Suicides in the Bible

While the occurrence of suicides in the Bible is rare, there are several instances. As we examine them, we may learn some lessons to apply to our lives and the lives of others.

It should be noted at the start that there are several people in the Bible who, for different reasons, desired to die. Among them were Moses (see Numbers 11:15), Elijah (I Kings 19:4), Job (Job 6:8-11), Jonah (Jonah 4:8), and the Apostle Paul (II Corinthians 5:2, 8). They, however, did not take the next step of ending their lives. They persevered and faced the difficulties that lay ahead of them. The same cannot be said for the following persons.

Th first example of suicide-and the most famous one in the Old Testament-is found in Judges 16:23-30). It is the story of the death of Samson, one of the most intriguing characters in the Bible. The Philistines capture Samson, gouge out his eyes, and imprison him. As time passes, he regains his tremendous strength. At a major feast of the Philistines, Samson is brought out as entertainment. He asks a servant to place his (Samson's) hands on the pillars that support the temple in which the feast is being held. Samson prays for the strength to get vengeance on his captors and pushes against the pillars. The temple collapses and thousands of people, including Samson, die. Clearly Samson's reason for dying is to kill as many enemies as possible in payment for what they have done for him. If he could have done so without dying himself, I think he would have.

The next example in the Bible is found in I Samuel 31:1-6 (and also in I Chronicles 10:4-5). Saul, the first king of the Israelites, has led his army into battle against the Philistine nation. While fighting, Saul is critically wounded. He asks his armor-bearer to kill him so the Philistines would not have the chance to mutilate and torture him. The armor-bearer refuses to kill his king, so Saul takes his own sword and falls on it and dies. When the armor-bearer sees that Saul is dead, he, too, takes his own life. Saul's reason is self-centered: to prevent further suffering and to avoid the humiliation of being mistreated by his enemies.

A third example is in II Samuel 17:23. Ahithophel is serving as an advisor to Absalom, a son of the famous King David of Israel. Absalom is rebelling against David and trying to take over the kingdom. David, however, has "planted" someone in Absalom's camp with the assignment of giving advice the opposite of Ahithophel's advice. Seeing that Absalom will not listen to him, Ahithophel's leaves the camp, goes home, puts his affairs in order, and hangs himself. The context of this passage seems to indicate that Ahithophel feared that the rebellion would fail and that he would be caught up in the punishment that David would level against his enemies. Thus, Ahithophel seems to have wanted to end his life on his terms rather than undergoing an unknown fate. Hence, self-interest was at work here.

One last Old Testament example is found in I Kings 16:15:19 and concerns Zimri, a king of one part of the divided Israelite nation. He is attacked by the army and, rather than be captured, goes into his palace and sets the palace on fire. He dies in the fire. Why did Zimri kill himself? What we know is that he gained the throne by rebelling against the legitimate king. Perhaps he feared the punishments that he would suffer if he were captured. Again, it seems as though self-interest was at work here, too, although death by fire seems a terrible way to die.

The New Testament example is the death of Judas in Matthew 27:1-5. Judas, the disciple of Jesus who betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, suffers a case of remorse, returns the silver, and hangs himself. The reason for Judas committing suicide is stated as being the result of his remorse over what he had done to an innocent man (Jesus).

As I studied these examples and reflected on the cases of suicide I had to deal with during my years in the active ministry, the reasons for suicide in the Bible seem surprisingly similar to the reasons I experienced in my ministry. They can be divided into three major categories.

The first category is revenge. If you're going to hurt someone deeply, suicide is a perfect way to do it. A well-written suicide note blaming a loved one for your action will leave a memory almost impossible to erase.

The second category is self-centeredness. Despite what people say about suicidal people having a low sense of self-esteem, the opposite is usually the case. People who commit suicide are often too proud to face the humiliating consequences of their actions. They take what they think is the easy way out rather than learning from and growing as a result of actions. While there are certainly older people who commit suicide (and their number seems to be growing because of the pain of terminal diseases), suicide seems to be more common among young people who have not gained the maturity nor the broad perspective to handle difficulties.

The third category is emotions. Judas experienced that. My brother, who had a severe case of depression, also experienced emotional lows before he committed suicide years ago. Just because emotions are present, however, does not mean that revenge and self-centeredness are absent from the decision to end one's life. A decision to commit suicide is a complex one that cannot be easily assigned to one cause or factor.

As a Christian, I believe that life is a gift from a loving Creator, a gift that we have no right to end on our own. At the same time, I do not lightly disregard the suffering or difficult circumstances that lead some to reject that gift. While I personally do not condone suicide, I can understand why some would feel that it is the only viable course of action.

For other thoughts on suicide, see the following Associated Content articles that I've have written:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/912593/suicide_and_the_bible_biblical_reasons.html?cat=34

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/799057/bible_passages_for_funeral_sermons.html?cat=34

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/354974/sermon_ideas_for_the_funeral_of_a_person.html?cat=34