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.
Like Christians, Hindus believe that, when the body dies, the soul does not. Unlike Christians, however, Hindus believe that, after death, the soul lives on in an astral body until it is reborn in another physical body. This cycle is continually repeated until the soul reaches a certain state of perfection (moksha) and is released from the bondage of birth and death. At that time, like a drop of water that eventually merges into the ocean, the soul will finally merge into God and become one with its creator. Of course, once absorbed by the sea, the drop would cease to exist.
I recently met Esha while walking and we occasionally stop to chat. Although the bindi (mark) on her forehead told me she is a Hindu and the cross I wear told her I am Christian, our different faiths have not prevented us from talking about God and our beliefs. My younger son’s marriage brought many Hindus into our extended family and I try to understand this complicated religion.
When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, over ninety years had passed since the first of the exiled Jews had returned to Judah. Although the temple had been rebuilt for seventy years, Jerusalem’s city walls and gates were still in ruins. Nevertheless, within fifty-two days of his arrival, the walls were reconstructed and new gates installed. That Nehemiah managed to accomplish in less than two months what hadn’t been done in ninety years is a case study in Management 101.
Even without knowing what a petard is, we probably know that when someone gets “hoisted by his own petard,” he’s been foiled by his own scheme. When Shakespeare’s audience heard this phrase spoken by Hamlet in 1600, they knew a petard was a bomb. In the bard’s day, hoisted had more than one meaning. Along with lifted, it meant removed or taken out. Taken literally, Hamlet’s phrase meant that his enemy would be blown up by his own bomb!
Devotions of the Heart 