The King's Vow

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. It is an honor to be back in the pulpit, stewarding the Word of God for the saints of Durbin Memorial Baptist Church.

I am thankful for all of those who stepped up in my absence last week. It was a wonderful time with family. I truly believe there is a biblical principle for taking time to get away from regular responsibilities and would encourage all of you to find time for regular rest. That is the point of the Sabbath. Setting aside time for rest. You can see all throughout the gospels, Jesus withdrawing away from the crowds to spend alone time in prayer and communion with the Father. Rest is good.

But if I am being honest, even though I understand that rest is good, it is something to be desired, and something to be found in the Lord, even though I know that, I struggle to shut it off. My flesh makes me feel guilty for trying to relax.

You see, our flesh often slips into legalism! Even though God’s Word tells us to take a moment, pause, get away and rest in the Lord, we feel guilty when we dabble in the rest because we feel like we should be earning our own righteousness! Maybe this is just me in a time of confession this morning, if so then that is okay, the church is place for us to share our hearts and burdens with other believers, but I don’t think I am alone here. Our flesh often draws us towards legalism and guilt based on personal performance or the lack there of.

Why is legalism so attractive? Legalism, that is finding yourself to be “good enough” based on personal performance, is attractive because it places us in control. We want to be in the driver seat of our life. Legalism is thinking one capable of obtaining their own righteousness. It’s impossible. Try as we might, we can never reach the standard of perfection based upon our own behavior.

One of the biggest problems with the legalist mind set is the focus on external compliance rather than a genuine internal transformation. We may do many “good things” outside without feeling peace inside. That is because our actions cannot produce peace. Peace comes from the Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ. And it comes from Christ alone.

Christ, the very Lamb of God, the God Man who became sin though He knew no sin, so that in Him we be reconciled to God, that Christ provides the peace that passes all understanding. In coming to Christ, seeing Him as King of your life, you see that your works were never enough but His work is more than enough! You see that you follow Him and obey Him not to earn His favor but because you have received it! While you sincerely desire to obey Him, you rest in knowing the He has paid for every one of your sins, past, present, and future. And when you know that, you don’t need self-reliant, always-inadequate legalism! We have to remind ourselves of this because our flesh is weak and our enemy preys on our inadequacies to temper our service to the Lord!

Our Savior is so good! Oh how marvelous, Oh how wonderful, is my Savior’s love for me!

And because our Savior’s love is so good, we should have our ears, eyes, and hearts open when He directly speaks against the folly of legalism! We often talk about the gentle, humble, loving Jesus, and that He is, but cannot overlook the seriousness and intensity with which He rebuked false teaching. Look at what our Savior says to those caught deep in the throngs of legalism:

Matthew 23:23–28 ESV

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

I used some emphasis in reading that, not to be dramatic for the sake of keeping your intention, but because we must remember that these words on the page were actually spoken and the use of the “Woes!” indicates this was an intense exchange! Legalism is no light matter! The Pharisees were so worried about external personal holiness that they added rules and made their lives a performance but on the inside they were dead and desperate. Jesus Christ gives these deceived, false religious scribes and Pharisees a truth bomb on their spiritual condition letting them know that they are making mountains out of molehills and so far off from where they are supposed to be.

Now, at this point, if you have been following along with the rest of the service, you may be asking “What does any of this have to do with 1 Samuel 14?”

If you haven’t already, I’d like you to turn there now. I wanted to address the serious error of Legalism in the introduction this morning because though this sermon has been entitled “The King’s Vow” the alternate title could be “Ludicrous Legalism”. Today in verse 24-52 we will see how King Saul exemplifies what Christ said when He told the Scribes and Pharisees that they were, “straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel.” We will also see what happens when leaders are legalists rather than loyalists to the Lord.

Let’s begin in 1 Samuel 14:24

1 Samuel 14:24 ESV

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.

Before we break this down, we need to first be reminded of the greater context in which this takes place. Last week Brother Roger walked through the first half of this chapter which showed King Saul’s son Jonathan taking on a Philistine garrison with his armor bearer. The Lord provided Israel with a great victory. The Israelites that had once been scattered and frightened are now galvanized together while the Philistines are infighting.

Where we are picking up in the text today, we are seeing Saul’s next move. If you remember back to chapter 13, Saul had been told that his kingdom would be taken from him and given to a man after God’s own heart due to Saul’s disobedience. Saul doesn’t seem to have dwelled too deeply upon the prophet’s declaration. He didn’t have much time to think about that because of the Philistine opposition. He is still acting as king.

Here in verse 24 Saul is making a ridiculous decree and command of his people. He says that none of the Israelites fighting against the Philistines are to eat any food until night time when Saul has been avenged on his enemies.

There are quite a few things we need to note here that have practical application in our own lives.

I first want us to see Saul’s motivation for this declaration. He says don’t eat until *I* am avenged on MY enemies.

As we are seeing ludicrous legalism in this text, our eyes should be drawn to the self centeredness of Saul’s declaration. He is primarily concerned here with his personal pride and victory. No where in his declaration is the Lord mentioned at all! He wants all the men in Israel to participate in this really pious looking act, every one join in on this fast! Why? For God? No! For ME! For Saul! Legalism is attractive because it puts the power in the person. It is pride and self-preoccupation put forth into personal productivity.

We aren’t given a deep explanation for what led Saul to instruct his men to participate in the fast, but we can clearly see his goal was to serve himself. Saul was trying to manipulate the situation to assure HIMSELF victory.

When leaders are legalist rather than loyalists to the Lord they also heap unnecessary burdens and stipulations on others. This was the problem of the scribes and Pharisees Jesus addressing in Matthew 23. They had added to the Law. They did things that looked impressive but had no eternal value. They had missed the heart of the Law. Saul here is laying down stipulations on his people for his own purposes.

I have had many conversations with brothers and sisters in this church in regards to Christian living. We had a plethora of conversations about a wide range of topics particularly when we were revising the constitution. I have said time and time again, “I want to go no further nor any bit shorter than the commands of Scripture.” God has graced us with all the guidance we need to honor Him in our lives through what He has proclaimed to us in His Word. He has also graced us with the Holy Spirit and Christian Liberty so that we can joyously live in service to Him!

What I’m getting at here is we don’t need to add to what’s there! We should take what is there reverently and apply it joyously! I have heard horror stories of Pastors who use the pulpits to harp on a particular issue that they are interested in. The pastor should absolutely be preaching the Word unashamedly, but if the teaching is BEYOND the Word of God than just like Scribes and Pharisees we must say WOE to YOU!

Someone should have said Woe to You to Saul. In fact something like that happens a bit later, but for now in our text, the King’s edict has been given and his army is all the worse for it.

We wont read every verse here but I want to continue on allow me to paraphrase a bit.

Verse 26 fast forwards a little bit. All the Israelites fighting the Philistines find themselves in the forest. And this both an incredible and horrific forest. Because this forest is LOADED with beehives so fresh, so ready to be consumed that they are just DRIPPING to the ground with honey.

Why is this incredible? Well because these folks are hungry! They’ve spent hours fighting against the Philistines. They are exhausted! I spent 4 hours walking around SeaWorld last week and I was bout ready to eat my baby! I can’t imagine how hungry they were after battling for some time with empty stomachs. So how amazing must it have been to enter the forest and see the land flowing with honey!

Why is this horrible? Because they were not allowed to eat. It’s the pie warming on the window seal in the cartoon. The smoke off of it swims off in the distance and catches the attention of someone passing by. It draws them back to the pie. But as soon as they are about to take a bite, the baker comes in and WHAM! shuts the window!

How horrible it must have been to see what you need and think you cannot have it!

Well in verse 27 we find out that Jonathan did not hear his father’s decree. Why not? Because while Saul was busy with crafting these rules for personal glory, Jonathan was on the battlefield serving the Lord!

So Jonathan didn’t know anything about Saul’s command and he just walks up and gets him some honey! It says his eyes became bright. All that means is that he was nourished by the honey! It was the pick me up he needed after fighting hard for the day.

The people who saw Jonathan eat were mortified. They said Saul said we couldn’t do that! But the narrator in verse 28 also lets us know the people were at this point faint.

Let’s zoom back in on verse 29 to get to our next section of primary application.

1 Samuel 14:29–30 ESV

Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. 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.”

Jonathan sees the foolishness of Saul’s decree and explains it to those around them. Because of Saul’s legalism, the people missed out on a blessing. He says your eyes could have become bright, you could have been nourished by this honey! Saul has bound the people by stipulations that detract from what should’ve been a joyous day. Saul had overburdened his army and now they wouldn’t have the energy to accomplish all that could’ve been accomplished that day.

Here is the next point of primary application:

Legalism hurts the weak and impressionable.

Legalism hurts the weak and impressionable.

Adding to the commands of Scripture and telling others they must follow suit gets them caught up in the wrong thing and takes the focus off of the wonderful victory of Jesus shared with all those who believe in Him and places it on the individuals personal behavior.

Don’t get me wrong here. I am not suggesting that we should all be subscribing to some sort of moral relativism where anything and everything goes. Are those who know the Lord to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? That section of Romans 6 makes it very clear that Christians are to seek to live righteous lives, putting to death the flesh and sin, seeking the things that are honorable.

But Christian do not forget that any good you do comes from Christ who lives in you! When we are evangelizing we aren’t trying to give someone a six-step guide for better living, a set of rules that will finally unlock their inner potential, that’s legalism! When we are evangelizing we are introducing people to the Savior who saves when strictly following the rules could not!

Legalism hurts the weak and impressionable because they are deceived into thinking their personal conduct is all they need, so they press on in life trying to be a “good boy” without knowing the Good Shepherd! They never find the peace from the Prince of Peace we talked about in the introduction. Instead of finding peace and rest in the Lord, those led into legalism find fear and despair.

One of the great works of Christian Literature is John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. I highly suggest everyone read it. But if you’re not into reading, it has been animated into a cartoon movie you can find for free on Youtube. The animated adaptation isn’t perfect, but it’s way better than most of the context you’ll find on standard television. But in the movie, the main Character, Christian, sets out on journey to have the heavy burden he carries removed. As he’s going about his travels to the wicket gate, he runs into someone named Mr. Worldly Wiseman. Mr. Wiseman tells Christian that he can significantly shorten his journey and find the relief he is looking for if he goes not to the Celestial City, but to the village of Morality where he will meet a fellow named Legality. Legality is a mountain full of tablets carved deep with instructions. When Christian approaches, Mr. Legality assures Christian he can remove the burden, all Christian has to do is follow the instructions up the mountain. The problem is that there are just too many instructions, Christian is utterly incapable of making it up the hill, try as he might. In his attempt to make his own way up the mountain, Christian falls all the way back down to the bottom. He lies there on the ground and says in great despair, “Oh, what am I going to do?”

When we place extrabiblical rules on others or try to win them to a set of moral codes, we are setting them up for the same results as Christian in the town of Morality. The burden, the great weight of their sin, will never be removed by their ability to follow the rules. They will never be good enough.

Further, When you are saved by grace through faith and yet still your fleshly desire for self-justification leads you to formulate your own moral code beyond the guidance of Scripture, you dampen the joy there is in living a life for the glory of God! Jonathan astutely proclaimed the it would’ve been better if the people had eaten and taken spoil. Now the victory would not be as great. For the Christian, nothing can take away the victory we share through the salvation Christ has given us. However, our enjoyment of living for Him in the here and now is reduced when we add extra rules. I may step on a few toes here for a second but I think it’s important for us to have this to be honest and committed to faithfully following GOD’S Word this morning.

So here we go: the Bible doesn’t say that we can’t play cards or board games with our friends. The Bible does not say that we must have a piano, organ, or choir singing a selection from the Baptist Hymnal. In fact, the first organ may have been invented in 300 BCE, but David was playing the lyre in praise to the Lord long before that! The Bible doesn’t say that women are not allowed to wear pants! (I told y’all were getting spicy.) We can make a strong biblical case that men need to wear men’s clothing and the same for women. And we must always seek to be modest, but we also have to remember that in biblical times just about everyone from Moses to Jesus were wearing robes!

Listen, it is not wrong to have personal preferences about these things! I like being in a more traditional building when we come together to worship. It is comfortable to me. But we can’t take preference and try to turn into a law.

We can’t make these matters the external test of authentic Christianity. That would be a deadly violation of the gospel because it would substitute human tradition for the real fruits of the Spirit. We come perilously close to blasphemy by misrepresenting Christ in this way. Where God has given liberty, we should never enslave people with man-made rules. We must be careful to fight this form of legalism.

When we bind ourselves by extra-biblical rules we are sucking the joy out of living for the Lord. I once heard the story of a woman whose father would likely be seen as a legalist. I’m not the Holy Spirit, I can’t tell you whether this man knew the Lord or not, but he definitely claimed to be a Christian. But he added many rules to his practicing of faith. One of which seems particularly harmful. He said that because he was a Christian and and that meant he was committed singularly to his wife, that he would be unable to dance with his own daughter at her wedding for the father daughter dance. Listen, to put it plainly, that’s just weird. He sucked the joy the out the relationship God had given him with his daughter. I don’t know all of the details here, but that girl has since apostatized and spends her life trying to tear down biblical Christianity because of the broken view of it she got through her misguided father.

Church, we should reverentially and joyously seek to be obedient to the Word of God. We should not seek to add one bit to it.

Let’s continue on in our text this morning.

After Jonathan shows the foolishness of his father’s decree our attention is drawn back to battle. The Israelites are faint, but they still strike down many of the Philistines. Then they take a break and we come to verse 32.

1 Samuel 14:32 ESV

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.

The famished people of Israel have been fighting valiantly yet wearily all day. It has been made clear throughout the passage that no one other than Jonathan has had a bite to eat. Though the King’s decree was misguided and a detriment to the people, they had held true. Seeing them eating in this moment makes it clear that night time must’ve come. Saul’s original vow was that the man who eats anything before night fall would be cursed. Now night must be here because the men who were appalled by Jonathan’s bite of honey are now ravaging the sheep, oxen, and calves.

If we were to isolate this verse and read it from our 21st century context, we might miss something huge here.

Even though the Israelites accomplished the King’s commands of them, they have still sinned greatly. This time not against the king, but against their God! At least four places in the Pentateuch, God commands His people not to eat of the blood of an animal. But in their great hunger and feeble state, the people casted aside their reverence for the Lord. Pastor Warren Weirsbe wrote, “When the sun set  and ushered in a new day, the vow was no longer in force, and the men acted like animals as they fell on the spoils, killing the sheep and oxen and eating the meat with the blood.”

He also said “A truly spiritual vow brings out the best in people, but Saul’s carnal vow brought out the worst.”

As we come towards the conclusion for this morning, we see one more negative effect of ludicrous Legalism and legalist leaders.

Unbiblical Demands lead to unbiblical results.

Saul’s extrabiblical demands of his people caused them to sin against their God. Don’t get me wrong, the people are still responsible for their actions. They are not absolved from their guilt. But legalist leaders add to the burden of their people and the flesh often responds to that burden by founding an outlet to indulge in the flesh.

I’m reminded again about the woman I mentioned earlier whose father would not even dance with her at her wedding. She has left the faith and directly opposes biblical Christianity. She will have to answer for that one day. But her father will also have to answer for his handling of the situation.

As leaders, whether that is at work, at church, in the home, in our friend groups whatever the case may be, we must have the sincere desire to honor the Lord and Preach the Word. Not My Word. Not Pastor Brad’s Philosophy. Not Parenting according to Brad. But God’s Word, Following God’s direction. We have to use Christian discernment and understand what is preference and what is command.

Once again, this doesn’t mean that we slide into moral relativism. As Weirsbe said, “A truly spiritual vow brings out the best in people.” It is good for us to be accountable and hold to our members covenant. But we must not add to God’s Word. Because all that does is add more burden to the brokenness.

Three Circles Graphic

Don’t forget to talk about how legalism is a burden and Jesus Said Come to me all you who are weak and HEAVY LADEN and I WILL GIVE YOU REST!