1 Samuel 14:41-46

⁴¹ Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. ⁴² Saul said, “Cast the lot 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, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!”

⁴⁴ Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head 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. ⁴⁶ Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.

Conversion Therapy

Have you heard about “Conversion Therapy?” It aims to change the sexual orientation, gender identity or expression of LGBTQ people. It is administered typically through spiritual, psychological or counseling-related interventions.

Accordingly, health care systems in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Ontario had adopted measures to bar the practice of ‘conversion therapy.’ Cities of Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton have also blocked ‘conversion therapy.’

World Health Organization (WHO) declared that ‘conversion therapy’ posed a “serious threat to the health and well-being” of those affected. The Canadian Psychological Association “opposes any therapy with the goal of repairing or converting an individual’s sexual orientation, regardless of age.”

‘Conversion therapy’ may have been initiated out of a desire to deliver individuals from their wishful choice. If ‘conversion therapy’ originated from God, it will serve its purposes. If it’s human creativity, there’s no guarantee of success.

It’s not a simple task to change human behaviors, but nothing is impossible with God. To support or not support a group cause cannot totally reflect real care. To deliver a person from wickedness requires a lot of faith and prayers.

Part of the Lord’s Prayer or the Lord’s Model of Prayer in Matthew 6:13,

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

We hope to see immediate results when we help others. But to completely deliver others from wickedness is not our job. So, we pray for God’s intervention.

Christ encourages us to pray that God our heavenly Father would carry us away from temptation for us not to sin against Him but to rescue us from the evil and draw us nearer to Him instead. He implies that it’s tough for us to disregard temptation; so, we need God’s help; and to get nearer to Him, we seek His help.

When the Philistines prepared for war against Israel, the Israelites were scared, scattered and hid. After a rebuke from Samuel, King Saul didn’t seek the Lord’s help. He didn’t risk his personal reputation. He chose to be passive.

In contrast, Jonathan didn’t inform his father when he and his armor-bearer attacked the Philistines. And as a result, the Lord saved Israel that day.

King Saul charged his army with an oath. He cursed anyone who eats food before he can avenge himself on his enemies. Jonathan didn’t hear it. And, while pursuing the Philistines into the woods, Jonathan saw honey and eat some it.

The Philistines retreated, and King Saul wanted to keep pursuing them. He inquired of the Lord if they would continue to pursue the Philistines. The Lord did not answer him that day. So, he assumed that someone must be at fault. King Saul prayed that God would respond for him to find out who was at fault.

1. Respond

⁴¹ Then Saul prayed to the Lord, the God of Israel, “Why have you not answered your servant today? If the fault is in me or my son Jonathan, respond with Urim, but if the men of Israel are at fault, respond with Thummim.” Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot, and the men were cleared. ⁴² Saul said, “Cast the lot 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, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!”

The Urim is white stone, and Thummin is black stone. They are used to determine God’s will in a particular situation or to give a yes or no answer to a specific question. Moses never used them; they were given for the high priest as instruments to seek God’s guidance on which way or action to take.

When King Saul asked God to respond with the Urim if he and Jonathan were at fault, was he surprised when his son Jonathan was found to have broken the order that he gave? Someone may have told him that Jonathan ate honey but he wanted to be sure. Why did the Lord allow Jonathan not to hear Saul’s order? Jonathan said in 1 Samuel 14:29-30, ²⁹My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey. ³⁰ How much better it would have been if the men had eaten today some of the plunder they took from their enemies. Would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?

Clearly, King Saul was at fault but Jonathan was about to die for doing what’s right. What does this event illustrate spiritually? It says in Romans 3:25,

²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.

The Lord is patiently waiting for us to repent of our sins. Similarly, the Lord did not punish King Saul for disobedience. He wanted King Saul to reflect on his sin. Jonathan was willing to die for doing what was right but he was rescued.

2. Rescue

⁴⁴ Saul said, “May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if you do not die, Jonathan.” ⁴⁵ But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head 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. ⁴⁶ Then Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines, and they withdrew to their own land.

King Saul cursed himself if he let Jonathan lived, but the men did not want Jonathan to die. Jonathan defied the order of King Saul, and the men defied him. They rescued Jonathan. King Saul was not willing to admit his fault. He blamed others but not his self. King Saul represents humans who don’t want to repent.

Jonathan represents believers who are willing to do what’s right and leave they circumstances to God. Jonathan knew that death awaits anyone who defied the order of his father. He did not deny what he did. But the Lord let him lived.

Many times, we face people like King Saul who wants us to be punished for telling what is right or doing what is proper. How should we react?

Mordecai

We can learn from Mordecai. It says in Esther 3:2-6, ² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

³ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” ⁴ Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply.  Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.

⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. ⁶ Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.

Mordecai risked his life and did what he thought was right and proper. The events turned out to be favorable for him and for his people. Similarly, Jonathan risked his life when he initiated the attack against the Philistines. The event turned out to be favorable for the Israelites but his father did not see it that way.

Not a few are scared of people like Haman or King Saul who cared only about their reputation. But when we try to save our life, we will lose it.

The Lord says in Mark 8:35, For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

Many people would demand respect. Others would respond, “Earn your respect.” Somebody suggested, “Don’t try to earn others respect. You will never earn it. Instead, if you want to have a dignity, try to pray and ask God about it.”

It is far better to please the Lord than humans. No matter how good and kind you are, people will never be completely satisfied with your effort.

But when we let Christ be the Lord of our life, God is completely satisfied. He also rewards us with eternal treasure and sometime practical things just like Jonathan’s story when the men delivered him from death, and Mordecai’s story, when the Lord blessed him to become the third highest ruler in his time.

May the Lord deliver us from temptation and draw us nearer to Himself.

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