One Old Testament scholar describes Saul as more foolish and frustrated than wicked. He believes Saul had good intentions, but he went about achieving them in a self-defeating way.
One example of Saul’s foolishness was making the people swear an oath not to eat until they had defeated the Philistines.
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 (1 Samuel 14:14).
The Greek translation of this passage, known as the Septuagint, adds more detail to the Hebrew version. It says Saul acted “very foolishly and laid a curse on the people.” As a result, they were weakened and exhausted from lack of food when they went into battle.
Jonathan wasn’t there when his father declared they wouldn’t eat until defeating the Philistines. He found some honey on the forest floor, dipped his staff into it, ate, and gained strength to keep fighting.
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 (1 Samuel 14:27).
A soldier informed him about his father’s oath. However, Jonathan’s response showed he was wiser than his father.
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” (1 Samuel 14:29-30).
Fasting to Feasting
Anyone who has fasted can likely relate to these Israelite soldiers. They were starving after a long battle without any food.
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 (1 Samuel 14:32).
The requirements for eating meat were common knowledge in Israel.
Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it out on the earth like water (Deuteronomy 12:16)
However, the soldiers, driven by exhaustion and hunger, ignored the requirements.
Saul decided to fix his soldiers’ mistake by properly slaughtering the sheep and oxen. It was his first time building an altar to the Lord.
After properly slaughtering the animals and having a meal, Saul decided he wanted to go after the Philistines again. When they tried to ask the Lord for guidance, God didn’t answer. This made Saul wonder if someone had broken the oath of not eating on the previous day of battle.
They found out that the guilty person was Saul’s son, Jonathan. Jonathan admitted he had touched the honey and eaten some. So, Saul decided Jonathan must die. But the people stood up and rescued him that day.
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 (1 Samuel 14:45).
Reflections
Saul made several poor choices. First, he made his soldiers swear not to eat. Then, he sacrificed the Philistines’ spoil on an altar. Finally, he was ready to have his son killed for breaking an oath he didn’t even know about.
Every day, leaders worldwide make decisions that harm the people they are supposed to serve. Take the brutal war between Russia and Ukraine, for example.
The Russians have lost over a million soldiers, either killed or injured. Their economy is in ruins, and they have devastated a neighboring nation. All this happened because a small group of old men decided they wanted land that wasn’t theirs.
The recent government shutdown in America shows how citizens suffer when leadership fails. So, what should we as Christians do? The answer is always to pray.
We can’t fix our government or other countries’ governments. But we can work on ourselves and pray for God to act with world leaders.
The lesson from Saul teaches us to pray for our leaders and strive not to behave like Saul in our daily lives.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage and more on YouTube today.
Real Voices 