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Tara Leigh Cobble
Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Leigh Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Your Bible may have had a gap in the spot for Saul's age and how long he served. No one is entirely sure, but it's probably in the range of either 20 or 40 years. And some of today's events might possibly be out of chronological order, but we'll try to make sense of them as much as possible. Today we meet Saul's son Jonathan for the first time, and he's already winning battles against the Philistines. But when the Philistines come back to retaliate, they bring a lot of warriors and chariots. The Israelites start to hide and even flee to the Transjordan. Remember yesterday's reading when we read about Samuel telling Saul to wait for him at Gilgal for seven days? And I told you, remember this. It's important. It's possible that corresponds directly to what's happening in 138 today. But it's also possible this is an entirely different time when Samuel gave the same instructions. So Saul is at Gilgal. A lot of his army has fled or is hiding and the Philistines are breathing down his neck. I can't imagine how stressful this must be for him and how urgent things must feel. But this is Israel, a nation state made up of God's people. And the way their leaders are supposed to make decisions is to consult with God. Specifically. Saul is supposed to wait to hear from Israel's prophet, Samuel. But Samuel still isn't there after seven days, and Saul is losing control of the people. So in his panic, Saul does something only the priest is allowed to do. He offers a burnt offering to God. And as soon as he finishes, bam. Samuel appears. Saul's impatience cost him dearly. He took matters into his own hands, disobeying not only the prophet of God, but also the law of God. And he doesn't repent of his actions. He tries to justify them. We're continuing to see that God holds Israel's leaders to a very high standard. They're supposed to be the first followers, not the decision makers. They're supposed to consult with God. And Saul has demonstrated that he doesn't have what it takes to lead Israel. Well, Samuel says that this sin has cost him the kingdom and that God is raising up another leader to replace him. This is crushing news. But he still has the Philistines to think about. Saul's army is tiny in comparison to theirs. Not only that, but the Philistines have metal weapons and the Israelite army doesn't, except for Saul and Jonathan because they don't have a blacksmith in Israel. Jonathan plans a sneak attack on the Philistines with just him and his armor bearer. While his father is marked by fear, Jonathan is marked by zeal and courage and trust in the Lord. His faith in God is evident early on in 14 6. He says, it may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few. And in this instance it was by few. By just the two of them, they killed 20 Philistines. Saul's watchmen see the ruckus and they do a head count to see which of their men might be over fighting the Philistines. And they realize it's Jonathan and his servant Saul demands for the ark to be brought in, though some texts have the Ephod listed instead of the Ark, which makes a little more sense because Saul wants to ask God a question, and that requires the Urim and the Thummim, which are kept in the Ephod, regardless which thing he asks for. The priest is trying to help him by inquiring of God, and Saul shuts him down when things get crazy. Instead of waiting for God's answer, he once again acts on his own volition and goes to battle. This incident proves again that Saul is unfit to serve as Israel's king, because instead of being directed by God's words, he's driven by his own impulses and fears. In the middle of the battle, Saul makes a vow to God, cursing anyone who eats food before sunset. It was a foolish decision for at least two reasons. First, soldiers will fight better if they have a little sustenance. And second, not everyone was around to hear the vow, including his son Jonathan, who ate some honey. Finally, after they defeat the Philistines and the sun sets, the people are famished. They're so hungry that they slaughter the animals and eat them quickly before draining their blood. This goes against God's command in Deuteronomy 12 not to eat blood because blood represents life. Saul intervenes to try to solve the problem. Then, after they've eaten, he builds an altar to God. It's an encouraging moment, but it's short lived because in the very next sentence, he starts making decisions on his own again. He makes a plan to go plunder the Philistine encampment. Then the priest says, eh, let's stay put. Then Saul inquires of God, which is a great move, but God doesn't give him an answer. Saul assumes that God's silence means there's some kind of sin in the camp that they need to deal with. So he cast slots to figure out what's happening. Through this process, Jonathan confesses to tasting the honey, and he volunteers to die. He is repentant even for this unintentional sin, which demonstrates a lot of integrity and trust in God's sovereignty. Saul is ready to go through with it, but the people stop him. They recognize that God has used Jonathan and that Saul's vow was foolish and wicked. This is reminiscent of Jephthah and his daughter in Judges 11. It's still a vow, and God still takes it seriously. But the right thing to do is not keep the vow and to deal instead with the lesser sin of breaking the vow. Despite his wickedness, Saul continues to win battles and save Israel, as God has promised. And we end today with an interesting verse. It says, when Saul saw any strong man or any valiant man, he attached him to himself. This is interesting because it could mean two things. Either he's making wise decisions to stay connected to the kind of men who can be good leaders in his kingdom, or he's remembering that promise of Samuel that God was raising up another leader, a man, after God's own heart. If it's the latter, this decision is driven by fear, not wisdom. He's aiming to keep his friends close and his enemies closer, as they say. And if so, then this is also foreshadowing. What was your God shot today? Where did you see God's character on display? I noticed that God is sovereign over timing. The tiny detail of Samuel showing up right after Saul finished offering the sacrifices and even the timing of Samuel's delay itself, all of that figures into God's plan for Saul's successor. God is even using Saul's fear and impatience to move his plan forward, bending sin and rebellion to serve his ultimate will. This is such a great comfort to me that nothing can ruin his plan and that he's active in every tick of the clock. In Psalm 31:15, David puts it like, my times are in your hand. God owns every moment, and he's where the joy is. There are two things you can do today to help yourself out and two things you can do to help us out. Altogether, they take about 60 seconds. If you want to help yourself out, subscribe to this podcast and set it to download each day. And if you want to help us out, we'd love for you to give us a rating, preferably five stars and a quick review. Okay, full disclosure. All four of those things actually help us, so thank you in advance. We appreciate.