1 Samuel 14: The Faith of Jonathan and His Armour Bearer
1 Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. 3 Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.4 Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah. 6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.”
“While the Philistines are making inroads upon Israel— sending out their different companies— and strengthening themselves in garrisons or strongholds— poor Saul remains, with his six hundred men, fearful and dispirited, under a pomegranate tree; a standing proof of what God had told Israel should befall them when they sinned against Him — their enemies the head, and they the tail.
But God never will leave Himself without a little faithful remnant, be it ever so small, so despised, or so invisible. Haven’t you sometimes seen a tree of which the fruit has been gathered, with just two or three left on in some part that has been overlooked, or in the very uppermost bough, where they could not well be reached? Now, God compares the very few of His people, whom He reserves, to this: ‘Two or three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four or five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof.’ (Isaiah 17:6). When we look at this we need to ask, with intense earnestness, Lord, make me one of those few.’” (Helen Plumptre)
So Jonathan steps out with his armour-bearer, “literally ‘bearer of stuff’—not strictly just there in order to carry weapons. It was more a position of trust and honour. Such a man was basically a faithful servant, in this case also a soldier and probably a seasoned veteran, who carried out his superior’s wishes in any way that he desired. In many cases he might have nothing to do with armour, or even go to the battlefield. He could be a household servant with special attachment.” (Peter Pett)
“Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” (1) “Jonathan ventured out to destroy Israel’s enemy in obedience to God’ s command to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan (cf. 1 Samuel 9:16).” (Dr. Thomas Constable) “This action of Jonathan was totally contrary to the laws of war; no military operation should be undertaken without the knowledge and command of the general [here Yahweh’s anointed king]. But it is likely that he was led to this by a Divine influence.” (Adam Clarke)— “‘But he told not his father.’ No, he had learned not to confer with flesh and blood, when flesh and blood made him a coward in the cause of his God. When you see plainly what is your duty, however difficult, go forward. There will be many evil counsellors, who can talk much of the trials and difficulties, and make other hearts faint like their own: but, you recollect, the Lord does not like such soldiers; He would not let them stay in His army, for He well knew how catching fear is, and what sad work it makes in the camp of Israel. There is a Counsellor from whose lips you may ever hear, ‘Fear not.’ ‘Incline your ear, and come unto Him.’” (Helen Plumptre)
“And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron.” (2) “Under a pomegranate tree. רמן Rimmon, a rock in the tribe of Judah. Joshua 15:32. 20:47… a place of safety.” (Sutcliffe) “in contrast with Jonathan’s vulnerable and difficult position with only the support of his armor bearer. Jonathan was launching out in faith to obey God, but Saul was resting comfortably and failing to do God’s will.” (Dr. Thomas Constable) “The people”— not here called soldiers— “who were with him were about six hundred men.” “Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod.” “An ephod, to wit, the high priest’s ephod, wherein the Urim and Thummim was...” (Matthew Poole), “by which Jehovah's will was made known to his people, until prophecy took its place.” (Pulpit Commentary) “But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.” —They are unaware of this moving of the Spirit.
“‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised.’ Strangers to the covenant, and therefore we shall the sooner prevail against them.” (John Trapp) — “It may be that the Lord will work for us.” God had promised to save them out of the hand of the Philistines [1 Samuel 9:16]. “But he speaks doubtfully: for tho' he felt himself stirred up by God to this exploit, and was assured that God would deliver his people; yet he was not certain that he would do it at this time, and in this way.“ (John Wesley) “The object he aimed at was not in his own power - but it depended upon God - and that he expected success neither from his own strength nor his own merit.”(Jameison-Faussett-Brown)— “For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.” ““... God can win by a minority... He remembered that God had promised, ‘One shall chase a thousand, two put ten thousand to flight.’ (Deuteronomy 32:30) If, in fighting the Lord’s battles, we wait till we outnumber the foe, we shall never ‘do exploits.’ Joshua and Caleb were outvoted, but they said, ‘Let us go up at once and possess it.’ The twelve apostles did not wait, but, in the teeth of the Sanhedrim, preached ‘Jesus and the resurrection.’...” (Thomas Champness) Jonathan “had a true faith in the power of God, being fully persuaded that he could do every thing, and needed not the help or co-operation of natural causes.” (Joseph Benson)
7 So his armorbearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.”
“The answer of the armor-bearer contains: 1) encouragement to carry out his design, and 2) assurance that he will act with him and stand by him according to his will. Render: ‘do all whereto thy heart inclines.’” (Lange's Commentary) “Jonathan knew the Lord and knew that He loves His people and therefore would overthrow their enemies... And the armour bearer, whose name we do not know, but known to God, answered him: ‘Do all that is in thine heart; turn thee; behold I am with thee according to thy heart.’ They were in blessed unity.” (Arno Gaebelein) “Can two walk together unless they are agreed?”
1 Samuel 14: The First Battle of Jonathan and His Armorbearer
8 Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. 10 But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.”11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.” 12 Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you something.” Jonathan said to his armorbearer, “Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.” 13 And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him, his armorbearer killed them. 14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. 15 And there was trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling.
Jonathan was likely convicted of sin in his prior unprovoked attack, even though ordered by his father— the king of Israel. He prayed but hesitated to act again without hostility of the enemy. “If they say thus unto us.— A sign was given like unto "that of Abraham’s servant. [Gen. 24:13-14]” (John Trapp)— “‘Wait till we come,’ they would show some courage; but if they said, ‘Come up to us,’ it would be a sign that they were cowardly ..." (Keil and Delitzsch)— [and they said, 'we will show you something.']—"like Ehud’s to the king of Moab, (Judges 3:20,) were spoken in irony, and concealed a deadly intention.” (Daniel Whedon) [Thus] ”They cast themselves upon the Lord and let Him decide what they were to do. And the Lord, as He always does, answers to their faith.” (Arno Gaebelein)
“And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his armorbearer after him;” etc (13) “Difficulty doth but whet on heroic spirits. Alexander never held anything to be unfeasible.” (John Trapp) “Therefore Jonathan chose that rocky and unusual way, that the Philistines might suppose they did not come from Saul’s camp to fight with them, but rather out of the caves and holes of the rocks, from which their necessity had now driven them.” (Matthew Poole) And twenty men were slain by the two.
“The feat was begun and achieved by the faith of Jonathan, and the issue was of God.” (Jameison-Faussett-Brown)
“And there was trembling in the camp,”— “a great consternation; partly from this unexpected and prodigious slaughter, which made them suspect there was more than man in the case, and that the Lord (of whose infinite power they had had former experience) was come forth to fight against them;” (Poole) — “‘In the field - that is, in the whole host which was in the field. — ‘And among all the people’ that is, among all the rest of their forces, as well as those in the garrison at Michmash, as the spoilers, mentioned 1 Samuel 13:17 , the report of this prodigy, and with it the terror of God speedily passing from one to another. ... He that made the heart knows how to make it tremble. To complete their confusion, even the earth quaked.” (John Wesley) “Properly, God sent an earthquake among them, which probably overthrew their tents and chariots, and destroyed many of their persons, and scattered the whole host, making them to flee away for their lives.” (Matthew Poole)
1 Samuel 14: Yahweh Saved Israel That Day
16 Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went here and there. 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Now call the roll and see who has gone from us.” And when they had called the roll, surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there.
18 And Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ephod of God here” (for at that time the ephod of God was with the children of Israel). 19 Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
“Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked,”— “Seen from the watch-tower at Gibeah, the affair was shrouded in mystery.” (Expositor's Bible)— “and there was the multitude melting away; and they went here and there.” “The Hebrew is, ’the tumult was reeling and going … and thither.’... Melted away does not give the exact meaning. The Philistines were not dispersing, but were reeling, moving to and fro purposeless, and in confusion. It may mean, however, to shake or melt with terror, as in Isaiah 14:31, where it is rendered art dissolved.” (Pulpit Commentary) Or perhaps “the Philistine troops were retreating, while no force was there to make them retreat.” (Expositor's Bible)
“Then Jonathan and his armour bearer were missed. Saul made an attempt in consulting the Lord, which did not succeed.”(Arno Gaebelein) “Then said Saul . . .(17) —When this panic which was taking place in the Philistine army was reported to King Saul, he naturally inquired as to what had caused it, knowing that he, as general-in-chief, had given no directions to any of his men to attack the enemy. In the little Israelitish force, when the roll was called, it was soon discovered who was missing. And Saul said unto Ahiah . . . (18) —The LXX. renders here, ‘And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring hither the ephod; for he bore the ephod in those days before the children of Israel.’ This is a statement easily to be understood. Saul was in doubt what to do under the present emergency. Should he—seeing the panic that was evidently increasing in the Philistine camp, and knowing nothing of the cause, only that his son and the armour-bearer were missing—should he risk his little force, and, leaving his strong position, attack that great host of apparently panic-stricken enemies? So he sent for the high priest Ahijah, and bade him consult the Urim and Thummim in his ephod.” (C.J. Ellicott) “Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to the priest,
‘Withdraw your hand.’”
20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion. 21 Moreover the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day, and the battle shifted to Beth Aven.
“Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion.” Every man's sword against his neighbor— spiritual Israelites against Philistines.
"Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines.—Either as their slaves or fugitives; these now took part with their countrymen. It is hard trusting of such in battle whose hearts are with the enemy.” (John Trapp)
But it happened that day.
Sail added nothing to the victory; he could not even discern this moving of the Spirit— but rather “the faith of Jonathan had a glorious reward. The inspiration of faith vindicated itself, and the noble self-devotion that had plunged into this otherwise desperate enterprise, because there was no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few, led thus to a triumph more speedy and more complete than even Jonathan could have ventured to dream of. None of the judges had wrought a more complete or satisfactory deliverance; and even the crossing of the Red Sea under Moses had not afforded a more glorious evidence than this achievement of Jonathan's of the power of faith, or given more ample testimony to that principle of the kingdom of God, which our Lord afterwards enunciated, ‘If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence unto yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’" (Expositor's Bible) "So Yahweh saved Israel..." etc. — “Immediately, and for no merit of theirs.” (Trapp)— rather for the sake of the king's son... and his armorbearer.
1 Samuel 14: Saved Yet Distressed
24 And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, “Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. 25 Now all the people of the land came to a forest; and there was honey on the ground. 26 And when the people had come into the woods, there was the honey, dripping; but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath; therefore he stretched out the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in a honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his countenance brightened. 28 Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed is the man who eats food this day.’” And the people were faint.
29 But Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now would there not have been a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?”
“Though Samuel could not spare time to seek the mind and will of God, he would follow the devices of his own heart, and lean to his own understanding. He made a rash vow. He stands here as a warning to me and you. When we have been very much pressed with business or hurried with distress, how short have we been in prayer! how remiss in seeking the Lord! And then, when our conscience was a little uneasy, we have tried to quiet it with some foolish resolutions, thereby bringing ourselves into bondage and sin.“ (Helen Plumptre)
“‘Saul adjured the people’ not to taste food; whereas the more prudent Gideon had required bread of the men of Succoth for his army.” (Sutcliffe) “He made them swear an oath—bound them by an oath.” (Lange)... which was binding on a true Israelite. Some commentators “highly commend Saul for this fast enjoined the people.
But Josephus and others better say, that Saul used this victory too insolently and immodestly, to fill himself with the slaughter of his enemies, without any regard had to the weak and faint bodies of his subjects that pursued them: whereas a good magistrate more regardeth the life of one good citizen, than the death of many enemies.“ (Trapp)
In the pretense of religion, Saul invokes a curse. “To pronounce a curse at, all was presumptuous, where there was no direct command of God to be infringed; and more, what personal pain it inflicted--what actual disadvantages it involved--what further mischief it would have done, if the matter had been left in the King of Israel’s hand!” (J. A. Muller)
And Jesus said to them, “Can the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them they cannot fast.” (Mark 2:19)
“How sweet are your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103) “‘The honey dropped’ from the hollow of trees, in that land of milk and honey, through the great heat of the weather. Honey-dews in excessively hot days will drop from the leaves of oaks, &c.; after which the leaf is apt to curl and decay... [It was like the manna come from heaven and left on the ground.] Jonathan, having passed the wood, was refreshed with a comb of the honey to complete the glories of the day.—From this signal victory we may learn, that it is better for a nation to trust in God than in an arm of flesh. A single man, when animated by divine influence, is in himself a victorious army; for it is one with God to save by many or by few.“ (Joseph Sutcliffe)
The men of Israel were acting in the Spirit resting on His Word that the land belonged to them, but Saul shows that he thought the victory was wrought by man. It might have been good for him to fast but not to bind it on all of Israel. “Saul’s adjuration was unnecessary and made in self-will. His oath is but the working of the natural man. In his blindness he thinks he can help along the complete defeat of the enemy by his legal injunction. On account of this foolish oath the people were in distress; legalism always puts burdens and distress upon the people of God. His own son Jonathan, ignorant of his father’s commandment, takes a little honey on the end of the rod and receives refreshment by it.” (Gaebelein)
1 Samuel 14: Saul’s First Altar to Yahweh
31 Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. So the people were very faint. 32 And the people rushed on the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, and calves, and slaughtered them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood. 33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Look, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood!” So he said, “You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day.” 34 Then Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, ‘Bring me here every man’s ox and every man’s sheep, slaughter them here, and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.’” So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night, and slaughtered it there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD.
“Now they had driven back the Philistines that day”— “This clause is really an indicative: ‘For now the slaughter of the Philistines is not very great.’ Nevertheless, the pursuit was continued as far as the pass of Aijalon, and though, owing to the increasing weariness of the people, but few of the Philistines were overtaken...” (Pulpit Commentary)— “from Michmash to Aijalon.” From Michmash where the Philistine garrison was to “Aijalon in the tribe of Judah, 2 Chronicles 11:10 according to Bunting, it was twelve miles from Michmash: and the people were very faint; as they might well be, with pursuing the enemy so many miles, and doing so much execution among them, without eating any food.” (John Gill)
“‘And the people flew upon the spoil and the people did eat them with the blood.’— And so with the hazard of their souls, because they did it against an express law of God. [Leviticus 17:14 Deuteronomy 12:16; Deuteronomy 15:23]. (John Trapp) Pain of temporal death by the king prevailed more with them than fear of eternal death from Yahweh. “They were so hungry they could not stay the dressing of them, but ate them with the blood in them.” (John Gill ) “Thus Saul’s restriction of a lawful thing led to the breaking of a divine commandment.” (Arno Gaebelein)
“They were painfully conscientious in keeping the king‘s order for fear of the curse, but had no scruple in transgressing God‘s command.“ (Jameison-Faussett-Brown) The people had sinned. Yet, Saul “sees their fault, but not his own, in giving the occasion of it.” (John Wesley)
Saul said, "You have dealt treacherously; roll a large stone to me this day." “To remedy this, Saul had a great stone placed beside him, and ordered the people to bring every man his ox or his sheep, and slay them on that stone, that he might see that the blood was properly drained from the flesh. Then we gather from the marginal reading of 1 Samuel 14:35 that he was proceeding to erect with the stone an altar to God, but that he did not carry this purpose completely into effect, because he determined to continue the pursuit of the Philistines.”
(Expositor's Bible Commentary)
“Then Saul built an altar to the LORD."— using that stone as the first stone, thus making it of earth —“as priests and princes had ever done in all parts of the earth.” (Sutcliffe) “turning aside from God,... being then most zealous, as many are, for the form of godliness when he was denying the power of it.” (Henry) He did not repent of his evil. He “seems to have thought he had sufficient authority to erect one himself, without the prophet, as he had once offered sacrifice without him: Samuel 7:9,17; Judges 21:4; Hosea 8:14; 2 Timothy 3:5.” (Treasury of Knowledge)
“However genuine Saul might have been the writer was probably being deliberately sarcastic. In his view it was not Saul’s responsibility to build altars. His point is therefore so as to emphasise Samuel’s absence. It is Saul’s first altar because previously he had been able to leave such things to someone else. It is all of a piece with what has gone before. Saul had called for the Ephod, and had made use of a religious oath. Now he has erected a kind of altar. This will be followed by a vain consultation of the oracle. They are all acts which mark him as a religious man. But it was a religion that was all on the outside. It was based solely on ritual. In the end there was nothing underneath, for what was lacking was the responsive obedience without which all the rest was useless.” (Peter Pett) — “This was the first altar that he built to the LORD." But it was of none effect to the saving of his soul. Some think that he even stopped in this endeavor to pursue God’s enemies again in the flesh.
1 Samuel 14: King Saul Inquires of God
36 Now Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and plunder them until the morning light; and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” 37 So Saul asked counsel of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him that day.
“And Saul said,.. ‘let us go down after the Philistines by night’; or tonight, that same night; which is another hardship he laid his troops under; as he had restrained them from eating all that day until evening, now he proposed they shall take no sleep that night, but proceed on in their pursuit of the Philistines, having eaten, and drank, and refreshed themselves....— ‘and spoil them until the morning light’; or kill of them, as the Targum, and so the Arabic version; for spoiling must be meant of killing; for as for the spoil of their provisions, riches, &c. that had already fallen into their hands, 1 Samuel 14:30, and this is confirmed by what follows: ‘and let us not leave a man of them.’” (John Gill)
“And they”— the people— said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” “They had religiously observed his oath, in refraining from food all the day, and now they were as willing to be obedient to his command in denying themselves refreshing rest in sleep.” (John Gill) But beware, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
They could have given him other faithful counsel while still being loyal to him. Then the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.” “It is evident that Ahiah doubted the propriety of pursuing the Philistines that night; and as a reverse of fortune might be ruinous after such a victory, he wished to have specific directions from the Lord.” (Adam Clarke)
They inquired. “But He answered him not that day.— A sure sign of his displeasure, as 1 Samuel 28:6.” (Trapp) “What follows shows us again the impetuous and stubborn heart of Saul.“ (Gaebelein) He should have repented in sackcloth and ashes and inquired further of God.
“When the mysterious gems refused to shine, or in any way to signify the Divine approbation or disapproval, the high-priestly questioner seems, as in this instance, to have concluded that some public transgression had been committed, and that special atonement must be made before the desired answer could be expected. The sacred gems probably remained dull and lightless the night was wearing on, and Saul chafed at the unexpected delay, and in his impetuous anger uttered the wild words on which we are about to come.” (Albert Barnes) Jonathan had eaten the honey because he did not know. And then he had spoken harsh words against the command of his father- the king, reproving him in the Word.
38 And Saul said, “Come over here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see what this sin was today. 39 For as the Lord lives, who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.”
But not a man among all the people answered him. 40 Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and my son Jonathan and I will be on the other side.”
Morning Repost After Walk :1 Samuel 14: A Little Honey
41 Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped. 42 And Saul said, “Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.” So Jonathan was taken. 43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!” 44 Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.” 45 But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die.
“If God turns away our prayer, we have reason to suspect it is for some sin harboured in our hearts, which we should find out, that we may put it away, and put it to death [— lest we ourselves be put to death]. We should always first suspect and examine ourselves; but an unhumbled heart suspects every other person, and looks everywhere... [else] for the sinful cause of calamity.” (Matthew Henry)
It was between the house of Saul and Israel. Therefore Saul said to the LORD God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” “Or declare (for giving is oft put for declaring or pronouncing, as Deuteronomy 11:29 13:1,2 Pr 9:9) the perfect or guiltless person; i.e. O Lord, so guide the lot, that it may discover who is guilty in this matter, and that it may clear the innocent. ‘So Saul and Jonathan were taken, but the people escaped.’… to wit, the danger; they were pronounced guiltless.” (Matthew Poole)
“And Saul said, ‘Cast lots between my son Jonathan and me.’ So Jonathan was taken.” (42) “Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” And Jonathan told him, and said, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!” He was aware of the nature of sin, testifying in his trial. “‘Stop the beginnings,’ said the old Romans; arrest the evil in the bud; put your foot upon the spark and stamp out the conflagration. Behold how great, a forest a little fire kindleth. ‘I did but taste a little honey on the end of the rod in mine hand, and lo! I must die!’” (R. Balgarnie, D. D.) He had even spoken against his father. The wage of sin is death.
A little leaven, leavens the whole lump. Jonathan did not attempt to justify his transgression as a case of ignorance. This was the voice of Yahweh. He was guilty of sin and deserving of death. In stark contrast, this whole casting of lots and trial showed that Saul “had no consciousness of guilt in himself.” (Gill) He saw only the sins of others.
Saul is a picture of the carnal Christian. He answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.” (44)
“At his words Saul confirmed the death sentence. He declared that before God Jonathan must assuredly die. As far as he was concerned there was no alternative. It was the king’s oath. This was the extreme to which his religious activity had taken him. The death of his own son for something that had not been done with sin in the heart.” (Peter Pett)
But in the matter of Jonathan— the king’s son— the people were willing to passover his sins for his heart was right, as evidenced by the victories he won. They did not fear the wrath of the king. They said - “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” “Here was a righteous and impartial jury, who brought in a verdict according to the evidence: No man should die but for a breach of the law of God; but Jonathan hath not broken any law of God; therefore Jonathan should not die. And because he should not, therefore he shall not. ‘He hath wrought with God this day’ - God has been commander-in-chief; Jonathan has acted under his directions. ‘So the people rescued Jonathan’ - And God testified no displeasure; and perhaps he permitted all this that he might correct Saul's propensity to rashness and precipitancy.” (Adam Clarke)
The people preached a Passover sermon to king:
“Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.” (1 Corinthians 11:27–28)
1 Samuel 14:46 Then Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
“‘Then Saul went up from following the Philistines,’... Returned home to his own city, finding that he could get no answer from the Lord, whether he should pursue further or not, and losing the time and opportunity of doing it, by examining into the affair of his son, and casting lots to find it out.” (John Gill)— “and the Philistines went to their own place.” “In spite of this serious defeat their strength was not broken (comp. 1 Samuel 14:52). The fact that Saul desisted from pursuit shows that he understood the Lord’s silence as a denial, and was obliged to recognize as the cause of it not Jonathan’s conduct, but his own arbitrary and rash procedure.” (Lange's Commentary)
Morning Repost: 1 Samuel 14: Slaying Spiritual Amalekites
47 So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he harassed them. 48 And he gathered an army and attacked the Amalekites, and delivered Israel from the hands of those who plundered them.
This took the morning walk. It is difficult, at best, to justify God’s command to kill the Amalekites, especially to reconcile it or apply it to our Christian faith. The only way for it to make sense is that it is true: Yahweh will indeed destroy the wicked after the end-time judgment. This is our example (1 Cor. 10:6). Their time of probation had ended. Their day of judgment had come. Look to my last paragraph for the application. We are never to treat even God's enemies thus on this side of Calvary.
“This signal triumph over the Philistines was followed, not only by their expulsion from the land of Israel, but by successful incursions against various hostile neighbors, whom he harassed though he did not subdue them.” (Jameison-Faussett-Brown) “‘So Saul established his sovereignty over Israel,’ Compare 2 Samuel 8:15 — ‘So David reigned over all Israel; and David administered justice and righteousness for all his people.’The preceding narrative shows that before this time Saul had been king in name only, since his country was occupied by the Philistines, and he could only muster 600 men, and those but half armed and pent up in a narrow stronghold. Now, however, on the expulsion of the Philistines from his country, and the return of the Israelites from their previous vassalage and from their hiding places 1 Samuel 14:21-22, Saul became king in deed as well as in name, and acted the part of a king through the rest of his reign in defending his people against their enemies round about.” (Albert Barnes)— “and fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the people of Ammon, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines."
"This enumeration of the nations with whom he fought literally included the countries on every side of the Land of Promise. Moab and Ammon bounded the Israelites on the east; Edom on the south; the Philistines on the west, along the coast of the Mediterranean; while Zobah was a district of Syria on the north-east of the territory of the twelve tribes, lying between the Euphrates and the Syrian Orontes. ” (C. J. Ellicott)
"Wherever he turned, he harassed them. “He vexed them.— heb. ‘he condemned them’, he treated them like wicked people, and enemies to God and his people; or, ‘he punished them.’” (Matthew Poole)— but devoid of the Spirit, he was unable to destroy them.
“‘And he gathered an army’— literally “he gathered an host” (C. J. Ellicott)— “and attacked the Amalekites”; a people that Israel, by the law of God, were bound to destroy, and blot out their name; a particular account& of his expedition against them is given in the following chapter: ‘and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.’ — the nations before mentioned.” (John Gill)
“God may make use of wicked men as instruments to defend his people: ‘the earth helped the woman’; [Revelation 12:16] yet the vials of God’s wrath were poured out ‘upon the earth.’ [Revelation 16:1]” (John Trapp)
49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Jishui, and Malchishua. And the names of his two daughters were these: the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal. 50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of the commander of his army was Abner the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.
“Saul's family. - 1 Samuel 14:49– The sons of Saul were Jonathan,”— the aforementioned righteous man — and “Jishui, and Malchishua”- “Only three of his sons are mentioned, namely those who fell with him, according to 1 Samuel 31:2, in the war withthe Philistines.“ (Keil & Delitzsch) ”Two daughters are also mentioned, of whom we shall hear again. Nothing is told us of his wife except her name and her father's name, Ahimaaz. It seems doubtful that this was the same man who was a messenger for David, for Saul's father in law would likely be too old to be a runner at the time of the history of 2 Samuel 17:17; 18:19-29. At this time, however, Saul's uncle (Abner) was captain of Saul's host. The names of his father and grandfather are mentioned.” (L. M. Grant)
52 Now there was fierce war with the Philistines all the days of Saul. And when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him for himself.
“Saul now had to select recruits by personally evaluating them. This is another indication of God’s limited blessing on Saul. In contrast, hundreds of soldiers volunteered to serve with David.” (Constable)
Moreover: “Evidently the military spirit ruled in Saul, but it did not bring peace nor blessing to the kingdom. 'He gathered an host,’ surrounded himself with a standing army, so as to be ready and have an excuse for any expedition that he wished to undertake. After a brief notice of Saul's family, the chapter ends by telling us that ‘there was sore war against the Philistines all the days of Saul; and when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he took him unto him.' The Philistines were far from being permanently subdued; there were not even intervals of peace between the two countries. There was bitter war, an open sore, perpetually bleeding, a terror on every side, never removed. How different it might have been had that one day been better spent!...
Who does not see what a fearful thing it is to leave God and His ways, and give one's self up to the impulses of one's own heart? Fearful for even the humblest of us, but infinitely fearful for one of great resources and influence, with a whole people under him! How beautiful some prayers in the Psalms sound after we have been contemplating the wild career of Saul! ‘Show me Thy ways, O Yahweh; teach me in Thy paths. Lead me in Thy truth and teach me, for Thou art the God of my salvation; on Thee do I wait all the day.’ (Ps. 25:4) ‘Oh that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments.’ (Ps. 119:5)" (Expositor's Bible Commentary)
Crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5.24) For example: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." (Exodus 20:8) Jesus by your Spirit enable me to keep all your Commandments in love of You and my neighbor and slay the flesh of all of the spiritual Amalekites, converting them by love and thus saving them for the wrath to come.