Saul and the army of Israel were camped, waiting to do battle with the Philistines. But the Philistine army was so much larger than the army of Israel and so much better armed. There seemed no way that the army of Israel could prevail. Then Jonathan, Saul’s son, took matters into his own hands, secretly climbing the cliff up to the Philistine camp with just his armor-bearer with him. When they arrived at the top of the cliff, God did a miracle. Using just Jonathan and his armor-bearer, God sent panic among the Philistine army and they turned on each other and a rout was begun.
Saul saw the Philistine army in a rout and called his men to pursue them and destroy them. God gave Israel a great victory that day, not because of their superior strength, but because of His awesome presence among them. But in the midst of the battle, Saul did something foolish. He made a vow to the Lord, saying “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies.” (1 Samuel 14:24)
As the day progressed, the men of the army of Israel grew weak with hunger. They were fighting a fierce battle and moving at great speed to pursue the Philistines. They needed the strength that food would have provided them. But they were faithful to Saul’s vow, all except Jonathan. Jonathan was away from the camp when his father had made the vow and Jonathan had not been told of it. Seeing honey on the ground, Jonathan ate of it.
When evening came, Saul wanted to continue to pursue the Philistines. Before moving against them, he asked the priest to inquire of the Lord about whether it was right to continue the battle into the night. But God would not answer the inquiry. God had gone silent because the vow had been broken. When Saul discovered it was Jonathan who had broken the vow, he was ready to kill Jonathan. Only the intervention of the men of Israel saved Jonathan’s life that night.
Because of a foolish vow: the battle did not go as well as it could have because the army grew weak; the Lord went silent and did not answer the inquiry of the priest; Jonathan nearly lost his life. All because of a foolish vow.
God does take vows seriously. The book of Ecclesiastes says, “When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.” (Ecclesiastes 5:4-6)
Let Saul’s example be a reminder to you: do not make foolish vows!
His, by Grace,
Steve
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