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.