Reading: 1 Samuel 13-14, Psalm 81
Yesterday we saw the Ammonites defeated in a kind of reversal of the events at the end of Judges. Then the behavior of the people of Gibeah resulted in slaughter and the unwarranted destruction of Jabesh-Gilead. Here Saul comes from Gibeah with all of Israel’s warriors and rescues Jabesh-Gilead. Then the tribe of Benjamin stood opposed to all Israel, here a man of Benjamin is proclaimed king of Israel. The story is hopeful. Despite his shortcomings, perhaps Saul can be the leader Israel is looking for.
One year has passed since our last adventure with Saul and Samuel, and things have not gotten better. In fact, it seems they have really come apart. The victory at Jabesh-Gilead was not the start of a trend. Israel is subject to the Philistines to the point that they have eliminated all the blacksmiths in Israel, which has the double effect of denying them the best weapons and taxing them for the maintenance of basic farming tools. Saul, who commanded 330,000 soldiers during the previous chapters, keeps 3000 with him and sends everyone else home. The Philistines decide letting him sit there at Gilgal with a small army is a bad idea, and show up with overwhelming force. Saul’s army disintegrates around him, with men fleeing to hide in caves or crossing the Jordan to escape.
Saul is apparently waiting around for Samuel to show up and conduct a burnt offering before taking any action, but he get’s impatient and decides to do it himself. Right then Samuel shows up and tells Saul off for his disobedience. Bad day for Saul. It is not looking good for his standing in the “leader Israel is looking to fight their battles for them” race. But don’t worry, we aren’t done yet.
Jonathan, the eldest son of Saul, is not as passive as his father. He decides to take one guy with him, scale a rock face, and take on the Philistines all by himself. He starts smiting them and God throws the whole Philistine camp into confusion, causing a panic. Jonathan’s actions apparently motivate the rest of the Israelites to give chase, and they smite the Philistines, chasing them back to their own country. Along the way Jonathan eats some honey, and is told by his soldiers, “Your dad is stupid.” Well, not exactly. But that is Jonathan’s reaction to the story they tell him.
At some point prior to Jonathan’s honey eating expedition, Saul had sworn an oath to kill anyone who ate before Saul had revenge on his enemies. We aren’t told exactly when he made this vow, but in any case it was really foolish, as Jonathan later states. The victory over the Philistines that God provided through the action of two guys, Jonathan and his armor bearer, could have been a huge victory. Instead they stop after one day, weak with hunger. Also, their opportunity to continue the battle the next day is wasted. Before going out to battle, the priest brings up the idea of asking God what to do. Good idea, but God doesn’t say. Note that God does not make any accusation of sin, but Saul assumes it. Then he conveniently separates the possible candidates of those who might have sinned between himself and Jonathan, and everybody else. Odd. And once Jonathan is indicated as the guilty party, Saul is bent on executing him, and only the intervention of the soldiers prevents it.
What is the deal with this scene? Jonathan has just won a major victory against the Philistines through personal initiative and bravery. Saul has just been lambasted by Samuel and told he has lost the favor of God. Is there any chance Saul is getting nervous the people will want to replace him with his son? I’m not going to say for sure, because the story doesn’t tell us, but this whole scenario is not looking good for Saul. The king was supposed to fight Israel’s battles for them. It was not Saul who fought the Philistines off. In this story, it is Jonathan who acts like the king. This will not be the last story of Saul taking credit for someone else doing his job for him.
Today’s story closes with a little reminder that Saul’s reign is characterized by conflict and war, with Israel barely holding it’s own against the Philistines. He is not the deliverer than the people were hoping for when they asked for a king like all the nations around them. He looked like a king, and God used him, but their situation is not much improved from the time of the judges. Tomorrow we will see him continue his pattern of behavior and get introduced to another contender for the leadership of Israel: an unlikely shepherd named David.