Christian Devotional – August 19, 2020

Always Second – #5

Not sure what Saul was thinking. Saul put the people under a vow that they would not eat anything, but Jonathan didn’t hear that and when he did he definitely had an opinion about that vow. Read 1 Samuel 14:24-30.

Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day, for Saul had put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. When the people entered the forest, behold, there was a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under oath; therefore, he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened. Then one of the people said, “Your father strictly put the people under oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.'” And the people were weary. Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”
1 Samuel 14:24‭-‬30 NASB
https://bible.com/bible/100/1sa.14.24-30.NASB

The people were finishing up what Jonathan has started earlier in the chapter. The Philistines were on the run and the people of Israel were following them to continue overtaking them. However, the people were running out of energy. For some reason, and The Bible doesn’t say exactly why, Saul commanded that the people would not eat anything that day. Jonathan had been off on his side mission when that command was given and he was not aware of it. When he was made aware of it, he definitely didn’t think it was the right decision.

There are going to be times when the people in authority around us make decisions that we disagree with. Other people are not perfect and neither are we, so we must recognize that there may be things you don’t agree with. The question becomes, how do we deal with situations where we don’t agree. For Jonathan he mentioned the concerns that he had about the command that they were given. He was trying to get things changed so that people would be able to better follow through and do what God had commanded them to do. When we are in a situation where we disagree with what leadership has done, how do we handle it? How do we advise people that we see God leading a different direction or a different path? We have to stay true to what God commands us to do as he is our ultimate authority.