Faith Over Legalism - 1 Samuel 14:24-46

John Bunyan’s most famous book, Pilgrim’s Progress, begins with the main character, who is aptly named Christian, wanting relief from the heavy burden he is carrying around on his back.

It reminds me of a young child who is wearing an oversized bookbag filled with heavy textbooks.

But the burden that is on Christian’s represents the heavy load of his sin. He’s being weighed down by the burden and guilt of his sin. And so if you’re familiar with the story, Christian meets various people as he makes his way to the celestial city.

And eventually he meets a man named, Worldly Wiseman who encourages Christian to meet Mr. Legality. Worldly Wiseman assures Christian that Mr. Legality can help him remove his burden, but Christian traveled towards the mountain that Mr. Legality lived on, his burden became much heavier.

And obviously, Mr. Legality was a legalist. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Legalism is the act of putting a human tradition in the place of God’s law and making obedience to that tradition the grounds of salvation.”

As I thought about legalism, I couldn’t help but think of Saul. After all, he bound everyone to his vow as if it came from the lips of God himself, and then he performed several religious acts in an attempt to earn favor with God. As interesting as it may sound, Saul too is a legalist.

Our passage teaches us three things about legalism: first, legalism places heavy burdens on God's people (vv. 24-30), second, legalism will drive you to sin (vv. 31-35), and lastly, legalism leads to division (vv. 36-46).

Our passage picks up where we left off two weeks ago. If you remember from two weeks ago, against all odds, the Israelites defeated the Philistines. Jonathan and his armor bearer scaled the Philistine garrison and struck down twenty men, and the Lord sent the entire Philistine army into confusion, and they ended up turning their swords on one another. Six hundred Israelites defeated thirty-six thousand Philistines.

And the victory that day was a sign of God’s grace and goodness towards his people. The Israelites have the Philistines on the run and are chasing them down.

Legalism burdens God’s People (vv. 24-30)

But needless to say, the men are extremely fatigued. They’re exhausted from fighting and chasing the Philstines. The writer of 1 Samuel tells us that “the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day.” But King Saul remained incredibly demanding of his army.

They’re weak, exhausted, and hungry from war when Saul out of the clear blue sky made his rash vow: “Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening and I am avenged on my enemies.”

In other words, his soldiers were not allowed to eat anything until they overtook the Philistines. What an incredibly harsh vow to put upon his men who had fought so valiantly? Not to mention his vow is deeply ironic given the fact that earlier in chapter 14, Saul had given up and was spending his time under a pomegranate tree. After everything that he and his men had been through you’d expect him to at least give his men something to eat.

Which is of course, why the writer of 1 Samuel says that Saul “... had laid an oath on the people.” Isn’t that an appropriate description? He laid it on his people. Just like how the burden of Christian’s sin became heavier as he travelled to see Mr. Legality, so Saul’s vow put an unnecessary burden upon his people.

How can you be expected to chase down your enemies and continue to fight if you’ve had nothing to eat! Most of us feel like we’re not going to survive after missing one meal! Just imagine not eating all day then being expected to fight for your life! Saul’s vow is so cruel, extreme, and totally unnecessary! They just won an incredible battle, don’t these people at least deserve a cookie to celebrate?

It’s a great example of horrible leadership. No one will respect you, if your expectations are completely unreasonable. You have to stop and ask, “why would Saul make such an extreme vow?”

There are a few answers: first, Saul was afraid that if they stopped and ate, they would let the Philistines escape. But there’s actually an even better explanation as to why Saul would make such an extreme vow, and it has everything to do with the events that have led up to this point.

Remember that after Saul made that unlawful sacrifice - Samuel told him that God had rejected his kingship. The royal crown would be stripped from him and his family. God had rejected Saul, but then, against all odds, they defeated the Philistines. Really God had defeated the Philistines.

And so, it seems that Saul thought that if he performed well, if he thoroughly defeated the Philistines, then perhaps God would change his mind. For a man, who has been lackadaisical about seeking the will of God, in this passage, it’s a priority for him! If he can just show God what he can do, perhaps God will reconsider. Saul’s relationship with God is entirely based upon his actions. It’s entirely based upon his performance. He believed that his performance was the basis for earning favor with God.

Before you know it, one’s walk with God has become formulaic. It’s if I do these things God has to give me that. It’s all about earning favor with God, not to please Him, but to get something out of Him. It sounds a lot like the advice that Christian would have received from Mr. Legality.

If you ask Mr. Legality what you need to do to be saved, his answer would undoubtedly begin with, “here’s what you need to do…” but that is so antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Legalism is rigid, inflexible and graceless.

And the tragedy of legalism is that it rarely impacts just one person. It almost always spills onto a group. It’s what we see in the text isn’t it? Because Saul imposes his vow on the people. Legalism often spreads like wildfire.

I know that many of you have had that yoke of burden placed upon you. Perhaps you grew up in a church or home that was incredibly legalistic and your behavior and actions were always under a microscope and the moment you stepped out of line your faith was called into question.

That’s not the gospel of grace. Legalism condemns you, adds to your burden, but faith in Jesus Christ sets you free from the guilt and power of your sin.

Jesus takes off your bookbag of guilt and shame and puts it on his shoulders. That’s the truth.

However, in those legalistic environments where the gospel is obscured, sometimes the pathway out is unclear. And if you grew up in one of those environments, you may have gotten to a point where you simply gave up and said to yourself, “what’s the point? I’m not perfect. I can’t do this…” And instead of running to Christ, you ran headlong into sin.

One of the claims of legalism is that it will protect you from sin. It’s what the Pharisees believed. They thought that their man-made traditions would insulate them from sin, when in reality it pushed them deeper into it. And that’s what often happens: legalism will drive you into sin.

Legalism leads to sin (vv. 31-35)

After all, the smallest little thing can be contorted into something bad or wrong. Something as mundane as, I don’t know, eating honey!

In our passage, Jonathan wasn’t even aware of his father’s vow when he, “...put out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes became bright.”

Who would have ever guessed that eating after fighting in war would be construed into a misdeed? But that's precisely what happens, right?

But notice that after Jonathan ate the honey “...his eyes became bright.” That is, he was revived or strengthened. His vigor returned and he was more battle ready than everyone else who was starving.

As a side note, I’ve read about endurance athletes eating honey. I heard one endurance athlete say that honey was his secret weapon, because it’s a great source of quick energy, which is exactly what a tired army needed. They needed to be energized and strengthened in order to overtake the Philistines.

But after Jonathan ate the honey and was confronted with his father’s vow, he immediately recognized that it was a tremendous mistake. He said in verses 27-30: “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found. For now the defeat among the Philistines has not been great.”

Throughout the Old Testament, people who sinned grievously were said to “bring trouble upon Israel.” Remember Achan’s sin from Joshua 7. Achan had taken forbidden items after Israel had won at the battle of Ai, and once it was discovered what Achan had done Joshua asked him, “​​Why did you bring trouble on us?”

It’s very similar to what Jonathan said of his own father. He said that Saul had “troubled the land.” In other words, Saul’s vow had brought harm upon the people of Israel. But not only had he brought harm upon the people of Israel, Saul’s vow made what should have been a day of celebration into a day of hardship.

Perhaps you’ve noticed this, but when stress peaks, temptation and sin are the most enticing. And undoubtedly, Saul’s vow has added to the stress of the people. They’ve been working incredibly hard, but they’re not allowed to eat? It’s a recipe for disaster, and of course we know what happens.

Amazingly, Saul’s hungry army overtook some Philistines and “struck [them] down… from Michmash to Aijalon” and apparently, they had sheep and oxen with them.

This starving army finally found food! And as you probably could have guessed, “[they] slaughtered them on the ground. And the people ate them with the blood.”

Which was exactly what Israel was forbidden from doing! They were not supposed to eat the blood. Leviticus 17:10-11 says, ““If any one of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. 11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”

The blood was life and it had to be spilled in order to atone for the sins of the people. Just think about how the Old Testament sacrificial system was supposed to work. The priests were supposed to slaughter a sacrifice and sprinkle its blood on the altar. And then they would cook the sacrifice on the altar and then the priests and the family offering the sacrifice would eat cooked portions of the sacrifice.

And because the blood was sacred, the people of Israel were strictly forbidden from eating raw meat. They were not supposed to eat the blood because the blood represents forgiveness of sins.

It’s exactly what the writer of Hebrews said in chapter 9: “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” And of course, all of this points us to Christ’s sin-atoning sacrifice on the cross. Every sacrifice in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of Christ’s ultimate, final sacrifice on the cross.

I hope you remember that when you come to the table in a few minutes, because the Christian’s hope is in the blood of Christ.

And so I hope this helps you see the seriousness, the gravity of the sin that these people were committing when they ate these animals with the blood still in them.

It was a serious, serious sin. But can you blame them? Can you lay this whole episode at their feet? The answer is obviously, no. Saul drove them into sin with his cruel, binding vow.

Which is precisely what legalism does! It drives you straight into sin! Saul’s restrictive vow made the people so desperate they threw caution to the wind and dove headlong into sin. Everyone knew they weren’t supposed to eat the blood. It wasn’t like it was a huge secret law in Israel.

But Saul made Israel’s burden so heavy they gave themselves over to sin.

Remember what David said in Psalm 51? “For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”

What does Saul do? Does he offer God a broken or contrite heart? Does Saul repent? Or does Saul try to do something to fix it? He tries to cover everything up with another religious act. He hides behind religiosity. He was more concerned with the appearance of godliness than actually trusting in the Lord.

It’s what Jesus said of the Pharisees. He said, “[they] clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”

And just like the Pharisees, Saul’s actions didn’t display the gospel, but rather drove people deeper into sin.

Legalism leads to division (vv. 36-46)

It’s rather ironic isn’t it? Most people fall into legalism in an attempt to avoid sin, when in reality it pushes you right into it.

These last ten verses are interesting aren’t they? Because Saul jumps through a ton of hoops in order to figure out what sin has been committed by the people of Israel. And of course, the lot eventually falls on Jonathan, whose grievous crime is that he ate some honey.

And Saul is prepared to kill his own son because he ate honey and violated his vow. It’s absolutely insane. It’s so crazy that even the people of Israel oppose their king and defend and save Jonathan.

Saul’s action spirals everything out of control. His legalism is so burdensome that it creates a tremendous division between himself and his people. His actions were so divisive, when the people of Israel had so much to unify and rejoice over! God had worked a miracle in their midst, but here’s Saul about to kill his own son for eating honey.

And everything that Saul has done up and to this point were actions. Nothing is coming from a heart of love for the Lord.

Which is why I think the most significant aspect of these last ten verses is what happened in verse 37: “And Saul inquired of God, “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?” But he did not answer him that day.”

Not only does legalism divide people, it separates you from God. It’s rather ironic isn’t it? Because legalism promises that your performance, actions, and devotion will bring you close to God, when the truth is, your works will only separate you from Him. So it should be no surprise that Saul never heard from God!

His misunderstanding of who God is and what he desires from his people has led to all sorts of problems. It’s not about earning God’s favor through his actions, but trusting in the living God.

Saul never recognized his own insufficiency. He thought everything was on his shoulders, and because of that, he never recognized his need for a Savior.

The answer to legalism isn’t to throw the law off completely, rather the answer is simply the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Legalism will burden you, but the gospel will set you free. Legalism will drive you to sin, but the gospel will make you righteous. Legalism separates you from God, but the gospel brings you into his presence.

Thomas Boston who was a Scottish Reformed theologian, pastor, and author known for his contributions to the Marrow Controversy once said, “A legal spirit will have the sinner to do something for himself, that he may be accepted of God; but the gospel brings tidings of a Saviour, who has done [it] all.”

Here’s the truth you can’t do anything to earn your righteousness, and ladies and gentlemen, that’s precisely the point! You need the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You need to be washed in the blood of the lamb.

The good news of the gospel is in part that you’re not good enough, which is why you need Jesus Christ. Let’s pray together.