1 Samuel 14:24 Commentary and Bible Study

‘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’ – the rash curse of Saul. He didn't want the people to hesitate, but to chase after the enemy. So in order to get his command obeyed, he resorts to this foolish and rash curse, which is going to be counter-productive. The people are tired and hungry and feint, and when they come across wild honey in the wood, they would have liked to eat it, but they held back and ate nothing under the threat of Saul’s curse. But Saul’s own son Jonathan went ahead and ate. He had not been present and had not heard his father’s rash words, but had now rejoined the others. Those around him knew but he did not know and saw that this as something harmless. Indeed, having eaten he found the honey to be very good ‘and his eyes were enlightened’. We need not read anything supernatural into these words; it was simply that the food was good and refreshed him after the enormous exertion he had undergone. It would have had the same good effect on anyone who ate it. He is now, for the first time, told about his father’s curse by one of those present, ‘Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day.’ Jonathan does not hesitate to say that this is a foolish burden to put on the people, which has done harm to the Lord’s cause. Even his son says Oh, he is troubling us again. That man is always getting under our feet, he says, and making a mess of things.The people were feint and badly needed this provision which came to them freely from the Lord. They ought to have eaten what he provided on such an occasion, and given thanks. They too would have had their eyes enlightened. There was evidently still opportunity to pursue the Philistines in their retreat, but the people lacked the strength they needed to carry out this work. Saul has got starving troops trying to chase the enemy: hungry, exhausted, chasing them for half a mile and dropping down in fatigue. So the victory had been smaller than it might have been, and Jonathan points this out and it concerns him.