1 Samuel 14:
I was a soldier in King Saul’s army during the Philistine conflict. We fought long and often against the Philistines, defending our land. One day, the king’s son Jonathan went to a Philistine outpost in Mikmash in secret, and managed to slay twenty men and throw the rest into a panic. When King Saul heard of this, he decided to take advantage of the confusion. He rallied his troops and sent us out and we managed to push the Philistines out past Beth Aven.
It was a day of great victory for Israel, and we might have all been rejoicing had we not been so faint. Before sending us out, King Saul bound us under an oath. “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” (v. 24) We were all frustrated at this. We knew that in order to keep our strength up, we would need to eat. But we honored our king’s command and prayed that the LORD would sustain us.
As we entered into the woods, there was a great abundance of honey on the ground. Nobody said anything, for we didn’t want to awaken our hunger, but everyone glanced longingly at the oozing gold.
Jonathan had joined the troops before heading out, and he was walking just ahead of me, leaning on a walking stick. When he saw the honey, he didn’t look away with disappointment like the rest of us did. He reached out his staff and dipped it in the honey to eat it.
I gasped and reached out to grasp Jonathan’s shoulder. “Your father bound the army under a strict oath, saying, ‘Cursed be anyone who eats food today!’ That is why the men are faint.” (v. 28) Jonathan hadn’t returned from his initial attack in time to hear King Saul make this announcement, and we had neglected to let him know what he had missed.
Jonathan looked at me and his eyes narrowed. “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey. How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?” (vv. 29-30) While King Saul is a bit superstitious, Jonathan has always been very practical. The logic of his words settled with me, but I couldn’t help but worry for him. He was by far our greatest soldier. If his father’s curse fell on him, what would happen to our army?
As you know, Jonathan led us in a successful battle. We soldiers barely made it through the battle with how exhausted we were by lack of nutrition. Gratefully, by the time our mission was complete, the sun had set and we were free from the king’s oath. We immediately pounced on the plunder we had taken, butchering the livestock on the ground where we were and eating it as it was. We knew what we were doing was against the commandments of the LORD, but we were too hungry to think clearly. Eating the blood of any animal is strictly prohibited, but on this day, we had put the oath of our earthly king over the will of our Eternal King. We had tried so hard to keep ourselves from sin that we lapsed and fell into an even greater sin. (Leviticus 17:10-14)
King Saul inquired of the LORD whether he should go down into Philistine territory to gather more plunder, but the LORD was silent. “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. As surely as the LORD who rescues Israel lives, even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” (v. 39) We all stood in silence, waiting to hear of the decision. We knew we had all sinned in consuming animals with the blood still in them. How many of us would be put to death on this day?
After casting lots, the king determined that the sin lay with Jonathan. I swallowed hard. Consumed with my own guilt, I had forgotten that Jonathan had eaten the honey. We waited to hear the king’s decision. No one made a sound.
King Saul turned toward Jonathan, his voice shaking with anger. Or perhaps it was sadness. “Tell me what you have done.”
Holding his head high, Jonathan spoke honestly. “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!” (v. 43) His simple summary of the case highlighted how ludicrous the consequences for his action were. Grumbles moved through the crowd. Nobody wanted to see Jonathan lose his life for such a small infraction, especially after his indispensable leadership in striking down the Philistines.
A shadow crossed the king’s face as he firmly said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.” (v. 44)
I felt my heart quicken and my face turn hot, and before I knew what I was doing, I called out, “Should Jonathan die – he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the LORD lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” (v. 45) For a moment, as time seemed to stand still, the full weight of my insubordination made itself clear to me. Certainly, I would be subject to die alongside Jonathan for speaking this way to the king. But then, all of the men around me began to call out as well. We joined our voices in protest against this unjust sentence.
Finally, the king relented. Seeming somewhat embarrassed, he released Jonathan from his sentence. We all repented of our sin, and the Philistines withdrew to their own land.
Neglected Word 