Havasu Christian Church
Series in I Samuel
July 21, 2024
I Samuel 14:23-46
“Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory!”
INTRO: We all love a good comeback story. We all love to see a team win that, by all rights, shouldn’t.
It’s always great to hear about someone who “Snatches victory out of the jaws of defeat.” * The wrestler who is down on points and pins his opponent in the last seconds of the match. *The football team who’s down 21-0 at the half and comes back to win. *The runner who falls, but gets back up and goes on to win the race. *The boxer who is taking a pounding, but throws the perfect punch at just the right time and knocks out his opponent. * Even the hockey team that wins against their unbeatable opponents.
In 1980, the American Olympic Hockey team won a game that they had no right to expect to win. during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. The hockey game was played between the United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tournament. The Soviet Union were four-time defending gold medalist and heavily favored, the United States upset them and won 4–3.
The Soviet team consisted of professional players with significant experience in international play. By contrast, the United States team, was composed mostly of amateur players, with only four players with minimal minor-league experience. The United States had the youngest team in the tournament and in U.S. national team history.
Both teams were unbeaten up to this point. The U.S. had achieved several surprising results, including a 2–2 draw against Sweden, and a 7–3 upset victory over second-place favorite Czechoslovakia.
It was now the first game in the medal round, and the United States played the Soviets. Finishing the first period tied at 2–2, and the Soviets leading 3–2 following the second, the U.S. team scored two more goals to take their first lead midway in the third and final period, then held on and won 4–3. Two days later, the U.S. won the gold medal by beating Finland in their final game. It was almost anticlimactic! The Soviet Union took the silver medal by beating Sweden.
These stories are what legends are made of.
But for every victory story, there is also a story of defeat! Someone had to lose. “Someone snatched defeat from the jaws of victory!” For every crazy amazing story of victory, there is someone who was unprepared, overconfident, miscalculating, or someone who’s ability has been overestimated.
That’s where we see Saul today. A great victory has been won, but a greater victory is in front of Israel for the taking. Saul blows the opportunity!
1 Samuel 14:23–46 So the LORD delivered Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.
24 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.
25 All the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.
26 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.
27 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.
28 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.
29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.
30 “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.”
31 They struck among the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon. And the people were very weary.
32 The people rushed greedily upon the spoil, and took sheep and oxen and calves, and slew them on the ground; and the people ate them with the blood.
33 Then they told Saul, saying, “Behold, the people are sinning against the LORD by eating with the blood.” And he said, “You have acted treacherously; roll a great stone to me today.”
34 Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people and say to them, ‘Each one of you bring me his ox or his sheep, and slaughter it here and eat; and do not sin against the LORD by eating with the blood.’ ” So all the people that night brought each one his ox with him and slaughtered it there.
35 And Saul built an altar to the LORD; it was the first altar that he built to the LORD.
36 Then Saul said, “Let us go down after the Philistines by night and take spoil among them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them.” And they said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” So the priest said, “Let us draw near to God here.”
37 Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will You give them into the hand of Israel?” But He did not answer him on that day.
38 Saul said, “Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and investigate and see how this sin has happened today.
39 “For as the LORD lives, who delivers Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But not one of all the people answered him.
40 Then he said to all Israel, “You shall be on one side and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” And the people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”
41 Therefore, Saul said to the LORD, the God of Israel, “Give a perfect lot.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped.
42 Saul said, “Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son.” And Jonathan was taken.
43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him and said, “I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!”
44 Saul said, “May God do this to me and more also, for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”
45 But the people said to Saul, “Must Jonathan die, who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Far from it! As the LORD lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die.
46 Then Saul went up from pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines went to their own place.
- What should have been a great defeat for Israel is turned into a victory!
- “The Lord delivered Israel!”
- As we saw last week, victory came from God!
- The Philistines had all the advantages!
- They have a trained army.
- They have a history of taking what they want, when they want it.
- They have every reason to be confident!
- On paper, they WILL be victorious!
- God prompts Jonathan to do something that seems crazy!
- God gives Jonathan the ability he needs to win against these 20 men.
- God causes fright among the army of the Philistines, and He adds an earthquake into the mix for good measure!
- The Philistines run like rabbits!
From The battle of New Orleans by Johnny Horton.
Yeah, they ran through the briers, and they ran through the brambles, And they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go. They ran so fast that the hounds couldn't catch 'em. On down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico
- Saul wants vengeance on HIS enemies.
- It’s all about Saul again.
- He eventually gives God credit for delivering Israel, but it seems to be him putting a very thin cover over his own pride.
- Again, Saul does not consult the Lord about what he should do and how he should do it.
- Instead, he puts his soldiers “under an oath.”
- This was a VERY foolish oath.
- No one can eat anything until I get my vengeance!
- Jonathan has been so busy fighting, that he has no idea that this was done.
- Jonathan finds a bit of honey dripping out of the bees hive and gets a bit.
- It perks him right up, but he doesn’t understand why no one else wants any.
- This vow winds up costing Israel the greater victory and it almost costs Jonathan his life.
- By the end of the day, the army is Exhausted and really hungry!
- The army has been forced to wait till sundown to eat, and they follow that law, made by Saul.
- But they don’t bother with God’s law about how to do their butchering.
- Instead of draining the blood, they simply kill them on the ground and start cutting them up!
- They may even be eating the meat raw.
- Saul is concerned about following the law in this case, but takes no responsibility for being the cause of the problem.
- Saul wants the pursuit of the enemy to go on, into the night.
- This way the battle can be even more decisive.
- Defeat the Philistines, once and for all!
- His army exhausted, but willing to continue if that’s what Saul wants!
- Saul finally bothers to consult God!
- He builds an altar… actually he starts building one.
- It’s the first one he’s ever built.
- Saul doesn’t seem to be real big on taking what God wants into account.
- The Priest suggests that they “draw near to God here.”
- Saul approves and asks if they should go on the attack tonight.
- God does not answer Him.
- How would God give an answer?
- We don’t know.
- But however it normally would have been, God chooses not to tell them anything.
- Saul wants to know why God doesn’t answer.
- Saul has someone, probably the Priest, “cast lots.”
- Kind of like shooting dice to see who’s at fault.
- The Priest is probably using the Urim and Thummim.
- Saul basically says “It’s either Jonathan & Me, or it’s the rest of you.
- Pretty sure that Saul expected it to be the fault of the army. After all, they had just been eating animals that weren’t killed the right way…
- The lot falls to him and Jonathan.
- When the lot is cast between them, Jonathan is shown to be the problem.
- He confesses to eating the honey under the ban.
- He makes no excuses.
- He doesn’t ask for any special privilege.
- Instead, he is ready to pay the price, even though he did what he did in ignorance.
- His dad seems fully willing to kill him.
- The soldiers intervened.
- It may have been that they are just “letting him off the hook” so he doesn’t feel that he must kill his son.
- But my impression is that they weren’t going to let Saul kill Jonathan.
- We’ll follow your orders, but this crosses a line we won’t cross!
- Saul and the army break off their pursuit and they go home.
- So do the Philistines.
- The Philistine army “lives to fight another day.”
Conclusion: Saul continues to show himself as a man, who is “Not after God’s own heart.” But we can learn from bad examples as well as we can good ones. That’s why we see both in the bible.
In Corinthians we read specifically about the People of Israel when Moses came down the mountain with the 10 Commandments. But I don’t think it’s out of place to make application of this passage to what we’ve read as well.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
- We do our part, but God gives the victory!
- Jonathan got things started, but God prompted him to do so, and God gave the victory!
- On Wednesday night we’ve been talking about being “Gospelers!” Christians who share the Gospel! (The good news of Jesus Christ!)
- One of the things we’ve talked about is the fact that it’s not our job to make the seeds grow. It’s our job to plant them and water them!
- God is in charge of growth!
- God is still in the “Miracle Business!”
- Saul was all about Saul!
- He’s running this show, not God.
- He wants revenge on HIS enemies.
- He expects godly behavior in others, but not of himself.
- He makes rash decisions that have dire consequences.
- DON’T BE LIKE SAUL!!!
- Don’t expect others to be godly when you aren’t setting the example you should.
- LIVE the Christian Life! Don’t just “talk a good game!
- Being a Christian isn’t an add on. It IS who and what you are!
- Looking to God to find out what HE wants should be the first thing we do.
- It shouldn’t be an afterthought.
- What I want should come in a distant second.
- But God has a way of bringing things around...
Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
- Realize that things will never go as well for you if you do things in your own way, in your own time, to make yourself happy.
- God’s plans will not be thwarted, but you may wind up not being a part of them!
