Now the men of Israel were pressed to exhaustion that day, because Saul had placed them under an oath, saying, “Let a curse fall on anyone who eats before evening—before I have full revenge on my enemies.” So no one ate anything all day. [1 Samuel 14:24 (NLT)]
Last week, when writing how Jephthah’s reckless vow caused his daughter’s death, I remembered how Saul’s equally foolish vow nearly cost his son’s life. While Israel was at war with the Philistines, Saul and his 600 men were camped near Gibeah. Israel was seriously out-numbered by the better-armed Philistines and, because their enemy controlled the pass at Micmash, Saul’s troops could proceed no further. Although the rest of Saul’s men were afraid, Jonathan and his armor bearer were confident that the Lord was with them. Tired of the hopeless standoff with their enemies, the two snuck out of camp and headed toward the Philistine garrison. After passing through two treacherous cliffs and scaling a steep slope, they entered the enemy outpost and, outnumbered ten to one, killed them all.
Their brief skirmish threw the entire Philistine army into a panic and, when the earth shook, there was mass confusion among Israel’s enemy. Seeing the chaos from afar, Saul and his men rushed into battle. The battle went so well that even deserters who’d defected to the Philistines and Israelites who’d been hiding in the hills joined in fighting Israel’s foe.
During Jonathon’s absence from camp, Saul vowed a curse upon anyone who ate before evening and he exacted revenge on his enemies. Not knowing of his father’s vow, however, Jonathon paused during the battle to eat some honey he found. When told of his father’s vow, he recognized it for what it was—a foolish curse. “My father has made trouble for us all!” Pointing out how just a little honey restored his energy, he added, “A command like that only hurts us.”
Indeed, rather than inspiring his troops with his reckless vow, Saul impaired them and even caused them to sin. Because none of his men dared pause during battle to eat the spoil of their enemies, they grew fatigued. Had they not been faint from hunger, their victory over the Philistines would have been far greater. That evening, the famished men broke the law by not properly butchering the captured meat and eating it without draining the blood.
Upon discovering Jonathon’s accidental transgression, Saul insisted that his son deserved death. He was as willing as was Jephthah to sacrifice his own child to fulfill a vow that never should have been made. Backing down and allowing Jonathon to live would have required Saul to admit the error of his imprudent vow, so the proud king doubled down by making yet another rash vow—that God should strike and even kill him if his son didn’t die. Saul’s men knew that, without Jonathon’s courageous act, there would have been no victory to celebrate and refused to bow to the king’s wishes. In response to Saul’s vow, they swore that not a hair on the Jonathon’s head would be touched. Facing such bold defiance from his own men, Saul reluctantly rescinded his order. The man so willing to sacrifice his own son to fulfill his first foolish vow, was not so willing to face death to fulfill his second one!
Let us learn from the rash vows of both Saul and Jephthah and think carefully before making promises to God or anyone else. Talk is cheap—but not when it costs someone else their life!
Skeptics love to ask how God could allow Jephthah to offer up his daughter as a burnt sacrifice. First, let’s note that it never says God approved of his sacrifice. In fact, Scripture makes it clear that such a sacrifice was abhorrent to the Lord. In His wisdom and mercy, God even provided a way out if someone made a rash or unrealistic vow. Leviticus 27 explains that such a vow could be purchased back with a 20% penalty and describes how valuations were to be determined. Although Jephthah displayed knowledge of Israel’s history when negotiating with the Ammonites, he showed his ignorance of God and God’s law with his rash vow. Moreover, there is no reason to think his daughter was sacrificed in the Tabernacle. It’s more likely that such a horrific event would have been part of a pagan ceremony.
One of the most disturbing stories in the Bible is found in Judges 11. Before leading the army into battle with the Ammonites, Jephthah made a rash vow to the Lord—if given victory, he’d make a burnt sacrifice of the first thing to come out of his house to meet him upon his return. God granted Israel victory but, when Jephthah returned home, it was his daughter who came out to greet him. When the anguished Jephthah told her of his vow, the girl willingly accepted her fate. She only asked for one thing—to go into the hills with her friends to mourn that she’d never marry or know the joy of motherhood. When she returned, “her father kept the vow he had made and she died a virgin.”
While walking in the Botanical Gardens, I left my husband on a bench by the lake while I went back to get a few more photos of the plumeria. After getting my last shot, I returned to find him gazing out at the water. When I disturbed his reverie with a touch on the shoulder, he looked up and said, “I was just enjoying Him!” I knew exactly who he meant.
When writing about Nehemiah recently, I thought about waiting. From the time he learned of Jerusalem’s broken-down walls until he spoke to the king, three months passed. Day in and day out, Nehemiah was at the king’s side but remained silent about his concern. Trusting that God would provide the opportune time, Nehemiah patiently waited at the king’s side until God provided the perfect moment when the king inquired about his cupbearer’s sadness. Had I been Nehemiah, would I have trusted God’s timing and kept silent for ninety days? What about you?
In the years following the exiles’ return to Judah and the rebuilding of the Temple, adherence to the Law grew lax. Knowing how to live a Jewish life depended on knowing the commandments of the Torah but the people had drifted away from God and His word and were committing the same sins that got them exiled! More than fifty years after the Temple’s rebuilding, Ezra arrived in Jerusalem. As a priest and teacher of the law, Ezra was shocked to find such disobedience. He tore his clothes and pulled his hair in sorrow before kneeling in prayer. He led the people in prayers of confession and repentance after which they swore a solemn oath to follow the Lord’s commands.
Devotions of the Heart 