we love

are precious to us.

We want their bodies honored

and respected and we carefully

and lovingly grieve over our own

Our Lord bowed down to us and

took a human body of humiliation

to Himself.

A body that was rejected.

A body that was scorned

A body that was tortured

And He bore our sins in His

own body on the cross.

His body is precious to us

and we want to deepen in

our discernment of all He

achieved in His body for our

Salvation.

He said this is my body which

is broken for You.

Do this in worshipful

remembrance of Me