NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

February 25

Scripture focus: Saul's sentries posted back at Geba (Gibeah) in Benjamin saw the confusion and turmoil raging in the camp. Saul commanded, "Line up and take the roll. See who's here and who's missing." When they called the roll, Jonathan and his armor bearer turned up missing.

Saul ordered Ahijah, "Bring the priestly Ephod. Let's see what GOD has to say here." (Ahijah was responsible for the Ephod in those days.) While Saul was in conversation with the priest, the upheaval in the Philistine camp became greater and louder. Then Saul interrupted Ahijah: "Put the Ephod away."

Saul immediately called his army together and they went straight to the battle. When they got there they found total confusion—Philistines swinging their swords wildly, killing each other. Hebrews who had earlier defected to the Philistine camp came back. They now wanted to be with Israel under
Saul and Jonathan. Not only that, but when all the Israelites who had been hiding out in the backwoods of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were running for their lives, they came out and joined the chase. GOD saved Israel! What a day! The fighting moved on to Beth Aven. The whole army was behind Saul now—ten thousand strong!—with the fighting scattering into all the towns throughout the hills of Ephraim. Saul did something really foolish that day. He addressed the army: "A curse on the man who eats anything before evening, before I've wreaked vengeance on my enemies!" None of them ate a thing all day. 1 Samuel 14:16-24 MSG

Who was Saul to hand out a blessing or a curse?

When we’re young, immature and foolish we have a lot to learn. I have no clue why Saul demanded that his people not nourish themselves as they fought. Clearly, snacks along the way would have re-energized the men, all of whom must have been burning massive calories as they fought hand-to-hand with their enemy.

If Saul had acquired maturity, he would have been a perpetual student. He could have learned how the human body, a temple of God, was created by God. He would have had some understanding of how to keep it functioning at an optimal level. A high foolishness factor manifests itself in even the seemingly most mundane dimensions of our lives. We don’t realize that when and what we eat, how we exercise, what we think about and how we process our emotions greatly impacts our fruit bearing.

None of these issues will ultimately be solved by knowing more stuff. All of them will improve as we trust God to guide us.

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