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.
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