1 Samuel 16:11-13 – What a king !

Jesse’s seven adult sons went before Samuel one at a time, but none of them was chosen by the Lord. Bewildered, the prophet asked if Jesse had anymore son. The question Samuel asked must have jostled Jesse’s mind. He had almost forgotten his youngest. As far as the father was concerned, he was too young, one whom he did not even consider an adult. His words to Samuel were, “There remains yet the youngest, and behold, he is tending the sheep.” It appears as if he was saying, “he is just a boy, Samuel. I don’t think you want to consider him.” But we know that God’s ways are not man’s ways, neither His thoughts, man’s thoughts. Remember what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:26-29,  ^“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God.” The prophet’s immediate response was, “Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here.” So they sent for David who was in the field looking after the father’s flock.

David according to verse 12 was “…ruddy, with beautiful eyes and a handsome appearance.” Immediately the Lord said to Samuel, “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.” And the prophet obeyed just as immediately. He “took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward.” More than physical looks,  it is important to note that he was empowered by the Spirit of God. This enabling would help him to effectively discharge the role and assignment that he was about to assume. O how we all need the enablement of the Holy Spirit to minister the life of God. Notice that the Spirit did not just trickle into David’s life but came mightily upon him. So that day in the town of Bethlehem, the king was anointed and none of his family realized the significance of it at all. But that town became very significant in God’s plan. For a thousand years later, another king was hailed in Bethlehem. He is none other than Jesus, the King of all kings. He became and still is history’s most significant figure. He is our King. And we must yield to His sovereign reign in our lives. It is through this King that our lives are forever changed. It is this King whom we are called to seek and emulate. We must seek first the kingly rule of Christ and His righteousness. Then, He promises to meet the needs we have in life.    

1 Samuel 16:4-10 – God qualifies our call

Samuel came to Bethlehem as instructed by the Lord. He showed himself to be the opposite of Saul. He obeyed as instructed. It must have been a while since he left for Ramah, so it was natural for the elders to be taken by surprise by his appearance. So their question did not come unexpectedly. They asked  him forthrightly, “Do you come in peace?” He assured them that he came in peace and was there to offer a sacrifice. He consecrated them and invited them to the sacrifice and did the same for Jesse and his sons.  

When he saw Eliab, the eldest of Jesse’s son, he thought to himself at once, “Surely the Lord’s  anointed is before Him.” From his point of view, he considered Eliab the kind of man that God would make a king. He was probably good looking. But didn’t that happen once before? Saul was prospective then, but it turned out quite the opposite. Here he was making an error in judgment. In spiritual matters, we cannot rely on what we see on the surface. Simply put, it’s because spiritual things are best spiritually discerned. Even in the English proverbs, we are told that “not everything that glitters is gold”, and that “we should never judge a book by its cover.”  

In verse 7 we learn an important principle about perspective. We must never conclude just from outward peripheral appearance. We need to examine the core and get to the crux. This is best applied to evaluating character. We must not assume from physical appearance, status or size. Looks can be deceitful. Many people are long in presentation but short in substance. What we see is often not what thing truly is. So don’t just conclude from outward appearances. When God wants to use a person, He examines the heart. That’s where the source of life flows. No wonder we are told to guard our heart diligently because this is where the fountain of life flows.

Verses 8 and 9 tell us that Jesse’s other sons, Abinadab and Shammah and the others came before Samuel, one after the other. None of them qualified the test of the Lord. The oft-repeated words were: “The Lord has not chosen this one either.” This process underscores the doctrines of divine election. God's choice of people is not dependent on a person’s capability. God’s choice of us is never about our cleverness or intellect. It is always about His graciousness, His purpose, and will. No one can do anything to merit God’s acceptance. It has and will always rest entirely on His will and good pleasure. We are all called into the Kingdom to fulfill God’s purpose and pleasure. That’s also why the 24 elders in heaven proclaimed and most likely have not stopped  proclaiming, “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.” So must we who are called, chosen and set apart for God!

1 Samuel 16 :1-3 - Nothing frustrates God's overall plan

Samuel and Saul had parted ways. The former went to Ramah and the latter to Gibeah. The impact of all that had happened affected Samuel much. What Saul did, grieved him. We also can justifiably accept that he must have also developed an affection for Saul. But more than that, he felt for the Lord. For one who loved the Lord so deeply, how could his heart not be affected? How could he not be affected when the leader whom he was involved in appointing had sabotaged the plan of the Lord so miserably? How could he not grieve when he knew the lives of the people of God would be affected also? The passage did not tell us how long he grieved but grieving he did, and perhaps even to a point of despair. This tells us how deeply he cared about God, His people and the plan of God. What about us? Does what affect God affect us?

It appears as if Samuel had become so miserable over the whole matter that he became out of commission because of one man’s failure. We can certainly be sad for the failures, whether they are ours or others, but we must not allow them to drive us to a point where we literally despair of life. We must, with the help of God, rise up and deal with it the way we should. One way to get out of a despairing life is to see failure in the light of our God and His overall plan. No failure can prevent God’s plan from moving forward. Don’t forget that God is in control. So He gently rebuked Samuel for his passivity, asking him “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel?” God will never allow one failure to hamper the progress of His plan. So He told Samuel to get up and get to work again. God had someone in mind whom He was certain would obey Him and do His will.

Identifying Jessie from Bethlehem, God told Samuel to fill his horn for He was sending him to anoint one of Jessie’s sons as king. This would be a king whom God had selected for Himself. Samuel hesitated because he was afraid that he might offend Saul. But the overriding purpose of God should dispel all fears. Like Samuel, we too must learn to rise above our circumstances and our fears. When God is for us, who can stand against us? So God gave him a plan. He said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ³ You shall invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do, and you shall anoint for Me the one whom I designate to you.” 

From this passage, we learn that we must not resign to any failure in life. The way to overcome failure is to seek to know that no failure can frustrate the plan of God. So we must learn to see the larger scheme of God’s overall plan. Yes, we must seek God and not allow failures to cause us to abort the plan of God. Remember God is still on the helm. He never tells us that life will be smooth sailing, but he promises us that we’ll have a safe landing.    

1 Samuel 15:32-35 – An endless hope versus a hopeless end

The prophet obliged the king and returned with him. It was then that the king bowed before the Lord in an act of worship. Nothing was said about Samuel honoring the king. In fact, what he did was exactly the opposite. He carried out what the king had failed to do. He ordered for Agag to be brought before him. A period must have elapsed and Agag thought to himself that they had reneged on the order about executing him. He comforted himself and when summoned came cheerfully to the prophet. Agag was oblivious that his end was drawing near. So long as God can find a faithful man, no plan of the Lord will ever be thwarted.

Why must God deal so severely with Agag? Verse 33 gives us a hint to the reason. It says, “As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women.” This is call recompense. “Do not be deceived” so the Bible says, “what a man sows that he shall also reap.” Fallen human beings often don’t consider the consequence of their actions. But God does. And as people who love the Lord, He expects us to care how we conduct ourselves. We must never forget that while God offers grace freely, He will also administer justice judiciously. God's graciousness should make us more careful with how we walk and not make a mockery of His grace by living carelessly. God’s righteousness demands that judgment be meted out for wickedness, no matter who has committed it.  

Samuel and Saul parted ways and each went their separate routes. The former to Ramah and the later to Gibeah. They did not meet again until the death of Saul. That signals the end of his reign. The failure of Saul was the result of his sinful tendency. When that sinful nature is not dealt with and be brought under the sovereign reign of God, it leads us to a hopeless end. We say this is tragic because he started with so much hope. And hope is a good start. What’s more important is how one ends. We are reminded that relationship with God is an ongoing journey. And what we do, between the starting and the ending, matters. When we act congruently with God’s instruction, our faith journey will sustain, and we will attain a life of endless hope. But if we don’t act congruously with the purpose and intent of God, it will lead us into a hopeless end. The choice is ours!

1 Samuel 15:24-31 – Living for God's approval

Convicted by Samuel’s words, Saul acknowledged that he had sinned and violated the commandments of God. He confessed that he feared the people and pled with Samuel to forgive him and return with him. He had chosen to follow the wrong voice – the voice of the people. At the onset of his coronation, the injunction to him was to fear the Lord and obey His voice. But Saul did the very opposite, he feared the people and listened to their voice. He had shown himself to be a man after men’s hearts. Of course, Samuel stoutly refused. he said to him "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 

We can imagine a little tussle between the prophet and Saul. Samuel was resolute about not returning with him. There was a despairing Saul seizing the shirt off Samuel’s robe and the prophet sought to move away. What ensured was a piece of the prophet’s robe was torn off.  That prompted Samuel to say to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. Also, the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.” For us who know the latter part of the story, we know who that better man was. He, of course, is none other than David. However, he was better not because he was morally more upright but because he followed hard after God.

Realizing that Samuel was dead serious, he again acknowledged his sin and this time he wanted Samuel to help save his face. He sought dignity so that he would not lose face among his people. So his plea was “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” Even at this point, he was still concerned about what people would think about him. We do not know the reason, but Samuel did return with him. It is a known fact that every one of us wants to be approved, appreciated and accepted. However, we must know that to be approved, appreciated and accepted by God is more important than anyone else’s. We must learn to live for the audience of one, God Himself. We have the tendency to live for the applauds of men. But we must make up our mind whose approval would we rather have. Once we have that issue determined, no amount of praise from men will cause us to stray us from God.  

1 Samuel 15:17-23 – God wants obedience, not religious activities

Samuel confronted Saul and reminded him of how he rose to his position. He referred to the king’s humble beginning and how he was not even much in his own eyes when God made him the leader of Israel. It was the Lord who had anointed him. And he was sent on a God-given mission with specific instruction to annihilate the Amalekites and to spare nothing – man or animals. For they are placed under a ban. Samuel wanted to know why he did not obey the Lord and do as he was instructed? God specifically referred to the Amalekites as sinners. We can surmise that Saul's mission was a serious one as far as God was concerned.

Samuel pointedly asked Saul in verse 19. He asked, “Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord, but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord?” This "why" question was most probing. And more than probing, it was indicting. It reflected Saul’s folly. Without a doubt to disobey God is the greatest folly. The Lord Jesus affirms this in Matthew 7:26-27, saying “Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”  One more thing Samuel shows us about disobedience. It is evil in the sight of God. God abhors it.

In verses 20-21, Saul insisted that he had obeyed. He insisted that he indeed had gone on the mission as instructed by God. He mentioned the slaughter of the Amalekites but dismissed the fact that he kept Agag alive, which the Lord told him specifically not to spare anyone. Then he shifted the blame on the people in verse 21 saying, “But the people took some of the spoil, sheep, and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” Notice how he framed his defense, “I have obeyed…but the people took….”

Samuel had heard enough. He could see how disobedient Saul was, so his words to him were:

“Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
“For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
And insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He has also rejected you from being king.”

From these two verses, we see what God wants from us. We know He prefers obedience to sacrifice. And that the core of faith is obedience. God delights in us acting to fulfil His will more than anything. After all that is said and done, the one thing that matters, did we do what He says? Did we fulfil His will and purpose?  No amount of seeming spiritual activities can move the heart of God if they are not acted according to His instructions. They would be merely going through the motion and meaningless. Let us not be deceived. No amount of activities can ever compensate for our disobedience. It is a sin and as God has rejected Saul, He still repudiates disobedience. Let us be God’s obedient people!     

1 Samuel 15:12-16 – The need to deal truthfully with flaws

Having been distraught for a night, Samuel decided to confront Saul. He probably had a hard time getting to sleep that night. So very early the next morning, he arose looking for Saul. It was told to Samuel that he went to Carmel, built a monument for himself before proceeding to Gilgal. This Carmel was another place and not the Mount Carmel where Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. Saul even had the gall to build himself a monument at Carmel. Nothing could be said if he had built the monument to God but he didn’t, he actually built it for himself. How incongruent could he be?

Samuel must have caught Saul by surprise and the first thing Saul said to him was “Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” These words contradict what the Lord told Samuel the night before. First Samuel 15:11 explicitly said that God regretted that He had made Saul king over His people, for he had become wayward and had turned from following the Lord and had not carried out His commands. Saul not only failed to obey the Lord, he now even lied about it. He did not fulfill the word of the Lord as he claimed to have. Saul’s ability to say that to Samuel without even batting an eyelid indicates to us how sheered his conscience was. This is not peculiar to Saul. This is the tendency of every man’s fallen nature – to cover disobedience with lies.  

It took Samuel’s probing question to ferret out the truth form Saul. The prophet asked, “What then is this bleating of the sheep in my ears and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” We see how Saul went from bad to worst. He first tried to cover his disobedience by lying. When he was exposed, he told another to cover the first lie. Isn’t this how lying often leads to? Tell a lie and one will have to keep on lying to cover the truth. The best thing in life for failure is to own up to it. At least there would be an opportunity to repent and change. But it would be difficult if one refuses to own up to one’s failure. Know it or not, it is always more difficult to cover one’s failure and yet try to live with freedom. The truth according to the Lord Jesus always sets us free.   

Scrutinize verse 15 and look at it closely. He said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people, spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed.” He was literally shifting the blame to the people. He said it was the people who spared the best of the sheep and oxen. He even used a religious reason as if they had such a noble motive to spare the animals. Disobedience cannot be camouflaged no matter how one tries to disguise it. At least we know that this game of passing the buck was a tradition that began at the fall of Adam and Eve. It is common for fallen humanity to push the blame to others for their failure. The fault always resides in others. If its’ not our parents, then it’s our circumstances. If it’s not our boss than it’s our government. It is never our fault. Let’s not descend to such a position.  

The truth is that Saul had backslid so badly. The tell-tale sign was the way he framed his reason for the failure. He told Samuel that they kept the best of the animals to sacrifice to “your God.” He couldn’t even refer to God as his God. The animals were for sacrifice to Samuel’s God. All this while God was viewing the matter very differently. So Samuel's response was  “Wait, and let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.”  Saul even dared him to speak. He had fallen so badly, and he was still unaware. That’s the deception of sin. Sin always blunt one’s conscience. Unless we keep pace with God and constantly yield to the work of the Holy Spirit in our life, we are in danger of becoming dull of hearing. Take heed and we will do well!  

1 Samuel 15:10-11 – Be obedient

These two verses show what the Lord felt about Saul. He said, “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned back from following Me and has not carried out My commands.” The word used here is regret. This tells us that God was totally involved in the affairs of creation, especially His people. His involvement with us was so much so that our failures will affect Him. Here he was so grieved with Saul’s failure to obey His instructions that He regretted making him king. Saul in disobeying the Lord had disrupted His plan. However, we need to know that God’s plan cannot be thwarted.  What He wants for His people will finally be brought to fruition.  

Samuel who knew the heart of God was so distraught that he cried to the Lord all night. He was fully acquainted with what was happening. He had previously warned Saul in 1 Samuel 12:15 saying, “If you will not listen to the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the command of the Lord, then the hand of the Lord will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” Here he was fully cognizant that the king God had sent him to anoint over Israel had chosen not to listen to God.

These two verses underscore an important point i.e. we must obey God. The importance of being obedient to the Word of God can never be overemphasized. The tragedy of Saul was a result of not taking the word of God seriously. He was half-hearted at best. He left us a lesson that we will do well to avoid. Unlike him, we must obey the Lord regardless. The Lord only has our best interest at heart.  And what He has planned for us can only be experienced when we obey the sound of His word. Bear in mind that obedience to God is the expression of our love for Him. Let us live an obedient life.

1 Samuel 15:1-9 – When we trust God, we must obey

In the last six verses of chapter 14, we saw a summary of Saul’s family and his military expedition. And as we begin reflecting on the account given to us in 1 Samuel 15, we must take note that the events described in this book are not or chronological. Hence, the flow may appear abrupt to us. When the event of this chapter took place is uncertain, but they must have taken place after Saul was rejected in 1 Samuel 13:14. His rejection was brought to its inevitability now in 1 Samuel 15.  

In 1 Samuel 14:47-48, the success of his military expedition was summarily described. Now we are brought to one that he had with the Amalekites. But before he went into this battle, Samuel reminded him that he was no ordinary king like those of the other nations. How so? He was appointed by Samuel at God’s direction and the people he was to rule were not his, but God’s. Hence, obeying God was imperative for him. So we see God wanted to pay back the Amalekites for what they had done to Israel as they came out of Egypt. Samuel told Saul what God wanted him to do. He was to “…go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.”

Who were the Amalekites? Genesis 36:12 said that Esau had a grandson by the name of Amalek. The Amalekites were his descendants. In this sense, they and Israel have some relationship. Esau, as we know, was Jacob or Israel’s twin brother. Despite the relationship, the Amalekites were unsympathetic toward the Israelites at a critical time when help was needed. God did not take this kindly hence He wanted them to be dealt with and destroyed. The purpose of taking us there, we can be sure, was not to teach us about the rightness or wrongness of genocide. It was to show us how disobedient Saul was and that was a serious matter in God’s reckoning. God views the issue of obedience seriously. This was something He expected of Saul and it is still something He expects of all of us who profess to love Him. We can never be His good and effective children if we are not earnest in our obedience to Him.  

God’s distinct instruction to Saul in 1 Samuel 15:3 was, “Now go and strike Amalek and utterly destroy all that he has, and do not spare him; but put to death both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” God wanted them, people and animals, to be annihilated totally. They were not to spare anyone or anything. Gathering his army, totaling 210,000 men, comprising 200,000 from Israel and 10,000 from Judah, Saul set out to fulfill His God’s given expedition. Wisely, he tried to avoid conflict with the Kenites by warning them to get out of the way. The Kenites were related to Jethro, Moses’ father in law who was a Kenite. These people had treated the people of Israel kindly during their journey out of Egypt. Verse 7 said that “Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as you go to Shur, which is east of Egypt.  

However, what’s jarring to the ear could be found in verse 9. They read, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were not willing to destroy them utterly; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” Saul once again did not obey the Lord fully. That’s the sad tale of his life. This left us thinking why of all things, did he not want to obey the Lord? Before we point a finger at him, let us make an evaluation of ourselves. Have we ourselves been fully obedient to the Lord? Are there areas the Lord is dealing with us but we just can’t seem to have the courage or the resolve to let go? It’s time to obey. And as the hymn goes, “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey”!

I Samuel 14:47-52 – What legacy are we leaving behind?

Much of Saul’s life had been covered. Who he was as a person, his ability, and his spirituality had been uncovered from the way he responded to God, the people and the enemies. Here in these closing six verses of  1 Samuel 14, we see a summary of his military achievement, his family and life. And from all that we have discovered about him, we sense that essentially his regime was over at this point.  

Let’s first go to his military accomplishment. We must not presume that he did not accomplish anything. In fact, 1 Samuel 14: 47-48 tell us the victories he had secured over  Israel’s enemies. These two verses read,  “Now when Saul had taken the kingdom over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, the sons of Ammon, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment. He acted valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.” To be sure, Saul was described as acting valiantly, meaning he was courageous in facing the enemies and he plundered them. Reading these closing verses without knowing his disobedience and lack of faith in God, one could surmise that he wasn’t such a bad king after all. But he certainly was a bad king. If he had failed in his role, it was not because of his military capability, it was because of his lack of spiritual capacity.

At this point let’s pause to look at life in perspective. There are four dimensions to a person’s life. Everyone has a spiritual, mental, social-emotional and a physical dimension in life. To have accomplished total success, we need to ensure that we are doing well in all four dimensions of life. According to these verses, we must conclude that Saul did well in the physical dimension. But from all that was seen of him in earlier chapters, we must say that he did not do so well in his spiritual dimension. In Christian living, we must know that success is not measured by what we have accomplished, but by who we become in Christ. What good would it do to climb up to the pinnacle of success, only to realize that our ladder is leaning against the wrong wall? We must not only be well physically, mentally and social-emotionally, we must also be well spiritually.   

Verses 49-51 give us a summary of his family. We are told that he had three sons, namely, Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchi-shua. He also had two daughters, Merah the elder and Michal the younger. His wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. His commander was Abner, his cousin, the son of his uncle Ner. These members of his family will be coming up in later chapters. This chapter ends in telling us that Israel had a tough time fighting the Philistines all the days of his life and whenever he came across a valiant man he would attach that man to himself. The tragedy of Saul was that he failed to leave a legacy. He was too self-centred. If only he had made God the centre of his life, his course in life would be very different. That’s Saul, but what about us? Who is the focal point of our life? Be sure that God is the centre of our universe - spiritual, soul, mind and body. We must love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, body, and strength!      

1 Samuel 14:40-46 – Self-delusion always leads to self-deception

In 1 Samuel 14:36, Saul said to his men, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” He didn’t even think of asking God if that was a good plan. How’s that for a person who was allowed to lead by God? Had the priest not suggested that they should first seek God, he would have conveniently gone about his ways. Remember we said that he only sought God as an afterthought. And that was with the suggestion of the priest. We need to know that God would not allow anyone to treat Him as an afterthought. Thus the last part of verse 37 said, “But He (God) did not answer him on that day.”

Today’s passage shows how Saul then went about to try and identify who was the one who had caused the no show from God. What he did highlighted him as a person who was blind to his own fault. He was too self-absorbed to realize that he was the culprit who had caused the problem. So he had the rest of the people of Israel stood on one side while he and Jonathan, on the other. Notice how uninterested the people were in what he was doing. How do we know? In response to his suggestion to cast lots to identify the culprit, the people dispassionately said to him, “Do what seems good to you.” If a leader is one who continues to make blunders, there will definitely come a time when people will be uninterested in any decision he or she makes. Therefore, it behooves a leader to tread wisely before God so that he will always be respected and followed.

The people did as Saul suggested. They stood on one side while he and Jonathan stood on the other and lots were cast. In the casting of the lot, he and Jonathan was identified. Then the lot was cast again to determine whether he or his son was the culprit. And Jonathan was identified. He had earlier said, that even if Jonathan was the culprit, he would have to face the death penalty. So now he had to honor his word. Saul turned to his son and asked him to reveal what he had done. Jonathan’s response demonstrated how ridiculous the whole incident was. He sarcastically told his father saying, “I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!” He might have made light of the situation, but Saul was in no joking mood. So he exploded saying, “May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.” Though Saul refused to acknowledge the value of Jonathan, the people did. They spoke up for him. They would not allow him so much as to lose a blade of hair, much less his life. So that day Jonathan was saved.   

Saul was obviously a person who thought that he could do no wrong. He was wise only in his own eyes. In him, we are reminded of the instruction of our Lord Jesus. If we seek to remove the small spat of dust in the eye of our brother, let us first remove the plank that is in ours. We can tell that Saul and Jonathan’s relationship had certainly drifted apart, such that he even had no qualm to sacrifice his own son. This is the degree of Saul’s self-delusion. One of the worst maladies in our walk with God is self-delusion which can lead to spiritual blindness. We must never come to a point in our walk with God that we become so blind to our own flaws. When that happens, we will end up deceiving ourselves. Let’s stay sensitive to God’s dealings. It is needful for our spiritual health and vitality.

   

I Samuel 14:36-39 – Walking with God sensibly

Saul was too self-absorbed to notice that he was a hindrance more than a help. The people’s breaking the law and eating the animal with blood was a result of his needless demand that the people could not eat till the end of the day and until he had avenged his enemy. Can you see that foolish demand? He had virtually made the people needlessly famished for lack of food. No wonder they rushed at it the first opportunity that they could eat. Trying to rectify the situation, he had an altar built to the Lord. He was putting the horse after the cart. He thought that in so doing he would have dealt with the problem he created.

So in verse 36, he said to his people, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” Notice how reticent the people’s response was, “Do whatever seems good to you.” It’s like saying to him “you do what you like.” Unlike his son who factored the Lord in, Saul had not thought of God’s role in the victory he pursued. At least the priest had more sense in suggesting that he sought the Lord’s guidance. Saul then consented and sought the Lord, as an after-thought. As if oblivious of the situation, he asked of the Lord, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” This was a tag too late.  So verse 37 would be an obvious response from God. He did not answer him.  

Saul’s blunders seemed to keep increasing. He was becoming so accustomed to committing bungles and missteps. There was so much self in Saul that he failed to see that he was, in fact, the cause of the problem. Instead of stepping back, pause and reflect, he assumed that God’s non-answer was someone else’s fault.  He even had the gall to say, “For as the Lord lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” It’s sad to see how insensible he had become. This situation was sad and pathetic, to say the least. He not only lost the support of God but now had also lost the support of his people.   

Saul’s life shows us how needful it is for us to walk sensibly with the Lord. We must put God and not self at the centre of our life. It becomes easy to not factor God in the circumstances of our lives when God is not at the centre. It pays to take time to pause and reflect, then adjust and realign our steps. Without God, we cannot. Our best experiences with God are ahead of us and they cannot take place without Him. We must take time to walk with God, hear His voice and do His bidding. Only when we do so, then we will not be erratic.    

I Samuel 14:24-35 – Facing up to one’s mistake

It appears that prior to Jonathan crossing over to Michmash to confront the Philistines, Saul had put the people under a foolish oath. He forbade anyone from taking any food until evening or until his enemy had been avenged.  If anyone did so that person would be under a curse.  This had caused the men of Israel to be hard-pressed. Saul, we have discovered, was a man who was prone to making foolish decisions. How different he was from Jonathan who though felt the closing in of the enemy said, God could save by few or by many. Unlike Jonathan, he did not factor God in his circumstances. Unlike his son, he didn’t even mention God. He was only obsessed with himself. Notice how he framed his words: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” Surprisingly the people obeyed and did not rebel.

Saul didn’t care what he had put his men under, and many were famished. He was literally forcing the people into following him. So even when his men came across some sweet dripping honey, no one dared to partake of it for fear of the curse. But when Jonathan who was not aware of his father’s order saw the honey, “..he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.” But the people were afraid for him because they knew what his father had said. However, Saul did not know how much he had deprived the people of the much-needed strength for battle. How could hungry, battle-wearied people be effective for the fight? Jonathan by eating the honey had once again proven how foolish his father was. And in verses 29-30 he said so. But the fighting persisted and the Philistines were defeated. Verse 31 said that they struck the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. Without food how much longer could the people stand? So we are told the people were very weary. 

Once the Philistines were greatly defeated Saul’s call for abstinence from food could no longer apply. So in verse 32, we are told that “The people rushed greedily upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.” They had overlooked God’s command not to partake of anything with its blood. Perhaps they were too famished to recall the Law. Indirectly, Saul’s foolishness led a whole group of people to also act disobediently toward the Lord. What he did to try and rectify the situation was to build an altar for the Lord that day. What a joke it must have been? The man who did not even care to obey the Lord himself, showing concern that the people were disobeying the Lord. He wasn’t even aware of what he had done, or if he was, perhaps he was unwilling to admit that he had started it all.  

Here are some lessons from this passage that we can apply in our service to the Lord. Don’t allow pressure to press us into making silly decisions. Always stay calm, think logically and act systematically. Think about how adversely our decision may impact the people before we decide to act on them. Acting religiously does not mitigate one’s disobedience. What we need to do when we have made a mistake is to be brave and face up to it and deal with it accordingly. This will be more honorable in God’s sight.  

1 Samuel 14:16-23 – The effect of faith in God

Meanwhile Saul was still at Gibeah sitting under the pomegranate tree when Jonathan and his amour bearer had brought great panic in the camp of the Philistines. Saul’s watchmen went to see what was happening down at Michmash. The watchmen saw that the Philistines “…melted away; and they went here and there.” The word melted is interesting. It is used for wax that had become soft and flowing everywhere. That was what happened to the Philistines. Just imagine the Philistines became soft and scattering all over, no longer one single solid unit. All this was caused by the bravery of two men, Jonathan, and his armor-bearer.

Presumably, this was reported to Saul. Immediately he suspected that someone had crossed over and caused the panic. So he instructed the people with him to check who among his men had gone over to the Philistines. They counted and Jonathan and his armourbearer were missing. Evidently, Saul was losing control. He was oblivious even of his own people. How could he not notice the absence of his son? When he learned of his son’s absence, he asked for Ahijah, the priest to bring the Ark of God. He needed guidance at this point, so the Ark seemed to be the best means to seek God’s direction. While he was engaging in conversation with the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines got worse, so he asked the priest to “withdraw his hand.” This simply meant that he decided that there was no necessity to bring the Ark to him. From the noise generated by the panicking Philistines, he surmised that they were in trouble.

Verse 20 tells us that he rallied the people and they went into battle. No effort was required on his part. The Philistines were turning their swords against their own fellowmen in the midst of their confusion. Then there was the unexpected re-enforcement from the Hebrews, who earlier on went into hiding. They who were once scattered in fear emerged to join forces with Saul and the people of Israel. All these were not the work of Saul. We are told plainly in verse 23 that it was the Lord who had delivered them and the battle spread all the way to Beth-aven.

All it took was a brave man who placed his trust in the Lord. Here we see the contrast between Saul and his son. Jonathan who was assured earlier that God could save by few or by many was proven right. All he and his armor-bearer needed was to place themselves at the disposal of God. And as they did, a great victory for Israel resulted. Jonathan’s leadership accentuates the failure of Saul. This account tells us that life’s problem may seem insurmountable, but all we need is to be a person who shows unwavering faith and trust in God. One who in the face of impossibility dares to abandon himself to trust God’s ability!

1 Samuel 14:8-15 - Be open to God and experience His victory

Full of faith, Jonathan decided to move forward. But he did not presume on God. In whatever act of faith, we need to take, there must be receptivity and the element of being open to God to change the course that we have set on. This was what happened here, faith is holding to one’s plan lightly and yet open to the direction of God should change be warranted. He knew that God could change it to a better strategy. So Jonathan told the armor-bearer that the Lord will work for them. Faith is holding gently to the conviction one has and yet open to what God can do to change the plan. This was what was lacking in Saul. That’s the reason why he waited to act only when the circumstances seemed perfect. With that mentality, one will not act. That’s why in the book of Ecclesiastes in chapter 11:3-4  Solomon reminds us that, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap. Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.” Faith in God requires that we act according to His prompting.

The plan of Jonathan was to test the resolve of the Philistines. He said to his armor-bearer that when they confronted the Philistines, “…if they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you’; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the Lord has given them into our hands; and this shall be the sign to us.” When they revealed themselves, the Philistines said, “Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” And God granted Jonathan and his armor-bearer a great victory. Just two men and they slaughtered 20 men of the Philistines and brought great panic to the camp. There is no telling what God can do if we are willing to move in tandem with His leading. A small force should not be a hindrance to our progress in the work of the Kingdom.  What we need is faith and openness to what God can do! 

I Samuel 14:6-7 – With faith, Nothing is insurmountable

Hear the words of Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:6. He said to his armor-bearer, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.” Shouldn’t it be Saul who should have said these words? Yes, we all expect a God-ordained king to be the one to have the confidence. But he was somewhere resting and not acting as he ought to. Here was his son who was making more sense. Jonathan had more trust in the Lord than his father. His exact words were, “…the Lord will work for us, for the Lord is not restrained to save by many or by few.” These are not words of a person who had left God out of the equation. Besides, he called the Philistines, the uncircumcised. In other words, he still recognized that they, the people of Israel were God’s covenant people.

Here’s a loose paraphrase of Jonathan’s words. “God has no equal. The number of people He could deal with is inconsequential. Whether it is few or many that He would be confronted with makes no difference. He simply has the ability and He is completely trustworthy.” These are words of abiding trust. God would want that of us,  more so with people whom He had raised to lead, to have such unflinching trust. Just imagine if only Saul and the rest of the 600 had such audacious faith. There would be no telling what God could accomplish through them. It’s not the size of ability but the size of our God that should be where our confidence comes from. Have this indelibly written in our hearts and on our minds, when we have God, there will be no problem that we cannot surmount.

The armor-bearer Jonathan had with him would also be the kind of companion we surely would like to have in facing tough situations. He was equally trusting of the LORD. He echoed the words of Jonathan and said, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire.” Dear fellow believers, we are not only fellow sojourners in the journey with God, but we are also His fellow workers in the business of advancing His business. When we have the same mindset and same bravery, what can prevent us from being the greatest force the world and our enemy will ever know? We ought to have the same kingdom mindset when it comes to the business of the Kingdom. Remember one shall put a thousand to flight, and two, ten thousand!  

Jonathan and his armor-bearer’s kind of trust in God should be common among people who have faith in God. We should not presume on God but we will not flinch when it comes to trusting God. Jesus’ word to us is still, “With God all things are possible” and also “nothing is impossible to those who believe.” Let’s develop this kind of possessive faith in God!    

1 Samuel 14:2-5 – Be found doing the work of the Kingdom

While Jonathan was audaciously plotting a bold move to trouble the Philistines, Saul we are told “…was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron.” What should he be doing? Why wasn’t he assuming the responsibility he was given? It’s sad that when leaders are not fulfilling what they were called to do. Fortunately, he had a sensible son who was willing to step into his anointing. The least he could have done was to pray and not rest beneath the pomegranate tree. But he didn’t. It’s a sad case of a leader who couldn’t discern what needs to be done for the moment. It shows Saul to be a person lacking the urgency of the moment.

Notice who were the people who were with him. Besides his 600 men, there was Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the Lord at Shiloh. The people mentioned remind us of the departure of God’s glory, especially Ichabod, the son of  Phinehas who was hurriedly given this name during his mother’s dying moment. The detail of what happened to Eli and his two wretched sons can be found in 1 Samuel 4. Why do you think we are specially told that the priest Ahijah was with Saul wearing the ephod? It’s because the ephod was the Urim and Thummin, devices that were used to seek the guidance of God. It would have been encouraging knowing that Saul had the devices that were needed to seek God’s direction, had it not for the names of the people who were with him. The most telling was the menti0n of Ichabod. How can we forget that his name means “the glory has departed?” This was indicative of what would happen when we leave God out of the equation. Just imagine the scene. All the fighting men whom Israel had, 600 of them and the priest, were with Saul resting. Shouldn’t they be working? Sadly, we saw that only Jonathan and his armor-bearer were the only two who seemed to be concerned.  What was more pathetic was the sentence that reads, “And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.” The people that should have shown concern were all unconcerned. What’s happening? Let this not be the situation in our church. Every believer must make himself or herself available to advance the work of God. All of us must evaluate where we are and not be found seating under the proverbial “pomegranate tree”, while we should be found busy working in the ministry.

The church of Christ must advance. We can choose to be like one of those sitting underneath the pomegranate tree or we can be like Jonathan, secretly and diligently working. Jonathan had left us with a model to emulate. He was found where he was needed and in the thick of essential work. Let’s recall what the Lord Jesus said in John 9:4. He said, “We must work the works of Him… as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” So we must arise and seize every moment to do the work of God where He has set us. Let us not be found wanting!

1 Samuel 14:1 – True faith in God is audacious

First Samuel 14:1 opens with the fact that the day of battle had arrived.  Remember in 1 Samuel 13:22 reveals that “So it came about on the day of battle that neither sword nor spear was found in the hands of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan, but they were found with Saul and his son Jonathan.”  Both father and son were said to have weapons that none other in Israel had. But look at who it was that act. Wasn’t Saul the anointed king whom the people wished would go out for them in battle like the kings of the other nations? Yet, the person that took the initiative to go out and encounter the Philistines was not Saul but his son Jonathan. When we were first introduced to him, it was he who had acted decisively against the garrison of Philistines at Geba, which his father Saul had largely ignored.

In this opening verse of 1 Samuel 14, we are given a clue to the kind of man Jonathan was. Unlike his father, he was active and decisive; the kind of personality more conducive to leadership. So here he was at it again. He had a brave plan. Many would have preferred to sit back and wait to react rather than act proactively. But not so for Jonathan. He was not content to live a sedated life. Today God is still looking for such proactive people who dare to act even in the face of what seems like an insurmountable obstacle. Faith is a fact, but faith is also an action. God needs people who are not cowed by their circumstances. People who would arise to meet the challenges of the day. People who dare to step up to the plate in the face of extreme dangers to meet the challenges boldly.

Like most gutsy, young people, Jonathan was looking for adventure. Having tasted victory over the Philistines the first time at Geba, he was not about to waste another opportunity to an inviting challenge. Daringly, he said to his armor-bearer, “Come and let us cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” This very phrase gives us a clue to the kind of person he was. He was not afraid of the tough challenge. This shows us the kind of people we will need in the ministry. People who would not shrink from the challenge. Forget about the weaponry he lacked, just thinking of the massive force the Philistines had stationed at Mishmach would have been enough to send chills into his spine. Yet Jonathan was not afraid. He rose up to the occasion. This is audacious faith.

Not telling his father about what he was going to do, also indicates to us that audacious faith refuses to be dampened. Obviously, he could imagine what his father would say to him had he revealed to him what he was about to do. So he refused to let even his closest kin to dampen his adventure. In the journey of faith, it is better to act than to consult and wait for opinions, after one has prayed and become certain of God’s direction. We need audacious faith, but we also need to act confidently. Faith is not waiting passively expecting God to intervene. It is acting in consultation with God and then confidently do whatever needed to tackle the problem at hand. Let our positive actions reflect the faith we have in God!  

1 Samuel 13:19-23 - Obedience is total and personal allegiance to God

In 1 Samuel 13:15 saw the army of Saul dwindled. From a force of 3,000, it shrank to 600. Coming against the massive Philistine’s force of 6,000 horsemen, 30,000 chariots and scores of people as numerous as the sand with 3,000 was already difficult, let alone 600. Victory from the human standpoint was nigh impossible. Saul was rendered powerless. As if this was not bad enough, no blacksmith in Israel could be found. The Philistines had deliberately allowed this to happen so that the people of Israel could not make iron weaponry. Even to maintain their farming equipment, the Israelites had to turn to the Philistine blacksmiths for service. Hence their enemy was monopolizing the situation and was even making a substantial profit out of it. This is to say that they were virtually disarmed.  

We do not know how long this situation had existed, but Israel was at a serious disadvantage. The plan of the Philistines was to ensure that no weapon could be found in the hand of Israel’s force on the day of battle. Verse 22 said that none of the men of Israel had a spear or a sword. The only two persons that had them were Saul and Jonathan.  No one needs to second guess what the outcome of the battle would be. The impending result was plain and obvious. Interestingly, verse 23 said, “And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash” setting the stage for what would happen in the next chapter of the book.

The issue at hand was not so much the serious disadvantage Israel was confronted with. The root of the problem confronting them was that they had a disobedient king, who had failed to follow the instructions of God. What was terrifying for the Israelites was not the Philistines but that the hand of God that was set against them. This account underscores the importance of walking in obedience to God. Obedience is a choice. Only in choosing to obey God can the resources of heaven be released into whatever circumstance we encounter, to help us overcome it. We remember what is written in Hebrews 5:8.  The author of that letter said that “Although He (Jesus) was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.” The circumstances we encounter in life are never there to thwart or intimidate us. They are there to point us to God so that we can learn to walk in Him trustingly. Here’s what Tim Keller said, “The essence of Christian obedience is not do’s and don’ts but personal allegiance to Jesus.” This is what we must seek to maintain – allegiance to Jesus.     

1 Samuel 13:15-18 – With God, we shall prevail

Having chided Saul for his disobedience, Samuel moved from Gilgal to Gibeah. Meanwhile, we are told that the men that remained with Saul totaled 600. There was a drastic reduction from the 3,000 men that he had. Those who were fearful had gone into hiding and many left him. Even if Saul should have a much bigger force, it would count for nothing if they were all uncommitted. Victory for them was not dependant on the number but their ability to walk in obedience to God. They had been through situations where with a much lesser amount of people, they were able to overcome greater forces. We must remember that the number we have is not an issue with God. It’s faithfulness that He is looking for. When God can find a small company of faithful and committed men, He can work wonders through them. We learn to live our lives for the audience of one, God Himself.

Meanwhile, the situation for Saul, Jonathan and his men looked bleak. They were stationed at Geba, while the Philistines were congregated at Mishmash. These people became a constant menace to them. They kept sending raiders to trouble the Israelites. In verses 17-18, we are told that the Philistines were divided into three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual, the second company turned toward Beth-horon, and the third turned toward the border which overlooks the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. What lesson can we glean from the battle array of the Philistines? Like them, the people that could trouble us do not come from only one direction. When someone wants to trouble us, they will come against us in different directions. Peter in his letter tells us that our enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion. He can come against us in different directions. It calls for us to be alert and be ready for his attack.  

Two lessons to take away. Firstly, know that our victory in Christ in life is not dependent on the number of people we have on our side. Our victory in life is very largely dependent on our obedience to keep in step with God. Even if those that are for us may be small, our God, whom we serve and live for, will give us the wisdom and empower us for victory. Secondly, we need to stay alert and sensitive to the circumstances that could come as a surprise to us. If we stay alert in our Christian journey, God will enable us to handle the enemy's sudden and surprising attacks to take us down. Take heart, with God we shall prevail!