23 Saul’s Rash Oath – Part 2

First Samuel 14 concludes with King Saul continuing to press his determination to have put to death anyone who went against his oath, that no Israelite was to eat until the Philistines had been defeated in their current battle.

But Saul took things to another level, by attempting to continue to position himself into being not only the nation’s civil leader, but in taking on aspects of being its spiritual leader as well.

However, there were inherent problems with that:

• Saul was not to be the spiritual leader. As king, his role was to be the civil leader only. God had established religious leaders in His priests and prophets.
• Additionally, because Saul had never shown spiritual qualities, and therefore his recent actions belied his character.

Unfortunately, Saul’s actions only caused him to believe that he was able to do as he wished, and that we had had no accountability:

1 Private Counsel

We’ve seen previously, how Saul refused God’s counsel, when on one occasion, he commanded the priest Ahijah not to consult the Lord:

1 Samuel 14:19

So, despite Saul’s outward appearance of being “spiritual” he continued to show that he simply wanted things “his” way.

We’re shown how Saul continued to present a righteous side to the nation:

1 Samuel 14:36

It had been the Lord’s desire to be the only leader for His people, yet because they’d rejected His leadership, he gave them what they desired, someone of flesh and blood to lead them. Yet, Saul was very flawed, which became more and more evident.

Saul refused any of the counsel from those around him, including that of Ahijah the priest.

It’s extremely dangerous for anyone in leadership to refuse counsel, and to believe that they have absolute autonomy.

Yet, here in chapter 14, we see that Saul so intimidated the people, that they had then become his enablers, thus strengthening his resolve.

2 Saul Continues Poor Choices

After Ahijah the priest stated that they should seek the Lord’s counsel, Saul then seemed to agree:

1 Samuel 14:37-39

Ahijah would have most likely used the Urim and Thummin which means “Lights and Perfections” to determine God’s will.

While we aren’t completely certain how the process worked, basically the Urim and Thummin were two stones the priest kept in a pocket in his breastplate. One was light, while the other was dark. The light stone would signify “yes” while the dark would be a “no” answer.

In this situation, the Lord did not provide an answer.

Rather than taking God’s silence into consideration, Saul became even more resolved that his previous words must be followed.

Therefore, Saul continued to press the issue that whoever defied his orders should be killed, even if it was his son Jonathan.

3 Saul’s Misguided Determination

1 Samuel 14:40-46

When it became obvious the Lord was not responding to the inquiry, Saul then decided to have lots cast.

The lots were cast and felled upon Jonathan, showing that he was the responsible party.

Yet, Saul was far more concerned about how he appeared in the eyes of the people, rather than to be concerned about his own son. This shows the continued fall of the king.

On the other hand, we see the character of Jonathan, who didn’t make any excuses, but he acknowledge he had eaten honey, and that:

“So now I must die!”

But Saul, once again desiring to appear as being spiritual, invoked the Lord when he reiterated that the offender should die:

1 Samuel 14:44

Saul had become so set on hold on to power, that he had lost all compassion, even for Jonathan.

The words of Bible commentator Matthew Poole are so striking in discussing Saul’s attitude and actions:

“Strange perverseness! He who was so indulgent as to spare wicked Agag, chapter 15, is now so severe as to destroy his own worthy son.”.”

Yet, the people showed more concern for Jonathan, than his own father did:

1 Samuel 14:45

This would have been a highly unusual, and even dangerous decision for the people to make, since the king had and was the final say in all matters.

4 Saul’s Continuing Wars

Even though Saul didn’t pursue his planned night raid of the Philistines, he would still fight numerous battles, against various enemies of Israel:

1 Samuel 14:47-52

Saul’s sovereignty over the nation was established through the many wars he would fight.

However, the wars weren’t just Israel defending itself, but the text states that Saul “harassed” his enemies, showing that he would often go the offensive against the nations enemies, much like his son Jonathan had done.