1 Samuel 31:4

Was Saul’s suicide justifiable?

PROBLEM: King Saul was mortally wounded, and he asked his armorbearer to assist him in committing suicide. Was this justified?

SOLUTION: Suicide is murder, and the Bible says, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). It makes no difference that the life taken is one’s own. All life belongs to God, and He alone has the right to take it (Deuteronomy 32:39; Job 1:21).

Even the most desperate believers in the Bible who desired death never considered suicide a morally viable alternative. Rather, recognizing the sovereign hand of God over human life, they prayed like Jonah: “Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3). Though they wanted God to take it, they never considered it right to take it themselves.

Furthermore, with the exception of Samson (see comments on Jud. 16:26–27), there are at least five cases of suicide recorded in Scripture, and none of them is approved by God—Abimelech (Jud. 9:50–56); Saul (1 Samuel 31:1-6); Zimri (1 Kings 16:18-19); Ahithophel (2 Samuel 17:23); and Judas who betrayed Christ (Matthew 27:3-10). Each met a tragic death, and none met with divine approval. Suicide is an attack on the image of God in man (Genesis 1:27) and an attempt to usurp God’s sovereignty over human life.