all the valiant men rose and walked all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and they came to Jabesh and burned them there.After a bitter defeat and humiliation, these men still had the wits and courage to do what was right. Their king had fallen, his sons with him, and their bodies desecrated. They learned of this, and undertook the dangerous mission of returning to Saul and his sons what dignity they could. The royal line may be broken, but they will still do their duty to the king.
One thing I'm confused about is why they burned the bodies. In the next verse, it says they buried the bones. Maybe it's a part of Hebrew/Jewish ritual I'm not familiar with, but why not just bury the bodies to start with?
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