Monday Devo
Scripture:
1 Samuel 14:24–35
24 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, 25 even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest. 26 They didn’t dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.
27 But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed.[f] 28 But one of the men saw him and said, “Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.”
29 “My father has made trouble for us all!” Jonathan exclaimed. “A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey. 30 If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!”
31 They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint. 32 That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood. 33 Someone reported to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that still has blood in it.”
“That is very wrong,” Saul said. “Find a large stone and roll it over here. 34 Then go out among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.’”
So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first of the altars he built to the Lord.
24 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, 25 even though they had all found honeycomb on the ground in the forest. 26 They didn’t dare touch the honey because they all feared the oath they had taken.
27 But Jonathan had not heard his father’s command, and he dipped the end of his stick into a piece of honeycomb and ate the honey. After he had eaten it, he felt refreshed.[f] 28 But one of the men saw him and said, “Your father made the army take a strict oath that anyone who eats food today will be cursed. That is why everyone is weary and faint.”
29 “My father has made trouble for us all!” Jonathan exclaimed. “A command like that only hurts us. See how refreshed I am now that I have eaten this little bit of honey. 30 If the men had been allowed to eat freely from the food they found among our enemies, think how many more Philistines we could have killed!”
31 They chased and killed the Philistines all day from Micmash to Aijalon, growing more and more faint. 32 That evening they rushed for the battle plunder and butchered the sheep, goats, cattle, and calves, but they ate them without draining the blood. 33 Someone reported to Saul, “Look, the men are sinning against the Lord by eating meat that still has blood in it.”
“That is very wrong,” Saul said. “Find a large stone and roll it over here. 34 Then go out among the troops and tell them, ‘Bring the cattle, sheep, and goats here to me. Kill them here, and drain the blood before you eat them. Do not sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.’”
So that night all the troops brought their animals and slaughtered them there. 35 Then Saul built an altar to the Lord; it was the first of the altars he built to the Lord.
Commentary:
25–30. The text is obscure in verse 25, but the general sense concerns the finding of honey, dripping on to the ground from honeycombs of wild bees, in the trees of the forest into which the army had come. Jonathan, not knowing anything about his father’s imposed fast, took advantage of the providential supply of energy-giving food, and was revived. When he heard of his father’s oath and saw that the people were faint, he expressed open criticism: my father has troubled the land. The word ‘troubled’ (Heb. ʿākar) is bound up with an attempt to deceive in Joshua 7:24–26, and with an unwise oath in Judges 11:35. There was in each case a death involved, and death threatens in this incident also. Yet there was food to hand which would have renewed the strength of all, so that they could have established their victory in the Philistine’s own land.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 117.
Joyce G. Baldwin, 1 and 2 Samuel: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 8, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 117.
Questions:
Saul had an army chasing the Philistines, and he decided no one was allowed to eat until evening. He placed the entire army under an oath, even though God had never given them that command. The men grew exhausted and weak as they continued the fight. Jonathan eventually found honey in the forest and ate some, unaware of his father's order. When he learned about the oath, he recognized how foolish it was. His father had made the battle harder for everyone by placing a burden on the soldiers that God had never required.
Saul may have thought his rule demonstrated devotion or determination, but it did nothing to help the people follow God. In fact, when evening came and the soldiers were finally allowed to eat, they were so hungry that they ate the animals without properly draining the blood, violating a command God actually had given them. While Saul was busy enforcing his own restriction, his leadership had contributed to the very disobedience he was supposed to prevent.
Sometimes a desire to honor God, can add our own expectations to what Scripture says. We decide what a good Christian should listen to, wear, watch, accomplish, or participate in. Some of these things may be personal convictions that help us make wise choices. The problem begins when we treat those convictions as God's commands or assume someone else is less faithful because they don't share our preferences.
We can also become surprisingly hard on ourselves. We measure our relationship with Jesus by how well we're keeping certain habits or meeting our own expectations. When we fall short, we feel like we've disappointed God or somehow become a lesser Christian. We spend so much energy trying to maintain our spiritual checklist that we lose sight of the relationship Jesus has invited us into.
Jesus confronted this very problem with the religious leaders of His day. They had added traditions and requirements to God's commands, then treated those traditions as though they carried the same authority as Scripture. Jesus told them they were honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8–9). They had become more concerned with enforcing religious expectations than helping people genuinely know and follow God.
God's commands come from His love and wisdom. His boundaries are given to protect us from things that harm us. We need to take His Word seriously, even when obedience challenges what we want. But we should be careful not to make people carry burdens God never placed on them. Following Jesus is about learning His ways and allowing Him to change our hearts. It takes more than checking off a list of Christian behaviors.
Saul may have thought his rule demonstrated devotion or determination, but it did nothing to help the people follow God. In fact, when evening came and the soldiers were finally allowed to eat, they were so hungry that they ate the animals without properly draining the blood, violating a command God actually had given them. While Saul was busy enforcing his own restriction, his leadership had contributed to the very disobedience he was supposed to prevent.
Sometimes a desire to honor God, can add our own expectations to what Scripture says. We decide what a good Christian should listen to, wear, watch, accomplish, or participate in. Some of these things may be personal convictions that help us make wise choices. The problem begins when we treat those convictions as God's commands or assume someone else is less faithful because they don't share our preferences.
We can also become surprisingly hard on ourselves. We measure our relationship with Jesus by how well we're keeping certain habits or meeting our own expectations. When we fall short, we feel like we've disappointed God or somehow become a lesser Christian. We spend so much energy trying to maintain our spiritual checklist that we lose sight of the relationship Jesus has invited us into.
Jesus confronted this very problem with the religious leaders of His day. They had added traditions and requirements to God's commands, then treated those traditions as though they carried the same authority as Scripture. Jesus told them they were honoring God with their lips while their hearts were far from Him (Matthew 15:8–9). They had become more concerned with enforcing religious expectations than helping people genuinely know and follow God.
God's commands come from His love and wisdom. His boundaries are given to protect us from things that harm us. We need to take His Word seriously, even when obedience challenges what we want. But we should be careful not to make people carry burdens God never placed on them. Following Jesus is about learning His ways and allowing Him to change our hearts. It takes more than checking off a list of Christian behaviors.
- Have you ever felt like you weren't doing enough to be a good Christian because you weren't meeting certain expectations? Where did those expectations come from, and how have they affected the way you approach your relationship with Jesus? Are there standards you've placed on yourself that God never actually gave you?
- Jesus confronted religious leaders who cared more about their traditions than the condition of their hearts. Have you ever been more concerned with whether someone follows your personal standards than whether they're growing in their relationship with Jesus? Where do you need to be more careful about placing your preferences on others?
- Is there a personal expectation you've been treating like a requirement from God? Spend time comparing it with Scripture. What do you need to let go of, and where is God calling you to focus instead on growing in love for Him and obedience to His Word?
Prayer Topics:
- Confess the ways you've added expectations to God's Word and used them to measure yourself or others.
- Thank Jesus for inviting you into a relationship with Him and freeing you from trying to earn His acceptance through religious performance.
- Ask God for wisdom to recognize the difference between biblical obedience and personal preferences.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to help you extend grace to others while remaining faithful to what Scripture actually teaches.
This Week's City 7:
Try to commit to memory!
1. Who is Jesus? I believe Jesus is God because Jesus said He is God and proved it by rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples, His brother James, 500 others at one time, and Paul.
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
(Mark 3:21; John 8:58, 10:30-33, 14:9-11; Acts 9:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 1:15-20; Hebrews 1:2-3; James 1:1)
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