But it seems very wonderful that, in the great battle of the Philistines in which Saul was killed, the Lord had sent David far away in another direction! So the Philistines gathered themselves to the battle, and Saul and his sons and all the men of Israel came out against them. But the night before the battle Saul had gone to a witch at Endor, and asked her to bring up Samuel to speak to him. Both he and the witch were very frightened when Samuel came up—an old man wrapped in a mantle—and Samuel told Saul that God had given the kingdom to David, and that he and his sons would be killed on the morrow. [Illustration: Both he and the witch were very frightened when Samuel came up.] So the battle took place the next day on Mount Gilboa; and the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and his sons, and Saul was sore wounded by the archers. Then Saul besought his armour-bearer to kill him with his sword lest his enemies should come and mock him. But his armour-bearer would not, for he was sore afraid. Then King Saul took his own sword and fell upon it and died. And when his armour-bearer saw that he was dead, he fell upon his sword too, and died with him. So Saul died, and his three sons and all his men, that day together. When the rest of the army who were on the other side of the valley and on the other side of Jordan saw that Saul and his sons were dead, they fled, and forsook their cities, and the Philistines came and dwelt in them. On the next day, the Philistines came to the battlefield to strip the slain, and when they found the king and his sons, they cut off Saul's head and stripped off his armour, and sent the news to all the country round; and they published it in the houses of their gods and made a great rejoicing. They hung the dead bodies of Saul and his sons on the wall of Bethshan; but when the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead heard of what the Philistines had done, all the valiant men arose and travelled all night and took the bodies of Saul and his sons down from the wall; and the men of Jabesh burnt the bodies, and buried their bones under a tree in Jabesh, and made a great mourning for their fallen king for seven days. This is a very sorrowful story. Saul had set out well, and he had everything in life before him. He was a great warrior; he had fought many battles against the Philistines and other enemies on every side; but he spoilt all by one great sin. This was the sin of disobedience. He had disobeyed God's direct command. Not long after Saul was made king, God told him to go and utterly destroy the Amalekites, leaving none behind, not even flocks and herds, or anything that was theirs. But though Saul went, and gained a great victory over them, he disobeyed God in the end; for he saved alive the king and the best of the flocks and herds, and all that was good, he kept.