Word of Encouragement (09/20/2023)
Then Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night and plunder them until the morning light; let us not leave a man of them." And they said, "Do whatever seems good to you." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here." 37And 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. (1 Sam. 14:36-37)
At the urging of the priests, Saul agreed to inquire the LORD about what he should do. But the LORD did not answer. What do we do when the Lord does not answer our prayer?
First of all, just because God does not answer our prayer right away doesn’t mean that He is saying, “No.” His plan may be to answer it at a different time according to His wise counsel. In that case, we should patiently wait. But we also see instances in the Bible, in which God does not answer because His people sinned, and He desires to bring their attention to it. Saul instinctively felt that the absence of God’s answer had to do with something wrong they did. After all, it was reported to him that some of his men ate meat with its blood. He could have also suspected that someone might have broken his ban on eating. Did he think that he might have been at fault? Saul did summon all the leaders and said, “Come here, all you leaders of the people, and know and see how this sin has arisen today. For as the LORD lives who saves Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die” (vv. 38-39). Was this because he thought he could be guilty? Usually, when we swear a self-maledictory oath, it is because we are sure we are not guilty or because we are blatantly lying. (I think Saul’s case was the former.)
In this case, the problem turned out to be Jonathan’s violation of the ban. But we cannot help but question whether that was it. Even though the lot fell on Jonathan and, according to his rash vow, he tried to execute him, the men of Israel stopped him, citing his crucial role in bringing victory to Israel (v. 45). Interestingly, this turned out to be an affirmation of Jonathan’s decisive contribution and a rejection of Saul’s oaths regarding the ban and the punishment. This should be assessed in view of Samuel’s stern words of judgment on Saul for disobeying God’s Word in the previous chapter. The downward spiral of Saul’s reign and life had begun.
If we have any measure of self-awareness, it would be hard not to wonder whether we are harboring any sins in our hearts and lives when God seems silent and distant. And it is not a terrible question to ask. God’s seeming “No!” may not be due to any specific sin in our lives. But such a question can nudge us to examine our lives and deal with whatever shameful or unworthy thing we may be harboring. But we must be careful when it comes to others. We should not assume that sin is behind someone else’s misfortune and urge him to repent (unless, of course, there is an obvious case of unrepentant sin). This is what Job’s three friends did, but God vindicated Job later.
May the Lord grant us the wisdom to discern His will in times of trouble and uncertainty! And may we remain humble before God so that we can always grow in our godliness both in good times and bad times!