1 Samuel 14:43
"Tell me what you have done," Saul commanded him. So Jonathan told him, "I only tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. And now I must die?"
Sermons
A Little HoneyR. Balgarnie, D. D.1 Samuel 14:43
A Little Thorn Makes a Great PainW. Birch.1 Samuel 14:43
Forbidden HoneyT. De Witt Talmage, D. D.1 Samuel 14:43
RashnessB. Dale 1 Samuel 14:24-46
A Bad Saving of TimeWayland Hoyt, D. D.1 Samuel 14:24-52
Acting from Mere ImpulseJ. A. Muller.1 Samuel 14:24-52
Great Issues Hang on a King's Rash WordFootsteps of Truth.1 Samuel 14:24-52
Saul's WilfulnessW. G. Blaikie, D. D.1 Samuel 14:24-52
The Rash OathHelen Plumptre.1 Samuel 14:24-52














Of the fallen house of Eli, one at least, Ahiah (Ahimelech - 1 Samuel 21:1), the grandson of Phinehas, appears to have been a faithful servant of God. When the people, having ended their pursuit of the Philistines and satisfied their hunger, rested around their gleaming camp fires, and Saul proposed a nocturnal expedition against the enemy so as "not to leave a man of them, he devoutly and courageously interposed with the words, "Let us draw near hither unto God." He had already witnessed the effects of the king's rashness, feared its further results, and felt that "it was dangerous to undertake anything without asking counsel of God" (see ver. 19). His language is suggestive of -

I. THE EXERCISE OF A RELIGIOUS PEOPLE in prayer. It is -

1. A possibility. For God is "nigh at hand, and not afar off" (Deuteronomy 4:7; Psalm 145:18; Jeremiah 23:23). He has provided a way of access - an altar (Hebrews 13:10), a sacrifice, and a high priest (Hebrews 7:19; Hebrews 10:20-22; Ephesians 2:18). The throne of God is not only a throne of glory and of judgment, but also a throne of grace. "The Lamb is in the midst of the throne."

2. A privilege. What higher privilege or honour can be conferred than to hold intercourse with so glorious a Being? What greater benefit than his fellowship, counsel, and aid? (Psalm 73:28).

3. An obligation, arising out of his relationship to men, and indicated by his word, by conscience, and the deepest needs and impulses of the soul. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you" (James 4:8; Psalm 43:4). "Ye people, pour out your heart before him" (Psalm 62:8).

II. THE VOCATION OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER with respect to this exercise. It is -

1. To bear a fearless testimony concerning it before the people: setting forth the supreme claims of God upon their homage, reminding them of their want, reproving their forgetfulness, and teaching them the good and right way (1 Samuel 12:23).

2. To exhibit a devotional spirit in his intercourse with them. He who exhorts others to pray should be himself a man of prayer, and speak to them by his example as well as by his words. Exhortation to them is often less beneficial than intercession for them. "We will give ourselves continually to prayer" (Acts 6:4).

3. To invite them to sincere union with him in seeking the face of God. "Let us draw near." "Let us pray" - not merely with the lips or in outward form, not regarding iniquity in the heart; but humbly and sincerely, with one accord, with a true heart, and in full assurance of faith (Psalm 66:18; 1 Timothy 2:8).

III. THE INFLUENCE OF TIMELY INTERVENTION On the part of a good man. "Then (when both king and people were about to set forth without seeking Divine counsel) said the priest," etc.; and he did not speak in vain (ver. 37). Such advice and prayer are generally effectual -

1. In restraining from the pursuit of a wrong course - a doubtful or dangerous enterprise, devotion to worldly objects, following selfish and revengeful inclinations, etc. A single "word in season" sometimes prevents much mischief.

2. In constraining to the performance of neglected duty. The inquiry which Saul had broken off was now formally resumed, though not on his part in a right spirit.

3. In obtaining the possession of needful good. It is not always what is sought. There may be delay or refusal in granting a definite answer; but the experience thereby gained is itself beneficial, and the necessary condition of obtaining the highest good.

IV. THE INSTRUCTIVENESS OF UNANSWERED PRAYER. "He answered him not that day" (1 Samuel 28:6, 15). The silence of God is significant. It indicates -

1. The presence of sin, which hinders the communications of Heaven, as a cloud intercepts the beams of the sun (Isaiah 59:2; Lamentations 3:44; Hosea 5:15; James 4:2, 3).

2. The duty of its discovery, by means of diligent inquiry and self-examination (Joshua 7:13; Psalm 139:23, 24; Lamentations 3:40).

3. The necessity of humiliation, removing "the accursed thing," and turning to God with full purpose of heart, so that he may cause his face to shine upon us. "Praying will either make a man leave off sinning or sinning will make him leave off praying." In the former case his path is upward into the light, in the latter it is downward into darkness and despair. - D.

I did but taste a little honey.
When Admiral Blake after driving the enemy from the ocean was on his return voyage to England, he was met at the mouth of the Thames by a storm which hindered his passage and made havoc of his sails, whereupon the Admiral said in a pet, "Shall we who have braved the ocean storms be drowned in this ditch?" Of course, when the gale subsided, the brave Admiral was able to sail up to London to receive the honours which awaited him. It is often the storm in the little ditch which throws us on our beam ends, and what is commonly called the "storm in a teapot," is sometimes more to be dreaded than the tempest of an ocean. It is not always great failings that ruin us; it is oftener the little faults and flaws in our character and conduct, which by accumulation damage us irretrievably so far as earthly prospects are concerned. Resolutions and ideas which at the moment have been esteemed as of little importance, have often caused great results. You will remember in English history that our Parliament resolved to put a duty on the tea received into the American ports, which then belonged to this country. It was a little thing to do, but its result was the freedom of America from the yoke of England, and the formation of the United States. It has been wisely said that "it is but the littleness of man that sees no greatness in trifles." Let us look at one or two phases in which little things produce great personal results.

I. WE OFTEN MAKE OURSELVES WRETCHED ABOUT LITTLE THINGS. Great calamities we overcome by bearing them patiently; but little troubles overcome us because we chafe under them. A very little thing may put your body out of condition or even endanger your life. When you are eating carelessly; a fish bone not an inch long may stick in your throat, and there is no peace until you get it out. When you are walking or riding on a dusty day, a tiny speck gets into your eye, and you cannot rest, or sleep until that irritating speck of matter is removed. Everybody has probably at some time, after a day's "blackberrying" experienced considerable pain in some finger from a little thorn. There are little annoyances of a mental kind which are apt to worry us if we do not learn wisdom from their recurrence. We stop to take the stone from our shoe or wipe the speck from our eye; but we let these little worrying mental unpleasantnesses rankle in our mind and heart like a permanent splinter in the flesh. I refer to the little things said at home or abroad which ruffle us because they go against our notion of what is right and just to ourselves; and as we do not dismiss them from our thoughts, but, as Burns says, "nurse our wrath to keep it warm," they become fixed in us like a graft in a tree, and sometimes remain as torments to people until they die Do right; trust in God, and do not be over-much troubled about what anybody says about you. If the aspersion be true, amend your ways, and be grateful to the fault finder; but if what is said be untrue, why should you mind it? "Let the galled jade wince;" but if what is said of you is not true, you are not "galled," and should therefore go on your way rejoicing. One of the most laughable pictures I ever saw was from the pencil of Leech in the pages of Punch. It depicted a stout gentleman chasing a blue-bottle fly, which had disturbed his nap alter dinner. With his knotted handkerchief, he banged at the blue-bottle, broke the windows and ornaments, tumbled down the chairs, worked himself into a passion, but could not capture or quiet his tormentor. Our fume and fuss over the trifling annoyance of life must seem quite as ridiculous in the eyes of the angels.

II. WE OFTEN MAKE OTHER PEOPLE MISERABLE BY SOMETHING WE DO OR SAY, OR BY SOMETHING WE OMIT TO DO OR SAY. When a man with an infectious disease is carried in a coach to the infirmary, we expect the cabman will say to us, "There has been a man in here with the smallpox, and I have not yet had the cab fumigated; so you should not corer it." That would be a just and kind act. but if be says, "All right, sir," and we jump into the cab, we may catch the infection. In the same way, by our thoughtlessness, or perhaps by our haste and unkindness, we may say things that hurt others like an infection. And what is strange, the most sensitive and best, educated are often the worst offenders. It may be a little thing we say or do, built greatly hurts other people. It is shamefully wrong for any of us to say and do things which may spread mental or mortal contagion. An unguarded and unfounded remark may upset a whole neighbourhood, lust as one squeaking puppy may keep the inhabitants of a whole street awake all night. A few thoughtless words may destroy the peace not only of a family but of an entire community. We ought to be careful to "give no offence in anything." How unpleasant when some neighbours unswept chimney takes fire and emits volumes of noxious smoke I Let us be careful to keep our moral chimney swept, so that our words and actions may not become like offensive smoke. Let us try to bless the world and make it pleasanter; why should any man's words injure and deface the world?

III. In the third place, let me remind you that THINGS WHICH SEEM TO BE OF LITTLE CONSEQUENCE OFTEN PRODUCE GREAT RESULTS. A small leak may sink a great ship, and a trifling escape of gas, if neglected, may blow up your house. So, these little flaws and faults and omissions in your moral nature which you think will never be noticed and can do no harm, are enough to ruin you. Those who by wilful neglect or carelessness cause the death of others are their murderers; and even if men neglect their little vices until they become uncontrollable, they are responsible for their own doom. Take care of the littles; for great results may come from little things In thousands of instances little things have produced great results. So little deeds of kindness and self-denial often make or mar a life's happiness. "Despise not the day of small things." Do not suppose you are too little to be of any consequence in this great world. No one has been created without a purpose and a mission.

(W. Birch.)

"Stop the beginnings," said the old Romans; arrest the evil in the bud; put your foot upon the spark and stamp out the conflagration. Behold how great, a forest a little fire kindleth. "I did but taste a little honey on the end of the rod in mine hand, and lo! I must die!"

1. "A little honey." So all sin appears at the moment of conception. Had the devil proffered to Jonathan the whole land of Canaan, "flowing with milk and honey," assured him of its heirship and possession, as he pressed on in eager pursuit of his father's enemies, he had not succeeded; but he offered a little on the end of his staff, which he could eat as he ran, and instantly the young warrior was caught by the bait and snared. So it has ever been. By little and little. The merchant of Panama, says Beecher, builds his warehouse near the docks. He drives into the water the strongest piles which his native woods can furnish. He is anxious to lay a foundation which fire cannot reach, and neither wind nor wave displace. Thereon he erects his store houses and bestows his goods and fruits. Alas! for human foresight. Presently a small madrepore, whose presence a microscope can scarcely detect, fastens upon the pile; gradually it draws to its aid a myriad little perforators from the water, and by the implements at their command they eat it, saw it, bore and honeycomb it. so that in a few years, if a child but, touch it. it will crumble to pieces. Even so, under the most insignificant of forms, in the quietest manner, by the weakest of agencies, little sins, vices, foolish habits and excesses, work into and undermine the strongest and purest characters, renders abortive the noblest of purposes, work wreck and ruin in the grandest of lives, till the man, or family, or church, or nation affected by them, honeycombed at the heart, perishes in corruption

2. "A little honey!" We might consider how often our "little sins" come between us and our Maker, shut out from us all true and clear views of His character, and interrupt the sunshine of His favour and love to us in Christ. An eminent London minister, in one of his books, tells us he was once sailing over a beautiful Scottish lake. He raised his eyeglass to get a better view of Ben Lomond; but a small leaf, hanging across the line of his vision, shut out the entire mountain. And something much less than a leaf could have marred the prospect. He had only to breathe on the glass for a moment, and the dimness produced on its surface would have been sufficient to intercept and becloud for him all the beauty of the world. And little sins, fashionable vices, selfish indulgences in things forbidden, freaks of temper, fits of petty wilfulness, take off the edge of our keenest feelings of attachment to God and His service, blunt our susceptibilities of receiving Divine impressions, chill the ardour of youthful enthusiasm, and shut us out from the influences of the world to come. "A little honey!" Our Lord took three of his disciples to act as a sort of bodyguard, and keep watch, while he prayed in Gethsemane. Eight more held vigil on an outer circle. But the day had been long, and the journey had been fatiguing, and the work had been exciting, and their eyes were heavy with sleep. The "little honey" of refreshing slumber was not to be resisted. Their Lord withstood the temptation and was ready. The traitor found Him prepared. But His followers were surprised in their sentinel duty, and "they all forsook Him and fled." A little sleep!

3. "I did but taste a little honey and, lo! I must die!" Israel very naturally took one view of Jonathan's case, and his father as naturally took another. In the eyes of the army it was but a trifling oversight; in the eyes of the king it was a capital offence. And our "little sins" appear in different lights as they are viewed in the court of heaven and before the tribunal of our fellow men. Had "Adam's transgression" been punished on the day wherein it was committed, and the guilty pair been swept from the earth and hurried to their account, the severity of the penalty might have seemed to them disproportioned to the offence But ages have elapsed since then, and that "little sin" has borne its fruit. What should be its punishment now? Thank God! the question need not be put. If, has already been asked and answered. It brought the Son of God out of heaven We did but taste a little honey, and, lo! He must die. Sin, so sweet to us, was the bitterness of death to Him. But let us remember that, like Jonathan, we are sons of the King. Our interests are identical with those of our Father in heaven. What seems a "little sin" to us is a great source of grief and wrong to Him. "How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" Let us be true to our God and Saviour, in little things as well as great, striving to be "blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke holding forth the word of life."

(R. Balgarnie, D. D.)

what multitudes of people in all ages have been damaged by forbidden honey, by which I mean temptation, delicious and attractive, but damaging and destructive!

1. Corrupt literature, fascinating but deathful, comes in this category Taste for pure literature is poisoned by this scum of the publishing house. Corrupt literature is doing more today for the disruption of domestic life than any other cause. When a woman, young or old, gets her head thoroughly stuffed with the modern novel she is in appalling peril. See all the forests of good American literature dripping with honey. Why pick up the honey-combs that have in them the fiery bees which will sting you with an eternal poison while you taste it?

2. Stimulating liquids also come into the category of temptations delicious but deathful.

3. Furthermore, the gamester's indulgence must, be put in the list of temptations delicious but destructive I have crossed the ocean eight times, and always one of the best rooms has, from morning until late at night, been given up to gambling practices. To many there is a complete fascination in games of hazard or the risking of money on possibilities. Down under its power went glorious Oliver Goldsmith, and Gibbon the famous historian, and Charles Fox the renowned statesman, and in olden times senators of the United States, who used to be as regularly at the gambling house all night as they were in the halls of legislation by day. Honey at the start, eternal catastrophe at the last.

4. Stock gambling comes into the same catalogue.

5. The best honey is not like that which Jonathan took on the end of the rod and brought to his lips, but that which God puts on the banqueting table of mercy, at which we are all invited to sit. When a man may sit at the King's banquet, why will he go down the steps sad contend for the refuse and bones of a hound's kennel? "Sweeter than honey and gee honeycomb," says David, is the truth of God. "With honey out of the rock would I have satisfied thee," says God to the recreant. Here is honey gathered from the blossoms of trees of life, and with a rod made out of the wood of the Cross I dip it up for all your souls. The poet Hesiod tells of an ambrosia and a nectar, the drinking of which would make men live forever, and one sip of the honey from the Eternal Rock will give you eternal life with God. Come off of the malarial levels of a sinful life. Come and live on the uplands of grace where the vineyards sun themselves. "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is gracious!" Be happy now and happy forever. For those who take a different course the honey will turn to gall. Beware of the forbidden honey.

(T. De Witt Talmage, D. D.)

People
Abiel, Abner, Ahiah, Ahijah, Ahimaaz, Ahinoam, Ahitub, Amalek, Amalekites, Ammonites, Benjamin, Eli, Ichabod, Ishui, Israelites, Jonathan, Kish, Malchishua, Melchishua, Merab, Michal, Ner, Phinehas, Saul
Places
Aijalon, Beth-aven, Bozez, Edom, Geba, Gibeah, Michmash, Migron, Moab, Seneh, Shiloh, Zobah
Topics
Account, Behold, Certainly, Death, Declare, Declareth, Die, Fate, Hast, Honey, Indeed, Jonathan, Merely, Rod, Saul, Staff, Story, Taste, Tasted, Tip
Outline
1. Jonathan goes and miraculously smites the Philistine's garrison
15. A divine terror makes them beat themselves
17. Saul, not staying the priest's answer, sets on them
21. The captivated Hebrews, and the hidden Israelites, join against them.
24. Saul's unadvised adjuration hinders the victory
31. He restrains the people from eating blood
35. He builds an altar
37. Jonathan, taken by lot, is save by the people
47. Saul's victories, strength, and family

Dictionary of Bible Themes
1 Samuel 14:24-46

     5187   taste

1 Samuel 14:24-47

     8479   self-examination, examples

Library
The Roman Pilgrimage: the Miracles which were Wrought in It.
[Sidenote: 1139] 33. (20). It seemed to him, however, that one could not go on doing these things with sufficient security without the authority of the Apostolic See; and for that reason he determined to set out for Rome, and most of all because the metropolitan see still lacked, and from the beginning had lacked, the use of the pall, which is the fullness of honour.[507] And it seemed good in his eyes[508] that the church for which he had laboured so much[509] should acquire, by his zeal and labour,
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Jonathan, the Pattern of Friendship
'And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? 2. And he said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so. 3. And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Of Antichrist, and his Ruin: and of the Slaying the Witnesses.
BY JOHN BUNYAN PREFATORY REMARKS BY THE EDITOR This important treatise was prepared for the press, and left by the author, at his decease, to the care of his surviving friend for publication. It first appeared in a collection of his works in folio, 1692; and although a subject of universal interest; most admirably elucidated; no edition has been published in a separate form. Antichrist has agitated the Christian world from the earliest ages; and his craft has been to mislead the thoughtless, by
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

A Divine Cordial
We know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans viii. 28. Introduction IF the whole Scripture be the feast of the soul, as Ambrose said, then Romans 8 may be a dish at that feast, and with its sweet variety may very much refresh and animate the hearts of Gods people. In the preceding verses the apostle had been wading through the great doctrines of justification and adoption, mysteries so arduous and profound, that
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Ramah. Ramathaim Zophim. Gibeah.
There was a certain Ramah, in the tribe of Benjamin, Joshua 18:25, and that within sight of Jerusalem, as it seems, Judges 19:13; where it is named with Gibeah:--and elsewhere, Hosea 5:8; which towns were not much distant. See 1 Samuel 22:6; "Saul sat in Gibeah, under a grove in Ramah." Here the Gemarists trifle: "Whence is it (say they) that Ramah is placed near Gibea? To hint to you, that the speech of Samuel of Ramah was the cause, why Saul remained two years and a half in Gibeah." They blindly
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Samuel
Alike from the literary and the historical point of view, the book[1] of Samuel stands midway between the book of Judges and the book of Kings. As we have already seen, the Deuteronomic book of Judges in all probability ran into Samuel and ended in ch. xii.; while the story of David, begun in Samuel, embraces the first two chapters of the first book of Kings. The book of Samuel is not very happily named, as much of it is devoted to Saul and the greater part to David; yet it is not altogether inappropriate,
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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