1Sa 14:24 ¶ And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.
1Sa 14:29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
1Sa 14:30 How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?
1Sa 14:43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.
1Sa 14:46 Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.
The study of Saul's life is a slow descent into darkness. His life illustrates the contrast of a life of obedience, vs a life seeking to win at all costs. When he was called to be king by Samuel, he was humble, even embarrassed by his lack of ability. Had he brought this lack to God, as David did, he would have had peace and victory.
Saul instead focused on making himself look good. He cared what people thought. In this verse he says, "I will be avenged of MY enemies". Later he builds a monument to himself. He disobeys God's instructions in killing the Amalekites but claims that he did obey, and asks Samuel to back him up to make him look good to the people. He loved the image of success. He liked to surround himself with the right people.
In all his image-making, Saul lost the heart of God. He was trying to win by extreme vows--radical effort that proved to himself he was worth it. The vow above shows the lengths to which he would go to prove he was ruthlessly dedicated. But his dedication was to the wrong thing--it was to building an image of himself that he could admire.
Sadly, all his image making never worked. Inside he was still the young man hiding in the baggage. He could impress everyone but himself. And in the process he lost his ability to connect with God who would have filled that void forever.
David, who started with humble beginnings never left them. He did not run from them as Saul did.
David stayed humble before his God and gave Him all fame that Saul was trying to get for himself. David, even in his biggest mistakes, oriented his life around obeying and serving God.
Obedience made David a true winner!
