Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” 1 Samuel 14:6 NIV
Read 1 Samuel 14.
Have you ever made a foolish threat and were then stuck having to see it through? Or, have you ever made a public declaration that was incorrect and later felt like such a fool for even opening your mouth?
It’s kind of like announcing to the entire Facebook community that you are going to start an extremely restrictive fad diet or follow a wild fitness routine. When you come to your senses later, you are too embarrassed to quit because you had already told everyone you were going to do it. You suffered through seven days of cabbage or had to do 150 squats just to save face.
What is worse is when we make a decision that affects our children, and we think we are forced to follow through even when we have realized our mistake. For example, we may threaten a punishment that is too severe to fit the infraction, such as grounding them for an entire month or threatening to have them do chores that are beyond their ability, but for the sake of being true to our word, we cause them to suffer through it.
Perhaps there is a better way, such as humbly admitting our mistakes and making a retraction. While keeping our word is a highly-valued character trait, humility and wisdom also rate much higher than obstinacy and stubborn pride. This was a lesson Saul had yet to learn, and his son, Jonathan nearly payed with his life for his father’s foolishness.
You may recall that the Philistines had gathered a massive army to combat the people of Israel, and Saul and his men were frightened practically out of their skin. Many were hiding in caves and holes in the ground. Jonathan, however, approached this situation from a vastly different perspective than his father, as you will see.
Israel had begun with 3,000 men, but as fear seized them, they had begun slipping away little by little until Saul was left with only 600 men to defend themselves against the thousands of Philistines lined up to smite them from the face of the earth.
They were at quite a disadvantage in other ways than mere numbers too. The Philistines had forbidden Israel to have any blacksmiths for fear they would make weapons to use against them. Therefore, when they needed work done, the Israelites would have to take their tools to the Philistine blacksmiths. I can’t imagine having to depend on one’s enemy to help them build up an arsenal for the army, and this stacked up the odds against them exponentially.
While Saul and his men relaxed under the pomegranate trees outside of Gibeah, Jonathan and his armor bearer bravely sneaked into the camp of the Philistines to see what they could do. Jonathan was not intimidated by the odds because he knew that God Almighty was with them.
“Let’s go across to the outpost of those pagans,” Jonathan said to his armor bearer. “Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!” (verse 6)
Jonathan and his armor bearer began a siege against the Philistines that set them into a whirl of confusion, and they began scattering everywhere. They had only killed about 20 men, but when Saul saw their movement, he decided to seek wisdom from the priest using the ephod. This was a piece of the garment the priests wore for helping them make decisions, kind of like casting lots or rolling dice, but this was controlled by the Spirit of the Lord. However, Saul quickly changed his mind and basically told him to forget it and let’s just go. Hadn’t he learned his lesson yet? Oy!
What he saw astounded him. The Philistines were in such a state of confusion, they were killing each other. The Israelites who had defected or were in hiding began to join in and fight the enemy. They then chased the Philistines away and won the battle. The Lord had saved Israel that day!
This is where the foolish vow comes in. Saul had spouted off a vow without thinking of the ramifications, and he had required his entire army to comply. He demanded that no one could have anything to eat or drink until the enemy was completely defeated.
As you can imagine, after an entire day of fighting, they were quite depleted! However, since his son, Jonathan, was away when the command had been given, he didn’t know of his father’s decree. When he was hungry and weak, he simply dipped the end of a stick into a honeycomb and ate some. This made him feel refreshed and strengthened.
Later, the men had begun eating the meat they had slaughtered from the Philistines while the blood was still in it. This was a retched sin in the eyes of the Lord, and Saul reprimanded them firmly for it. He then prepared a place to slaughter and properly prepare the meat.
Saul had then inquired of the Lord about whether they should continue chasing after the Philistines, but there was no reply. God was not speaking. This upset Saul.
Saul immediately blamed the silence of God on a broken oath. Someone must have eaten when they had vowed not to. Saul then made an even worse threat. Whoever was guilty of eating that day after being commanded not to would be put to death. What a foolish threat to make! He didn’t know it was going to be his very own son!
Check out this unbelievable interaction between father and son that occurred because of Saul’s stubborn pride:
“Tell me what you have done,” Saul demanded of Jonathan.
“I tasted a little honey,” Jonathan admitted. “It was only a little bit on the end of my stick. Does that deserve death?”
“Yes, Jonathan,” Saul said, “you must die! May God strike me and even kill me if you do not die for this.” (verses 43-44)
Can you believe it?
The people jumped in right away and began defending Jonathan. This would be a terrible thing for Saul to kill his own son merely for eating a bit of honey when he had no knowledge of the command, but Saul’s pride was bruised. His very son had one-upped him!
The people rescued Jonathan that day, and Saul spared his life.
The chapter ends by stating that Saul led Israel into many victories against their enemies, but he fought the Philistines for his entire lifetime. Whenever he saw a brave, strong, young man, Saul drafted him into his army.
What do we learn today?
Thank before you speak, and seek God before making promises or threats. But when we do make a mistake, put down stubborn pride, and in humility, go ahead and right the wrong. Trust the Lord and obey. He will show us the way to go and will bring victory to our lives.
God bless!
