The Famished Army

“No one eats!” the king roared. “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening comes, before I’ve avenged myself on my enemies!”

His general stuttered in response and then passed the order on. The army gave chase to the fleeing Philistines, to those invaders, and they did it without any provisions in their bellies. They stumbled as they entered copses of trees and staggered down rocky inclines. They grew weak under the blistering sun.

Saul growled. His son had tried to steal the glory by attacking the Philistines without permission. His own son! But this would show them. He’d get the glory as he led his people to an impossible victory! Who ever heard of a king winning victory when his men hadn’t eaten? He wasn’t Saul the useless. He was king! A good king!

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And so the army obeyed their king. They ate nothing. But when they came on fleeing Philistines, they fell on their enemies and slaughtered them. And as evening came, as the battle ended, the army fell on the plunder, and they ate.

They ate food that wasn’t ceremonially clean. The meat still had blood in it.

One of the scouts reported to the king, “Do you see? The men are sinning!”

And the king growled again. How could they do this to him? There were rules, and they had to follow them! No blood in the meat; God had declared it!

“Go out among the men,” Saul said. “Tell them to bring their sheep and cattle here. Slaughter them here. Don’t sin against the Lord by eating meat with the blood still in it.”

And as the slaughter began, Saul built an altar to the Lord. After all, it would look good to do so, wouldn’t it?

The men ate. The altar stood. Saul said, “Let’s go down and plunder our enemies until dawn and slaughter them so there isn’t one left.”

The men grinned at each other. Full bellies raised their spirits. “Do whatever seems good to you!”

Ah, but the priest stepped up. “Let’s inquire of God here!”

Saul glared at him. The priest hadn’t been fast enough before the battle, had he? Why should they inquire of the Lord now? Saul had done everything right. He’d stopped the men from sinning. He’d built an altar. What more could this God want?

But fine. Saul asked, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into Israel’s hands?”

But God did not answer.

The silence struck Saul like a slap against the face. Why wouldn’t God answer?

Oh. Someone had sinned. Had someone disobeyed him? Had someone eaten?

“Who did it?” Saul demanded. “Who sinned? It wasn’t me! Whoever it was, whatever they did, even if it’s my own son, they’ll die!”

But the generals looked at each other. They knew what had happened, didn’t they?

Saul said to the army, “All right. Jonathon and I will stand here. Everyone else, over there. We’ll cast lots to find out where the sin is.”

The people obeyed.

The lot fell to Saul and Jonathon.

Anger rose in Saul’s throat. “Cast the lots again between the two of us.”

And the lot fell to Jonathon.

Saul’s voice was very, very quiet and very, very hard. “Tell me what you have done.”

“I tasted honey,” his son answered. He didn’t flinch from his father’s glare.

“May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.”

But the generals stepped forward. “Should Jonathan die? He brought forth this great deliverance. He’s the one who fought the Philistines and caused their panic! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help!”

So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.

Ah, but Saul. The king seethed.

It should have been his battle. His glory.

This would not do at all.

This story is based on I Samuel 14:24-52.