1st Samuel 14:24-52

Summarize the First 23 verses

Okay so we are going to pick up where we left off

so the first 23 verses we learned a few things through the example of Johnathan and His armor Bearer

who remembers some of the things we talked about ?

We talked about faith

and then the 4 types of faith that we broke down

we had

Dead faith: James 2:17 “17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

faith without fruit is not faith , its dead faith

true faith produces fruit

Then We had

Demonic Faith:

James 2:19 “19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

even the demons believe in God , they believe that they are intellectually smarter than God the creator

they place their faith in Satan not the one who created them

Vain faith:

people who say they are believers , act like believers , do all the right things . but at the end of the day there faith is vain because they don’t do the will of God.

Saving Fatih :

through confession and through faith we are saved by believing in Jesus; aJohnathan and his armor bearer showed us a true saving faith with their example to step up and face the enemy

those were the 4 types of faith we learned about

then we also talked about

Deliverance through Faith :

Because of the Faith of Johnathan and his armor bearer

God delivered them from the enemy

God is faithful to meet us where we are as long as we place our faith in Him and fully trust in Him

our faith is always greatest when we are at our weakest

So that was the super short recap of Last Sunday:

Lets get into this next portion of Chapter 14:

We are going to see two things from the rest of this Chapter

Pride and Foolishness

It all is shown in this Life Saul was starting to Live

Remember His reign started off well with a huge victory , but now its in a downward spiral

Samuel warned the People of Israel that these things would happen with an earthly king

They are getting everything they wanted

So lets Begin 1st Samuel Chapter 14

1 Samuel 14:24 “24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food.”

So here in this first verse , Saul is getting puffed up for no apparent reason

God had just given them a victory because of Jonathan and his armor bearer while Saul was chilling under a tree scared

Saul did nothing

This is where we see the pride come out in Saul , it results in a foolish oath ,

a stupid oath , an oath that makes zero sense

these men had been fighting for who knows how long

they are tired and weak probably dehydrated

the adrenaline has probably started to wear off and they are coming off the high from heated battle

and Saul has this great idea that no one can eat until he gets “HIS VENGEANCE’ On the enemy

So now imagine going through the Hardest battle of your life , because in these days fighting was always the hardest physical thing they would do

but imagine being told you cant eat after

it was a dumb oath , one that was foolish and rooted in pride

1 Samuel 14:25 “25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground.”

1 Samuel 14:26 “26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath.”

food right in-front of the soldiers , but again they are not allowed to eat because if they Do SAUL will kill them

keep in mind this oath was not an oath from God , it was an oath from a deranged man, a man so rooted in pride at this point its causing Him to make foolish decisions

a man that had allowed His pride to grow to the point of not being able to think straight, he was irrational

1 Samuel 14:27 “27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened.”

So for what ever reason Johnathan was not around when His father made this oath

probably because he was out on the front lines while His father was being a wimp

anyways he wasn’t around , so he dips his sword into the honey and he eats it

then it says His countenance brightened

1 Samuel 14:28 “28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint.”

1 Samuel 14:29 “29 But Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.”

1 Samuel 14:30 “30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?”

1 Samuel 14:31 “31 Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint.”

1 Samuel 14:32 “32 And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.”

1 Samuel 14:33 “33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the Lord by eating with the blood!” So he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day.””

1 Samuel 14:34 “34 Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring me here every man’s ox and every man’s sheep, 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 slaughtered it there.”

1 Samuel 14:35 “35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord. This was the first altar that he built to the Lord.”

1 Samuel 14:36 “36 Now Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.””

1 Samuel 14:37 “37 So Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day.”

1 Samuel 14:38 “38 And Saul said, “Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today.”

1 Samuel 14:39 “39 For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not a man among all the people answered him.”

1 Samuel 14:40 “40 Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.””

1 Samuel 14:41 “41 Therefore Saul said to the Lord God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped.”

1 Samuel 14:42 “42 And Saul said, “Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.” So Jonathan was taken.”

1 Samuel 14:43 “43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!””

1 Samuel 14:44 “44 Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.””

1 Samuel 14:45 “45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.”

1 Samuel 14:46 “46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.”