In that first slaughter Jonathan and the young man killed about twenty men… All the Philistines in the countryside were terrified; …the earth shook, and there was great panic.
We can never foresee the consequences of our actions and words – however small. I need to act and speak, always thoughtfully and with purpose.
“Bring the ephod here.”
As Saul was speaking to the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp kept getting worse…
“There’s no time to consult the Lord!”
“A curse be on anyone who eats any food today before I take revenge on my enemies.”
Saul’s desperate attempt to put himself at the heart of what God was doing – in vain. The reality was that he was completely irrelevant. Better to quietly fade away from the limelight (John 3:30).
“What a terrible thing my father has done to our people! …Just think how many more Philistines they would have killed!”
Years later, David would do the same (imposing on himself a fast) but with a very different result, gaining the approval of the people in the process (2 Samuel 3:35-36) – something that Saul desperately sought to have but in vain (Proverbs 16:7). Please free me from trying to seek out the approval of others, Father (Galatians 1:10).
In light of current events, it’s a bit shocking to read here where the will of God is being fulfilled in the killing of Palestinians (which at that time were Phoenicians, the “haute classe” of the time) – neither Arabs nor Muslims. That said…