Today's Scripture Reading (July 1, 2025): 1 Chronicles 10
Benito Mussolini was the Prime Minister of Italy at
the start of World War II. But, as the war progressed, he
became "Il Duce" or "The Leader," the
unquestioned fascist dictator of Italy. Mussolini ruled Italy with an iron
hand, often killing any who opposed him. So, it maybe shouldn't be much of a
surprise that those who defeated him, ending his reign, treated him the
same way he had treated others. On April 28, 1945, with the Allied forces
closing in, Mussolini and most of his comrades, including his mistress, Clara
Petacci, were executed by firing squad. But that was not the end of the story
of Benito Mussolini. The body of Benito Mussolini, along with the bodies
of some of his comrades, was trucked to Milan and dumped in what had been
renamed "Fifteen Martyrs' Square" in honor of fifteen Italian
partisans who had been executed there by the German army on August 10,
1944. The bodies were then spat on and kicked by those who had gathered at the
square. Then, these bodies were strung up upside down from an Esso
gas station sign, the same place where the bodies of the fifteen
executed Italians had been displayed just over nine months earlier.
For Mussolini and his comrades, death was not the end
of dishonor. It is an ancient tradition. Often, dead enemy soldiers were simply
left on the battlefield rather than being buried. And dead leaders were
displayed to dishonor their memory further.
This display of a leader's dead body was precisely
what happened to Saul. His head was removed and taken on a tour of the cities
of Philistia. Eventually, his head was displayed at Dagon's Temple. But that
was not enough. According to 1 Samuel 31, the Philistines took the decapitated
bodies of Saul and his sons to the Israelite village of Beth Shan. Beth Shan
was a small town in the territory of the Tribe of Issachar. However, the
Canaanites had not been entirely driven out of the area. The proof of
that failure was this displaying of the bodies of Saul and his sons
on the walls of Beth Shan. That act meant that the people of
Beth Shan were allies of the Philistines despite being located in
northern Israel. The displaying of Saul's body was meant to dishonor
further the former King of Israel, something that a loyal city of Israel
would have never allowed.
Saul's armor was taken to the Temple of their gods. Again,
in 1 Samuel 31, we are told that the Temple was dedicated to the Ashtoreths. The
armor had become part of the spoils of war and a reminder to the worshipping
people of the power of Philistia and the general weakness of Israel and her
God.
The men of Jabesh Gilead would be the ones to rescue
the bodies of Saul and his sons from the walls of Beth Shan. And when they
gained possession of the bodies, they burned them, not to further dishonor the
bodies, but to make sure that no one could take the bodies back from them and
dishonor the King again. And then they buried the bones and fasted for seven
days, properly mourning the death of a King.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Samuel 5
See Also 1 Samuel 31:10
Personal Note: Happy Canada Day, Canada. Elbows Up!
