1 Samuel 14 Death Sentence Rescinded

seekeroftruth

Well-Known Member
1 Samuel 14:31 That day, after the Israelites had struck down the Philistines from Mikmash to Aijalon, they were exhausted. 32 They pounced on the plunder and, taking sheep, cattle and calves, they butchered them on the ground and ate them, together with the blood. 33 Then someone said to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that has blood in it.”

“You have broken faith,” he said. “Roll a large stone over here at once.” 34 Then he said, “Go out among the men and tell them, ‘Each of you bring me your cattle and sheep, and slaughter them here and eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with blood still in it.’”

So everyone brought his ox that night and slaughtered it there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first time he had done this.

36 Saul said, “Let us go down and pursue the Philistines by night and plunder them till dawn, and let us not leave one of them alive.”

“Do whatever seems best to you,” they replied.

But the priest said, “Let us inquire of God here.”

37 So Saul asked God, “Shall I go down and pursue the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hand?” But God did not answer him that day.

38 Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. 39 As surely as the Lord who rescues Israel lives, even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” But not one of them said a word.

40 Saul then said to all the Israelites, “You stand over there; I and Jonathan my son will stand over here.”

“Do what seems best to you,” they replied.

41 Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault,[d] respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. 42 Saul said, “Cast the lot between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.

43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”

So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!”

44 Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”

45 But the men said to Saul, “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.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.

46 Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.

47 After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings[e] of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them.[f] 48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them.​

d. 1 Samuel 14:41 Septuagint; Hebrew does not have “Why … at fault.
e. 1 Samuel 14:47 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint king
f. 1 Samuel 14:47 Hebrew; Septuagint he was victorious

Bible.org is pretty good reading this morning.

But as the day comes to a close, the people are famished when they come upon the cattle left behind by their enemies. It is sad to say that the Israelite soldiers fear disobeying Saul’s commands more than they fear disobeying God’s commands. The famished soldiers devour the livestock without properly preparing them, and in so doing, they sin (Leviticus 17:10; 19:26).​

Who will oppose Saul in his state of mind? When Jonathan is isolated by the casting of lots, his father asks him what he has done. (It is interesting, is it not, that Saul has already indicated the punishment before the crime is revealed.) Jonathan “confesses” that he has indeed tasted a little honey with the end of his staff. One small taste of honey, taken without any knowledge of his father’s command and without wasting any time, is the heinous crime Saul supposes is the reason for Israel’s inability to finish the battle which Jonathan started. Saul seems to feel it is better to kill his son than admit his own sin and foolishness.

Finally, the people who have quietly put up with all the king’s dramatics have had enough. They are willing to let Saul put Jonathan and himself to the test, but they are not willing to allow Saul to put his son to death. They see how foolish Saul’s actions are. Jonathan, not Saul, brought about such a great deliverance for them. Should he be put to death for this? He has worked with God and not against Him, and because of this he will not be put to death as a sinner. Quite the contrary! Not one hair on his head shall fall to the ground. And so it is that Jonathan, working with God, rescues Israel, and Israel, standing up to Saul, rescues Jonathan. Saul, who rescues no one, is not allowed to destroy his own son. With this incident, the battle with the Philistines ends, sooner and less decisively than it should, all due to the foolishness of Saul, Israel’s “deliverer.”

So... the phrase "knock off the horns and throw it on a plate, I'm starved" wouldn't work back then. Can you see Saul scurrying to set up an alter when he realized that the people where eating that meat raw?

Then he's going to slaughter his own son.... for a little honey on a stick.... yep, I know... it was against orders... but Jonathan didn't hear the orders.... he was busy routing the Philistines... no wait... Jonathan didn't have orders to do that either....

The Israeli soldiers... IMHO they are the heroes of the day.... they knew Saul had no reason to put Jonathan to death.... so I'm glad they stood up for him....

This had to make Saul crazy....

Now this comes from blueletterbible.org.

The names Urim and Thummim mean "Lights and Perfections." We aren't sure what they were or how they were used. Most think they were a pair of stones, one light and another dark, and each stone indicated a "yes" or "no" from God. The High Priest would ask God a question, reach into the breastplate, and pull our either a "yes" or a "no."

On this occasion, the priest would probably start inquiring of the LORD with this question: "LORD, do you want to speak to us today?" Because we are told He did not answer him that day, probably when this question was asked, the stone that indicated "no" kept being drawn out.


Talking to God with one black rock and one white rock... why that's just crazy....

:coffee:
 
Top