I don't want to be that person in life. Where God says, you know, you're the one that spoiled it. If I just took you out, everybody would have been blessed. But you're the troublemaker. You're the one that gossips.
You're the one that says this about that one. You're the one that steals. You're the one that brings guilt to everybody. I don't want to be him. Guilt may come when you're right and it's your place to administer the truth, and the guilty are guilty.
There's no other way the guilty are offended because they're guilty. The message in that is: don't be guilty. Work to not be that way. And if you're busted, Repent. Yeah.
This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. The Gallant Prince is the title of Pastor Rick's message, and today he'll be teaching in 1 Samuel chapter 14.
Verse 14. That first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armor bearer made, was about 20 men within about a half acre of land. That first slaughter. It was a busy day. It's amazing what two can do if they're working together.
and not resisting each other. Amen. I wish we had the name of the armor-bearer. I'm sure we would see children named after this man. But the Holy Spirit has decided that would not be.
Uh Verse of well this Half a yoke of land is really what it is, where it says about a half an acre, it's half a yoke. And the yoke of land was the area a pair of oxen. Could plow in a day.
So in a day they could do an acre, but a half a yoke would be. Half an acre. Verse 14, and there was trembling in the camp. In the field and among all the people, the garrison and the raiders also trembled. And the earth quaked so that it was A very great trembling In verse 16, now the watchman of Saul in Gibeea, of Benjamin, looked, and there was the multitude melting away.
And they went here and there. And so Jonathan and his armor bearers start this. Domino effect. The fear hits the camp of the Philistines. They don't know what's going on.
In that Philistine camp, there are Philistine troops. There are mercenaries that are not Philistines. And there may have been uh Jew there were Jews in the camp. What their role was is not clear.
Well, I'll make comment on that in a little bit. But these forces are self destruct destroying uh self destructing. Jonathan had caused a stampede. Fear is contagious and it is spreading through the camp, and no one knows what's going on. Have the mercenaries turned on us?
What is happening? And so their line collapses in fear and confusion. Verse 17: Then Saul said to the people who were with him: Now call the roll and see who has gone from us. and they called the roll, and surprisingly, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. Saul's camp is on a higher ground.
He can see this happening, evidently across a valley or straight across, but he has a good view to where this is taking place. Again, the two armies, Saul knows where they are, and they know where Saul is. Nothing's happening. It's going to be that way when Goliath shows up in a latter battle. But why call the roll to see who's missing?
Does it matter? It's Louis the Rag Collector. He's not with us Oh no Oh, why why would he even ask such a silly question?
Well we must know. Jonathan, again, speaks as though he knew to get out of there without asking to go do it. I believe Saul's motive is who is stealing my thunder? Who is making things happen here? Because that's how he thought.
Everything was about him that's really going to come out in this chapter. And verse 18. And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring the Ark of God here. for at that time the Ark of God was with the children of Israel. There's some question whether it is meant the Ark of God or the Ephod of God.
I think there's some interchangeability to the events taking place. Theologians can. uh go back and forth on it. The s the Septuagint has ephard. The Masoretic text has arc.
But characteristic of Saul, he takes a step in the right direction and then he takes the next step in the wrong direction and he doesn't recover. That is Saul. And you're going to see that blunder in one moment. But the high priest is with them. The ark is likely there along with the ephod.
With the presence of the Urim and the Thummen, which the Jews would discern God's will. And they are now activated to find out what they should do next. In verse 19, now it happened. While Saul talked to the priests, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase, so Saul said to the priests, Withdraw your hand. I don't know.
Has anybody missed that? Does anybody hear, like, I don't know what that means? They say stop praying. Don't seek God. I'll take it from here.
Never mind God. No time for faith, no time for religion, no time. For the Righteous men, it's time for men of action. As though righteous men were not men of action, it was one of them that was causing the battle to begin with. His heart, his heart was just cluttered with stones.
Matthew chapter thirteen, verse twenty one. speaking of the seed that fell amongst the stones, yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. That's Saul. He hears the battle escalating. It's just two men on his side causing all this.
What is Saul doing? What is his claim to obedience before God or his people? as king. This is just one more place Saul failed. stony heart Solomon failed in the parable, and just in passing, Matthew 13:22.
Now, he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. That was Solomon. But still, Solomon I do not believe was as bad as Saul. And Solomon had some issues, big issues.
So unlike David, though. David had a moment in his life when he was not yet king. And he's running from Saul. And he became desperate, even goes over to the Philistines. And When he returns from the Philistines to Dave, we can't have you with us on the battlefield.
You might turn on us, and they send him home. And he goes back, and his home is gone. The Amalekites came and stole all their treasures and their women and children. And they wanted to kill David, his six hundred men, as, you know. leaders weren't supposed to make these kind of mistakes.
And we read this in 1 Samuel 30.
Now David was greatly distressed. For the people spoke of stoning him. Because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God, in Yahweh God. Then David said to Abihah the priest, Ahimelech's son, please bring the ephod here to me.
And Abiathar brought the ephod to David, so David inquired of Yahweh, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them, and without fail. We cover all. You see the contrast?
Here, Saul is under pressure. He's acting like he's a righteous king, and he's, you know, the Hebrew's Hebrew, but he's not. David was the man of God through and through. This is the one that Samuel said just a little while ago. that God will find a king after his own heart.
Battle, Saul felt, belonged to him, not to Yahweh. Always he took the lower level of faith. until it was not faith at all. And so by interrupting the effort. to seek God's counsel.
He shows he's unfit. To be the king of God's people. and reveals that he thinks he knows better than God. I just can't imagine this, not without guilt, and not without him at least saying, I know I should wait, I just can't. No, he doesn't do that.
Not to worry. Saul will make matters worse in this chapter. His stupidity is just warming up. It is boundless. There's no end to this man.
He's a monster. And you know, maybe if he was still alive and in the neighborhood. You have, you know, you pray for him, you hope that he just snaps out of this, but his chapter is closed. Verse 20. Then Saul and all the people who were with him assembled, and they went to battle.
And indeed, every man's sword was against his neighbor. And there was very great confusion.
So now the Philistines are fighting themselves. It's not the only time in the scripture we read about. Uh such a breakdown. Within the camp of enemy forces. In verse 21, moreover, the Hebrews who were with the Philistines before that time.
Who went up with them into the camp from the surrounding country? They also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
So there, these Jews were amongst the Philistines. Were they refugees? Were they? Deserters? Were they mercenaries?
Or were they just suppressed? Maybe they were forced to haul water for the Philistines and take care of their horses and get feed for their horses and troops and stuff like that. It's not exactly Clear, but we do know this: that the opportunity came for them to turn on these Philistine oppressors, and that's what they did. And I think that's what it is, because there's no. You know, language here that insults them, other than being with the Philistines, is nothing that says, and these men were traitors or something like that.
Verse 22, likewise, all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the battle.
So now this is taking time. Word is getting out. And this hours are are ticking away. This is not all happening instantly. Gideon, you know, Gideon sent 300 men home.
Well, he kept 300, sorry, he kept 300, said 27,000 home. And they but they came back and joined the fight later. later on. These are the ones Satan marked as weak. And so the question or the thought is.
Each person asking themselves, have I ever cowered and failed? Yeah, on the battlefield. as as these Jews did who deserted the camp. And if the answer is yes, and most likely everyone's going at some point fail, of course. We think of Peter.
And when Jesus restored him in John 21 and said, Peter, when you're going to die a martyr's death, you're going to die a hero of the kingdom, Peter. You failed me. When you denied me, How could you not? You were so devastated and confused. But you're going to recover.
And it's just like the Lord, always, no matter how.
So if that's true, and it is. It was true for Saul. He could have recovered out. He could have got out of this, but there's never a step in that direction. He just buckles down, buckles down, circle the wagons against Yahweh.
But he never opens his heart and yields. Even when David's ministering to the psychotic nut. He just, you know, he's on the threshold of turning around and he does not. What does he do? He tries to kill the man that is playing spiritual music.
Verse twenty three.
Well Yahweh saved Israel that day. and the battle shifted to Beth of N. Without Saul's prayers, incidentally. God is moving independently of Saul, or else things would get ugly for his people. Verse 24.
And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had placed the people under. Oath, saying, Cursed is the man who eats any food until evening, before I have taken vengeance on my my enemies.
So none of the people tasted food. Suffering him again. He's at it again. And it's going to get worse. He's not done.
This uh It just The story doesn't really start lifting up till we get to chapter 16 when David starts coming on the scene. Then we start getting some, you know, happy about. moments David and Samuel, but uh this man And the men of Israel were distressed that day. Oh yeah, they're exhausted from battle. That'll involve you know, swinging and fighting and running.
And they're they're exhausted. Saul's vow effectively debilitates his forces, his own army. He weakens them. You didn't need the enemy to weaken them. He's doing it.
For Saul had placed the people under oath, saying, Well, let's say this. Thanks all. He's not a generator of blessings, he's a drain of them. And uh This is what he says: Cursed is the man who eats food until evening before I have taken vengeance on my enemies. It's useless.
So he thinks he's helping. Is this what keep the men charging? You can't make steam without water. And you cannot They're not robots.
So, none of the people tasted food. It just sounds like they're at a nice convention. You know, did you taste a shrimp? No, this is. This is not, they didn't eat.
While he's at his command post, he's not running around fighting for his life. Uh Infantry warfare, as I said, involves much running. And even if there were cavalry on horses, it would be exhausting and And the old oath, all it did was weaken the people. To the enemy's delight, because the enemy is going to get away. A lot of them are going to survive because of this.
Verse twenty five.
Now all the people of The land came to the forests. and there was honey on the ground.
Well, God had said this was going to be a land of milk and honey. There was so much honey coming from the hives that it was just, you know, flowing down onto the ground. It was all over the place. You didn't have to deal with the bees. You could just stick out a stick and get the honey that way.
This is a reminder. That God was over them, that this was their land. Just as God said, it is the land flowing with milk and honey, and in the midst of battle, here's this flash of confidence. But it's all ruin. by one person.
One. Imagine if there was a planet of Sauls. That would be hell. Verse twenty-six. And when the people had come into the woods There was the honey dripping.
But no one put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. was the one that had the power to kill them, which is Saul. Sugar would have provided instant energy on that day. And one fool can interfere with the blessings of God, even from a remote location. He doesn't even have to be present.
All he has to do is his dirt. I guess part of the frustration on covering this. Is that Personal experience that there are people like this. There are people in Christianity, they may not be Christians, but they're in Christendom. And they do such things.
Other ages have lived through worse. The dark ages when The popes ruled the world. Oof. Verse twenty seven But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath, therefore He stretched out the end of the rod and That was in his hand. and dipped it in the honeycomb.
and put his hand to his mouth. And his countenance was brightened. He was too busy doing God's work on the battlefield to hear this petty little oath. This curse anybody who eats food is animals. Shut up.
And here's Jonathan just doing God's work, and he's oblivious of the fact that his own father is going to try to kill him for this and insist upon killing him for this. Weren't there enough Philistines to kill? You had to go seek your own child? Verse 28. Then one of the people said, Your father strictly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed is the man who eats food this day.
And the people were faint. I don't know if this is, look, if I can't eat, you can't have it. I don't care if you are the prince. Nobody's, I don't know if it's that or if it's fear that, hey, if I don't speak up, later on it's going to come out that I didn't say anything and then I get in trouble. Because Saul created this environment of fear.
Everybody's afraid to be who they are. Take him out of this picture. and you have a glorious victory for God. I don't want to be that person in life. Where God says, You know, you're the one that spoiled it.
If I just took you out, everybody would have been blessed. But you're the troublemaker. You're the one that gossips. You're the one that says this about that one. You're the one that steals.
You're the one that brings guilt to everybody. I don't want to be him. Guilt may come when you're right and it's your place to administer the truth, and the guilty are guilty. There's no other way the guilty are offended because they're guilty. The message in that is don't be guilty.
Work to not be that way. And if you're busted, repent. Verse 29. But Jonathan said, My father has troubled the land. Look now, how my countenance has brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
She says, look at the facts. This is what we need. We're dying out here. And it's going to get worse for these men. They're not yet.
At the end, they will get there pretty soon. But it's a simple solution. Cancelled by the leader. Verse 30. How much better if the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found?
For now. Would there not have been a much greater slaughter of the Philistines? Yep. How much better, he says. How much better?
A whole lot better. Verse 31.
Okay, pause there.
Now, don't answer out loud, but am I the only one that can't stand this guy? I just got a reality check for myself. It's like, I don't see what the fuss is, Pastor. Saul's a good boy. I mean the words are right there.
They'll be g angering up on me if any of you like hmm you're being harsh on Saul. You're saying that 'cause you weren't in his army that day. Verse 31.
Now they had driven back the Philistines that day from Mikmash to Ajalon.
So the people were very faint. About 15 miles of fighting, not just was bad enough to walk 15 miles. But the fight. 15 miles. You know, run, chase, look, seek, you know, all of that goes with war.
And this is the same Agelon of Joshua's great victory with the sun stopped working. Verse 32.
Well, the sun stopped doing pulling the earth so much. And the people rushed to the spoil, and took sheep, oxen, calves, and slaughtered them on the ground, and the people ate them with the blood. Saul's fault, nobody else. Nobody else's fault, his. He created this mess.
They're too famished to properly bleed the animals according to Levitical law because they're starving. And they've become almost savage. They know this is wrong, they don't want to do this. But this is a desperate situation. I don't know.
I remember once in the service we were out of water. It was very hot. And when the water finally showed up, men weren't so nice to each. They didn't completely lose it, but you could see it in their eyes. They weren't going.
You better hurry up and get off the line. It was a very intense moment. and quite an education for 18-year-old to see you know men like that. This is how it was this day and in verse thirty two.
Now verse thirty three. Then they told Saul, saying, Look, the people are sinning against Yahweh by eating with the blood.
So he said, You have dealt treacherously. Roll a large stone to me this day.
Well, I would like to say that Saul is saying, you've done treacherously to me. That is some of it. But it is really, it seems, treacherous, you're breaking the law of God. And of course, Saul connected that with good luck. You know, you reduced God to a servant.
God was to bring luck, and the people were to abide by their oaths. And if they broke their oath, then God wouldn't bless them. That's how he's looking at this. And he is the cause, of course. The single character.
Always, always, always accusing everyone else but himself when it is he who is the problem. As you know, I'm no fan of psychology, but they have a word for people like this. You know, we call them sinners, irresponsible, incompetent, insensitive, paranoid. They, narcissistic psychopaths. Narcissic check.
Sociopath. Check. Psychopath. Look on the way. He's not fully there, he's getting there.
He knows how to pretend. He knows how to give you what you're looking for without meaning it. He has no intention. of following God. but he has every intention of using God to get what he wants.
And this is a common practice act.
Well, not common to everybody, but it's There are people that are like this to this very day. And there always have been. Imagine Machiavelli, those of you who know Machiavelli, imagine if he was king. He'd probably be like this. Anyway, he says, Bring over a stone.
A stone to slaughter. That's the whole idea here where he says you've done treacherously roll a large stone to me this day.
So there probably was something that he could point at and say, roll that over here. And this would give them the tilt when they slaughtered the animal to bleed. The blood would would flow out properly. And just gravity doing its thing. Before they're probably just cutting them on the ground and not even waiting as they just butchered for the meat.
Verse 34: Then Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, Bring me here every man's ox and every man's sheep, slaughter them here and eat, and do not sin against Yahweh by eating with the blood.
So every one of the people brought his ox with him that night and slaughtered it there. Yet sounds like he's careful about Yahweh. In a minute, he's going to be trying, he's insisting to kill his son for dipping his spear in honey.
So let's not for one moment think this man is sane. that there's something right about him or righteous about him. To Saul, again, it was a matter of spoiling his luck by offending his God. That's how the pagans viewed their God. He's not upholding God's word.
The only time he upholds God's word is if he can manipulate somebody through doing it. And again, don't write this story off as something that only happened. There, then. There are still wolves in sheep's clothing. Verse 35.
Then Saul built an altar to Yahweh. This was the first altar that he built to Yahweh. Yeah, well he's kinda forced to do it. He's not doing it. If these folks...
did not violate the code, he never would have put this altar up. See the reaction, I can see it's the opportunity here. an opportunist. And so he Used the law to his advantage, but he's not going to listen to God. Uh Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross Reference Radio.
This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreference radio.com. Here, you can also listen to interviews with Pastor Rick to learn more about his life and ministry. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast so you'll never miss another edition.
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