1 Samuel 31:4 Then said Saul to his armourbearer, Draw the sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armourbearer would not, for he was sore afraid. There Saul took a sword and fell upon it.
Saul’s army lost the battle, his sons were killed, and he was outnumbered and surrounded. The only prospect he faced was death at the hands of his enemies, and that most likely included torture. From a purely human perspective it looked like the only choice he had was suicide. So he fell on his sword. As it turned out, the Philistines treated his body shamefully anyway.
Almost everyone who takes his own life probably doesn’t see any other alternative. Life, at least life that means anything, is already over as far as the suicide committer is concerned. There is no way out, so just check out. But no matter how many excuses we make and no matter how terrible the condition we’re in, we cannot justify self-murder as anything less than murder. It also exhibits a lack of faith in the God of hope and a surrendering to the evil of despair.
The incident shows how far Saul has fallen. We may not experience thoughts of suicide, but everyone of us can be afflicted with bouts of depression, misery, loss, doubt, and hopelessness. When David confronted a similar situation he encouraged himself in the Lord. Saul did not.