A Confused and Superstitious Faith

1 Samuel 14:24-30

²⁴And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.” So none of the people had tasted food. ²⁵Now when all the people came to the forest, behold, there was honey on the ground. ²⁶And when the people entered the forest, behold, the honey was dropping, but no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. ²⁷But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, so he put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright. ²⁸Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food this day.’ ” And the people were faint. ²⁹Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

Either Napoleon Bonaparte or Frederick the Great first said “an army marches on it’s stomach.” You cannot deprive the military of food and expect them to do well in battle. This is nothing more than common sense, which apparently, King Saul lacks. Have you ever made a rash or unwise decision in the midst of a stressful situation? Have you ever gone so far as to make a vow involving the lives of people who looked to you for leadership while in the pressure cooker? I assume not. Saul, the king of Israel, is using a vow to rule his people and he is binding them to this oath, making it between them and God. This is yet another sign that he is not king material. This vow is the mark of a confused and superstition faith. Saul does not depend upon God, but instead on an empty vow. And the person who is going to be snagged by that vow will be his own son, Jonathan.

The Hebrew word used to describe this curse implies it is made by a person who cannot control his emotions and so makes rash decisions. Jonathan has not heard this order / vow from his father, and as he is riding through the woods, he comes across a bee hive filled with honey. He simply sticks his staff into the hive and pulls up a little nourishment. In that simple and wise action, he has now brought down his father’s curse upon his head. Taken to its logical conclusion, that bite of honey could cost Jonathan his life. Saul is proven the fool. The result of this rash vow is that Israel did not fight a well as they could have, “for now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

Saul is thinking with his fear instead of looking to God, and clearly, his spirituality is a mixture superstition and the Jewish faith. When we mix ungodly things with the ways of God, we’re always going to lose. The easiest example I can think of are those who claim to be Christian and yet persist in reading their horoscope every morning. That may seem harmless enough and “just for fun.” But that simple act makes a mockery of your trust in God. Saul’s stupid vow may have been rashly spoken, but the consequences are dire.

What also comes to mind are the word of King Solomon many years later as he pens the Proverbs.

Ecclesiastes 5:2

Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.

Perhaps we do well to watch what comes out of our mouths, as hasty words tend to come back and bite. Jesus warns us to avoid vows as well. The pattern across Scripture is the same throughout; stay away from vows in general. They are serious and when we mix our ill-thought out words with the ways of God, we trend on shaky ground.