When all the men of Israel who were in the valley saw that they fled, and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their cities, and fled; and the Philistines came and lived in them.
By recounting Saul’s death, the writer intended to bring many of the lessons connected with the people’s demand for a king, and Saul’s history, back to the minds of his restoration readers. Hopefully it will do the same for us.