The story that is narrated to us in 1 Samuel 13:16 – 14:52 demonstrates further how deeply Saul’s ambition had corrupted him, and indeed, this is the point of this long and complex story being included here. Remember that Samuel has just announced that God is going to raise up a replacement for Saul. So, we can at once expect some paranoia from Saul about this. Saul would have suspected that this replacement would be his own son Jonathan. Jonathan certainly fitted the description of ‘a man after God’s own heart’. Saul’s paranoia would have been strengthened after Jonathan’s noble exploit in 14:1-14. His strange action of binding his men, on threat of death, not to eat until the battle was completed is possibly to be explained in this light. He knew that Jonathan was not present and that he would likely be caught out by this. So this may have been Saul’s way of getting rid of his most likely competitor to the throne. Here is the fruit of Saul’s selfish ambition and hunger for power. The more you feed an inclination like this the more it grows. It is like feeding a monster that ends up feeding itself on you. In our ambition to be someone impressive we are most likely, as we pursue this goal, to end up becoming someone that we don’t want to be. Be wary of selfish ambition in yourself. It is something that can eat up your life. Give yourself to God’s plans and live for his agenda.
Give yourself over to God’s plan for you.
Read 1 Samuel 13:16 – 14:52
