Listening to the Father

God included a really strange story in the Bible. Let’s look at it and see if we can figure out why. “And the men of Israel had been hard pressed that day, so Saul had laid an oath on the people, saying, 'Cursed be the man who eats food until it is evening…' But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the people with the oath…” (1 Samuel 14:24, 27, ESV). Jonathan ate some honey that he found, then the soldiers told him about the oath that his father swore. Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See how my eyes have become bright because I tasted a little of this honey. How much better if the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies that they found” (1 Samuel 14:29-30). 

These men were in a battle and exhausted, but it was even worse because they weren’t allowed to eat or refresh themselves since Saul swore this oath. God had provided, but the man in authority made some declaration that sounded spiritual but made no sense. 

There’s a time for everything under the sun; there’s a time to feast; there’s a time to eat. There’s a time to read scripture and pray; there’s a time to sleep. Wisdom is knowing the right times for these things instead of just declaring what we think sounds spiritual in the moment. 

Notice how Jonathan responded. He pointed out that if the army hadn’t listened to his father’s foolish oath, they would have been better off. Jonathan was a grown man. Just because his father said or did something didn’t mean he had to agree.

We are to honor our parents, but when our parents tell us to do something sinful or silly or unwise, we don’t just go along with it. There was that kind of ‘submission' teaching in some churches back in the 70s, and it was terrible. I’m not saying to ignore or dishonor your parents, but when the Lord speaks or provides, we listen to him first. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Don’t let family connections take you away from the Lord. Let’s follow Jesus today. 

^{Jim Cymbala began the Brooklyn Tabernacle with less than twenty members in a small, rundown building in a difficult part of the city. A native of Brooklyn, he is a longtime friend of both David and Gary Wilkerson.}