1 Samuel 14:24-16

What I Noticed Today (1 Samuel 14:24-16)

1 Samuel 14:24-52

In verses 24-46, Saul rashly made an oath that weakened his army by not allowing them to eat during the course of a long battle.

• Saul’s army went through a forest and found honey, but none of them ate because of Saul’s oath.
• Saul’s son, Jonathan had not heard of his father’s oath and ate some of the honey and was refreshed.
• As the Israelites defeated the Philistines that day, they rushed to take plunder, slaughtered cattle and ate meat with the blood still in it (prohibited in Leviticus 17:10-14).
• Saul realized eating the blood was also wrong (Leviticus 17:10-14) so he rushed to build an altar to the Lord and have the men slaughter their animals there.
• Saul also rashly wanted to continue the battle the next day without consulting God, but Samuel stopped him until they inquired of God.
• God did not answer. Saul realized someone had violated the oath not to eat. The men of the army were cleared. Jonathan admitted to eating honey and Saul declared that Jonathan must die.
• The interceded on Jonathan’s behalf saying he should not die because he had delivered Israel.
• Ultimately Saul gave up pursuing the Philistines, and the Philistines returned to their territory.

In verses 47-52, the reign of Saul as king is summarized:

• Saul fought against Israel’s enemies; the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah (Arameans), and the Amalekites.
• Saul’s family included his wife Ahinoam, his three sons Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-shua, and his daughters Merab, and Michal.
• Abner was the commander of Saul’s army.

1 Samuel 15

In 1 Samuel 15, the Lord rejected Saul as king of the Israelites.

In verses 1-9, Samuel instructed Saul to go into battle against the Amalekites and not to spare anyone or anything.

• Saul struck down the Amalekites but captured Agag their king alive, and took plunder of many animals and the best of everything else.
• This angered God because Saul had not obeyed him completely. This angered Samuel, and he cried out to God all night.

In verses 10-35, Samuel rebukes Saul and God rejects Saul as king.

• Early the next morning Samuel went to confront Saul and was told Saul had left and gone to Carmel where he set a monument to himself.
• When Samuel finally confronted Saul, Saul tried to blame the soldiers. He told Samuel the soldiers had taken the animals to sacrifice them to the Lord, but God had told Samuel what was in Saul’s heart.
• Saul admitted his sin and said he was afraid of the people, so he had obeyed them instead of the Lord.
• God rejected Saul as king because Saul had rejected God’s instructions.
• Samuel had Agag, the king of the Amalekites brought to him, and he executed him before the Lord at Gilgal.
• Samuel left Saul and went to his home in Ramah while Saul returned home to Gibeah.
• Samuel mourned for Saul and never visited him again

1 Samuel 16

Samuel anoints David as king.

In verses 1-13, God sent Samuel off to anoint a new king from the tribe of Jesse.

• Samuel went to Bethlehem and told the people to consecrate themselves and join him in a sacrifice to the Lord.
• Jesse’s sons were brought out, but none of them were chosen.
• Finally, David was brought in from tending the sheep.
• God indicated that David was to be anointed as the new king.
• As Samuel anointed David the spirit of God came upon David.

In verses 14-23 the Spirit of the Lord had left Saul, and an evil spirit tormented him.

• Saul’s servants realized that music calmed him, so they sent for David, the son of Jesse to play the lyre for Saul.
• David comforted Saul, stricken with an evil spirit that tormented him, as David played the lyre.
• Their relationship grew closer.
• David became Saul’s armor-bearer, and Saul said that “he cared for him greatly” (1 Samuel 16:21).
• Whenever the spirit of God troubled Saul, David would play for him, and Saul would be relieved.

God gave Saul specific instructions, but Saul was prideful and neglected God’s instructions. Saul reflected poor leadership when he made the rash order for the army not to eat during the battle. He reflected poor character when he lied to Samuel and tried to blame the men in the army for taking plunder. As a result, he lost his friendship with Samuel who had anointed him and mentored him. And ultimately, he lost his position as king because he had rejected God’s instructions.

Some thoughts for further consideration:

• Such a simple thing to listen to God and follow him completely, but as Saul demonstrated our human will and pridefulness often get in the way of our desire to serve God as we intend.

What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.

Tomorrow: 1 Samuel 17-18