The Foolishness of Saul
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Last week we saw Jonathan and his armor-bearer as they went out and challenged the Philistines who were at an outpost guarding the pass at Michmash.
We saw these two kill some 20 men in battle. Then God took over. He put the entire Philistine army into a panic to the point that they actually began killing each other.
Meanwhile, Saul and the 600 man army are just sitting in Gibeah of Benjamin. Bound by fear they are doing nothing!
When the lookouts at Gibeah see the Philistine army running away in all directions, Saul gets the hint from God that they need to pursue and engage the Philistines in battle. But they don’t have to do much because the Philistine army is too busy killing each other.
When we come to 1 Samuel 14:23 we read:
So the Lord rescued Israel that day, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.
As we look at our passage today, we need to remember who started this entire ordeal! Remember it is Jonathan and his armor-bearer.
So we are going to continue our study in the book of 1 Samuel. So if you have your Bibles, I want to encourage you to turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter 14, and we’ll pickup the story with verse 24.
Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
Saul’s Foolish Oath
Saul’s Foolish Oath
Battling the Philistines, Saul’s army becomes “distressed”—close to exhaustion—
The reason is because Saul had bound them by an oath of to the King—sometimes considered a sacred oath, the king’s oath could not be broken with severe consequences! And those consequences were controlled by the king himself.
So truly oath was all about Saul.
Cursed is any man who eats anything before a couple of things take place:
— Evening comes.
—Or before Saul has been avenged over his enemies.
So no one from the army is eating.
So the men are under this foolish oath that Saul made them agree too. Now they are pursuing their Philistine enemies that are running for their lives. And the first part of the verse tells us that the men are struggling—they are in distress, or becoming weak and exhausted.
Now look at the next verse.
The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground. When they went into the woods, they saw the honey oozing out, yet no one put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
As they chase after the Philistine army, they enter a wooded area, and every single man passes honey laying on the ground—within easy reach.
Verse 26 repeats this part for us so that we’re sure not to miss it. There is honey oozing out.
But NO ONE eats any of it! They don’t eat it because they were afraid of the oath.
Let’s continue the story. Look at verse 27.
But Jonathan had not heard that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.
But Jonathan
He did not know about the oat! Remember he left without telling anyone, and apparently he left before Saul placed the men under the oath.
So not knowing, Jonathan dips the end of his staff into the honey and eats some of it.
And we’re told “his eyes brightened.” This seems to be a reference to the fact that perhaps he was suffering (like the other men) from low blood sugar.
It is really innocent because Jonathan doesn’t know anything about the oath that was made. Until we get to verse 28!
Then one of the soldiers told him, “Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be any man who eats food today!’ That is why the men are faint.”
One of the soldiers sees Jonathan eat the honey, and tells him about the oath, concluding, “That is why the men are faint.” The men are faint because they haven’t had anything to eat!
Now I love Jonathan’s response! Look at verse 29.
Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey.
Dad has made trouble for our country! Dad has limited our success.
Look at how Jonathan’s body responded when he at a taste of honey. He was energized!
Jonathan goes on saying:
How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”
The men would have been better off if they had eaten some of the plunder they had taken from the Philistines.
In fact the slaughter of the Philistines would have been even greater! Because the men would have been stronger, run faster, and fought harder.
Saul’s oath and his command to his men was foolish. Not only that, but his foolishness stopped Israel from experiencing an even greater victory over the Philistines.
Battle Recap
Battle Recap
This section closes with a recap of the battle. In verse 31 we read:
That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Micmash to Aijalon, they were exhausted.
Israel struck down the Philistines.
They fought from Micmash all the way down to Aijalon. This was a span of about 17 miles. So the battle and the chase covered about 17 miles.
No wonder the men were exhausted. They had eaten nothing and had fought hard, and now their bodies could fight no longer.
Hungry & Tired
Hungry & Tired
In fact, the next verse demonstrates the extreme hunger.
They pounced on the plunder and, taking sheep, cattle and calves, they butchered them on the ground and ate them, together with the blood.
I love the imagery here—they pounced! The actual Hebrew here means to rush greedily to get the plunder.
They were so hungry that they didn’t take the time to butcher the animals according to the Levitical Law. Specifically they did not drain the blood and ate the meat while it still contained the blood (cf. Lev 17:10-14).
Now someone—we’re not told who—tells Saul about the problem. It’s there in verse 33.
Then someone said to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that has blood in it.” “You have broken faith,” he said. “Roll a large stone over here at once.”
As soon as someone tells Saul about it, he accuses the men of “braking faith” with the Lord God.
And he begins to correct the situation.
—He has them roll a large stone.
— Then he gives a message to be delivered to the men.
Then he said, “Go out among the men and tell them, ‘Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood still in it.’ ” So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there.
The message is to all the men.
Bring your animals here to the rock and slaughter them in the right way.
Then eat your meat here.
And don’t sin against the Lord by eating the meat with the blood still in it.
And we’re told that every did as Saul commanded.
Now I love verse 35, because it reminds me of the reason that God picked Saul. You see reading the story it would be easy for me to think that God made a mistake—but he didn’t. For all of Saul’s problems, verse 35 reminds us of the goodness of Saul.
Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first time he had done this.
For the very first time
Saul built an altar to the Lord.
He wants his men to be right with Yahweh the God of Israel!
Back to the Battle
Back to the Battle
The men have been fed, and the sacrifices (presumably) have been made. Now Saul wants to get back to the battle at hand.
Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.” “Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied. But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.”
Saul wants to go after the Philistines and plunder then at night while they are sleeping.
The men say, “Do whatever seems best to you.” Or to put it another way, “We’re right behind you.”
But the priest (Eli’s grandson) says that Saul should inquire of God before he continues pursuing the Philistines.
So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day.
Saul inquires of the Lord:
Shall I pursue the Philistines?
If I do will You give them in Israel’s hand?
But Saul receives NO answer from Yahweh on that day. God is silent.
Now Saul doesn’t like the fact that Yahweh is silent. He wants answers! So he assumes there is something wrong. Someone in the camp has sinned. Someone in camp has made God angry!
Who Sinned?
Who Sinned?
So Saul begins to make accusations.
Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. As surely as the Lord who rescues Israel lives, even if it lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” But not one of the men said a word.
He calls all the leaders of the army to him.
He accuses someone (although he doesn’t know who) of sin!
He is determined to uncover the sin and to execute the offender!
He says that this death sentence applies to EVERYONE—even to his son Jonathan.
Note: Saul never dreamed that Jonathan would have done something wrong. So he thought that was a safe threat!
No one in the group said a word!
Saul then said to all the Israelites, “You stand over there; I and Jonathan my son will stand over here.” “Do what seems best to you,” the men replied.
Saul puts all the leaders of the army on one side.
He and Jonathan stand together on the other side.
And the men do whatever Saul says to do.
Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Give me the right answer.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared.
Saul prays to the Lord (Yahweh) to show him who had sinned!
It says that Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot. The priest would have used the Urim and Thummim—stones that were carried in the vest—or ephod—that the priest wore. These two stones were used to discover God’s will or for God to expose sin in someone.
Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.
Next the priest cast the lot again and Jonathan was identified as the offender. This was shocking to Saul, but in his foolishness he had already said that whoever’s sin kept God from responding would be put to death—even if it was his son.
Now it has just been revealed by casting lots, that Jonathan was the reason God wasn’t answering.
Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him, “I merely tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now must I die?”
So Saul asks his son, “What have you done?”
Jonathan says all he did was eat a little honey. Surely that’s not worthy of a death sentence.
Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”
Saul still holds to his statement—Jonathan must die! Saul is afraid of what God might do if he doesn’t keep his vow and kill his son.
The Rescue of Jonathan
The Rescue of Jonathan
But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.
The men intervene! They tell the king that Jonathan will not be put to death, because it was Jonathan who with God’s help brought Israel its great victory.
So NO ONE—not even the king—is going to hurt Jonathan.
Then we read, “So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.”
The War Ends
The War Ends
Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.
At this point, Saul stopped chasing the Philistines, and the Philistines went home!
Saul is a Man of War
Saul is a Man of War
After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.
When Saul began to lead Israel, he fought enemies on every side.
These included:
—Moab
—Ammonites
—Edom
—The kings of Zobah
—And of course the Philistines
Saul inflicted punishment on every one of them.
He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.
Saul was a valiantly defeated one group—the Amalekites.
He stopped those around Israel from plundering them.
Saul’s Family
Saul’s Family
Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal.
Three sons (at this point in time)
—Jonathan
—Ishvi—some think this is Ishbosheth (2 Sam 2:8), or it could be Abinadab (1 Chron. 10:2).
—Malki-Shua
Two daughters
—Merab (the oldest)
—Michal (the younger)
His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul’s army was Abner son of Ner, and Ner was Saul’s uncle.
His wife’s name was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz.
The commander of Saul’s army—his cousin Abner son of Ner.
—Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s Father Ner were both sons of Abiel.
Saul Man of War
Saul Man of War
All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.
Saul faced bitter wars with the Philistine throughout his entire time as king.
Whenever Saul saw a brave man—he took the man into his service. Remember 1 Samuel 8:10-12? Samuel told the people that a king would take their sons to serve him—which is exactly what Saul did.
So What?
So What?