Chapter 14:24-52
Last time, we saw the amazing faith of Jonathan. He and his armor-bearer went up against the garrison of the Philistines. We looked at his statement concerning God’s character when he said…
1 Samuel 14:6 (ESV)
6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.”
Jonathan knew that God is a faithful Savior and that there is nothing that can keep God from saving if that’s his will. It doesn’t matter if the army is many or, as in Jonathan’s case, few.
We also remember the commitment and loyalty of his armor-bearer who told him…
1 Samuel 14:7 (ESV)
7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.”
So, Jonathan wanted to discern whether or not it was God’s will for him to attack the Philistines. Remember that his plan was they would show themselves to the Philistines from a distance and if they said come up to us, then he would know that God had given the Philistines over to them.
That is exactly what happened. Jonathan and the armor-bearer climbed up the rocky crag where the Garrison was stationed. God gave the victory.
1 Samuel 14:23 (ESV)
23 So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.
That is an amazing account. We are reminded of who God is and all He does and how He can be trusted. We see that He works through hardship to bring about a strong faith. All those things were happening in the heart of Jonathan while the king sat under the pomegranate tree in the opening of a cave in the air conditioning.
Israel wins but can hardly celebrate.
Samuel closes the first section by announcing God saved Israel that day. Now, we go to the rest of the story…
1. Saul’s Arrogant Oath (14:24-46)
24 And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. 25 Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint. 29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”
31 They struck down the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very faint. 32 The people pounced on the spoil and took sheep and oxen and calves and slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, “Behold, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a great stone to me here.” 34 And Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Let every man bring his ox or his sheep and slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against the Lord by eating with the blood.’ ” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and they slaughtered them there. 35 And Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first altar that he built to the Lord.
36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” But the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 37 And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day. 38 And Saul said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. 39 For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. 40 Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.” 41 Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O Lord, God of Israel, give Urim. But if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped. 42 Then Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan.” And Jonathan was taken.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” 44 And Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.” 45 Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die. 46 Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
Saul is a terrible example of a king. Although, I guess he is a prime example of an earthly king.
At the beginning of this section, we see the phrase, hard pressed.
24 And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food.
Hard Pressed means to be greatly pressured or to feel a heavy burden.
Saul had placed a curse on anyone who ate food before evening. Why he did this is a great question. Saul was rash and he was one who had to look as if he was the reason Israel was experiencing victory.
Israel was hard pressed that day. They were hard pressed because of the pressure of the Philistines. Now the Philistines are defeated but they’re still hard-pressed now because of Saul’s oath. Saul turned victory into distress.
The army of Israel was very tired after winning the victory. There was food to eat; the spoil of the enemy but because Saul made his rash and thoughtless oath, no one could eat. They were very weak and yet because of Saul, they were made to be even weaker.
It was Saul as King who was supposed to be Israel’s deliverer from foreign foes. However, Saul was not fit for the task. By God’s grace Jonathan would step in a fill the roll of deliverer. Because Jonathan went against Saul’s rash oath, Jonathan had been placed in a position where Saul was going to put him to death to save face.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am; I will die.” 44 And Saul said, “God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan.”
Then, the people stood up for Jonathan and said no. He is the deliverer and he will not be put to death.
45 Then the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has worked this great salvation in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people ransomed Jonathan, so that he did not die.
This account shouts to the fact that Jonathan would make a great king. He is king material. However, Jonathan will never get the opportunity because in rejecting Saul, God had also rejected Saul’s descendants.
1 Samuel 13:13–14 (ESV)
13 And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. 14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”
So, God has rejected Saul and his dynasty but Jonathan is still serving a very valuable role in Israel’s history. God is doing things here we don’t know about. For Jonathan as the crown prince, the kingdom would not be his to rule but we see so clearly it is his to serve. He looks to the Lord in faithfulness even though he will never be king.
I think for us we can learn from Jonathan’s attitude and faithfulness to God. Even though God had taken the kingdom away from Saul and in doing so, also Jonathan, Jonathan did not pout and complain but loved God and trusted God where he was. Our circumstances will never be perfect because we live in a fallen world and sin is everywhere. We can serve God where we are. What I mean is, we shouldn’t wait until things seem perfect before we start serving Christ but trust that God is sovereign and trust and serve Him now because He has you exactly where He desires you to be even if it seems less than ideal to you.
Is there some reason you’re holding back from loving and serving Christ and His Church here and now? Jonathan is a wonderful example of someone trusting God in less-than-ideal circumstance. He understood the odds were against him and that if he relied on his father, Saul’s strategy of counting he would never go to battle. He and his armor bearer set out in faith and God won the victory.
2. The Final Account of Saul’s Reign (14:47-52)
47 When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them. 48 And he did valiantly and struck the Amalekites and delivered Israel out of the hands of those who plundered them.
49 Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn was Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. 50 And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
52 There was hard fighting against the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he attached him to himself.
As we read this true account of King Saul, we see that it sounds very positive. He had great military success, he conquered Israel’s enemies on every side just as God said he would. This positive account really does sort of catch us off guard.
There are two assessments of Saul, one is historical…He has done pretty well and has had much success. The other assessment is God’s. He has completely failed in his obedience and submission to the will of God.
His reign is now going to be over. He will still be king for a while longer and we will read his name as we move through 1 Samuel but only in the realm of him seeking to kill David.
The reality is he was not a man after God’s own heart but a man after himself. We will learn that God is not looking for those who are mighty in their own way but He is looking for those who are humble and seek to obey His commands.
So, we learn from Saul’s success that even that is worthless if he is not following the Lord.
Here is the secret that God will share with us in Chapter 16…
1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
Whatever success we may have in this life; whatever goals we set and achieve, we must remember that without the Lord leading us, its all for nothing. God does not need our talent, skill or hard work but desires our affection, humility and obedience.
Love the Lord and serve Him and you will find eternal joy.
Resources Used:
1 Samuel by Dale Ralph Davis
1 Samuel by Cyril Barber
1 Samuel by Tsumura
Leave a Reply