1 Samuel 14:36 - Meaning and Application

Here we see Saul boasting against the Philistines. As soon as his men had eaten, he proposed that they should keep chasing the Philistines all night and not leave a single one alive (1 Samuel 14:36). He showed zeal here, but little good sense, because his army was already worn out. Men who act rashly often think only of themselves, and they do not care what burden they place on those under them.

The people, however, were so obedient to their king that they did not object. They were ready to follow him and make the best of it: “Do whatever seems good to you.” The priest thought it wise to resume the worship that had been suddenly interrupted earlier (1 Samuel 14:19), and to ask God for guidance: “Let us draw near here to God.” Princes and great men need people around them who will remind them of God wherever they go, and who will not let them forget him. When the priest made this suggestion, Saul could not refuse it without shame, so he asked God whether he should go after the Philistines and whether he would succeed (1 Samuel 14:37).

The rest of this section is about Saul’s angry attack on his son Jonathan, while the Philistines escaped. We cannot know what harm may follow a reckless decision. When Saul consulted God through the priest, God gave him no answer (1 Samuel 14:37). When God does not answer our prayers, we should ask what sin has turned him away from us. God’s ear is not too dull to hear, but sin makes a separation between us and him. If he turns away our prayer, we should suspect some sin in our hearts, look for it, and put it away.

Saul then swore by his Maker that whoever had caused trouble in the camp by eating the forbidden food must die, even if it were Jonathan, whom he loved deeply, though he did not yet know Jonathan was the guilty one (1 Samuel 14:39). But none of the people answered him, meaning that no one who knew Jonathan had broken the order would speak against him. Jonathan had become known as the man who had broken the command, and Saul decided to cast lots between himself and Jonathan on one side, and the people on the other, perhaps because he was sure Jonathan was innocent in this matter, as he was sure of his own innocence (1 Samuel 14:40). The people did not dare oppose him, so they gave in: “Do what seems good to you.”

Before casting lots, Saul prayed that God would give a perfect lot, meaning a full and clear discovery of the matter, or, as the margin says, that God would show who was innocent (1 Samuel 14:41). This gave an appearance of fair judgment. Judges should want the truth to come out, no matter who is harmed by it. Lots should be cast with prayer, because they are a serious appeal to God’s providence, asking him to guide and decide the outcome (Acts 1:24). Some have therefore said that games based only on chance treat a serious thing too lightly.

At last Jonathan was chosen by lot (1 Samuel 14:42). God allowed this to support lawful authority and to honor public justice in general, while still preserving another way to save a man who had done nothing deserving death. Jonathan confessed honestly and did not deny the truth, though he thought it hard that he should die for it (1 Samuel 14:43). He could have argued that he did not know the law, or that he had done great service to the people. Instead, he submitted with a noble spirit. In effect, he said, “God’s will and my father’s will be done.” He showed the same courage in facing death himself as he had in attacking the Philistines. It takes courage both to fight and, in some cases, to yield.

Saul was not softened by Jonathan’s humble submission or by the unfairness of the case. He wanted to be seen as a man who kept his word, and even more as one who kept his oath. So, with another curse, he pronounced judgment on Jonathan: “God do so and more also to me if I do not put you to death, Jonathan” (1 Samuel 14:44). He moved too quickly, without asking God again. Jonathan had a strong defense. What he had done was not evil in itself, and he had not known about the command, so he could not rightly be accused of rebellion or willful disobedience. Saul did it in anger. Even if Jonathan had truly deserved death, it would have been fitting for a judge, and even more for a father, to speak with gentleness and sorrow, not with such triumph, as if he had lost all natural affection. Justice is weakened when it is carried out in bitterness.

Saul also backed his sentence with a curse on himself if he did not carry it out, and that curse came back on his own head. Jonathan escaped, but God dealt with Saul according to his own words, and more besides, because Saul was rejected by God. No one should dare to use such curses lightly, lest God answer them and turn them back on the speaker (Psalm 64:8). The same stone that is thrown will often return on the one who threw it. Yet Saul’s heart likely still yearned for Jonathan, so in trying to be severe, he was really punishing himself. God made him feel the pain of his own rash order, and this should have taught him to fear doing the same again. Through all these painful events, God also corrected Saul for his pride in offering sacrifice without Samuel. A campaign begun so badly could not end without rebukes.

Then the people rescued Jonathan from his father’s hands (1 Samuel 14:45). Up to this point, they had shown themselves ready to obey Saul. What seemed good to him, they accepted. But when Jonathan was in danger, they no longer treated Saul’s word as final. With great zeal they opposed the carrying out of his sentence: “Should Jonathan die, the one who has been such a blessing, such a beloved man in Israel? Should the one who gave himself so bravely for the public good, and to whom we owe our lives and victories, be sacrificed for a small matter of law and honor?” It is a good thing when God’s people are eager to protect those whom God has used for the good of the whole nation.

Saul had sworn that Jonathan must die, but the people stood against Saul’s oath with their own, and swore that Jonathan would not die. They said, “As the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground.” They did not save him by force, but by firm words and settled resolve. Josephus says they also prayed to God that Jonathan might be released from the curse.

They argued for him because he had worked with God that day. In other words, he had sided with God’s cause, and God had blessed his efforts. So his life was too precious to be lost over a small matter of ceremony or an oath taken in haste. We may think Saul had not so completely forgotten his duty as a father that he was unwilling to let Jonathan be saved. He may have even been glad for it to happen, though he would not do it himself. Anyone who knows a father’s heart will understand that without rushing to condemn him.

This event also stopped the attack on the Philistines, as verse 46 shows. Saul then stopped pursuing them, and so Israel lost a chance to finish the victory. When the shields of Israel clash against one another, public safety and useful work both suffer.