“But the people said to Sha’ul, ‘Must Y’honatan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Heaven forbid! As Adonai lives, not one hair of his head will fall to the ground; because he worked with God today!’ In this way the people rescued Y’honatan, so that he didn’t die.”-1 Samuel 14:45
Saul’s son Jonathan was appointed for death.
But the army of Israel would not let that happen.
They knew full well that Jonathan was innocent and wasn’t with them when Saul ordered them to take the vow against eating.
On top of that, they were well aware that Jonathan was a brave leader who possessed tremendous faith in God (quite unlike his father).
They even went so far as to say that Jonathan was the one who helped Israel beat the Philistines, not Saul.
And that this great victory was won because Jonathan cooperated with the Lord.
So thanks to Saul’s own men having the wisdom to discern right from wrong, Jonathan was saved from death.
If Jonathan had been executed, it would’ve been because of Saul’s immoral vow.
Saul’s ridiculous behavior was exposed, the night operation to pursue the Philistines was scrapped, and Saul returned home to Gibeah with his tail between his legs in humiliation.
The rest of the defeated Philistines from Mikhmas returned to where they lived by the sea.
So what’s the big takeaway here?
I’d like to say the lesson here is that if you are righteous, the Lord will rescue you from the false accusers and false charges.
But we know from history that’s not true.
Countless righteous men and women who possessed strong faith in God have been unjustly executed over the centuries.
In fact, Yeshua is a prime example of a just person being executed on doctored-up false charges.
So the only takeaway I can glean from this is that whether the Lord saves or allows a righteous person to die, it happens under His sovereign Will.
But when a righteous person is put to death, in some way it serves as an atonement for the unrighteous.
This is exactly what Yeshua’s death accomplished.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“But God commendeth
his love toward us,
in that, while we
were yet sinners,
Messiah died for us.”
– Romans 5:8
“And he is the propitiation
for our sins:
and not for ours only,
but also for the sins
of the whole world.”
– 1 John 2:2
“So Messiah was once offered
to bear the sins of many,
and unto them that look
for him shall he appear
the second time without
sin unto salvation.”
– Hebrews 9:28
“Who his own self bare our sins
in his own body on the tree,
that we, being dead to sins,
should live unto righteousness:
by whose stripes ye were healed.”
-1 Peter 2:24
I think the problem is that we, as mortal beings, understand things only on a physical plane of existence. We cannot fathom what eternity is like: we know there is an afterlife, but we really can’t relate it to our personal experience, which is – ultimately- the only way we understand anything.
God, on the other hand, was never mortal and sees everything on an eternal plane of existence.
So, we cannot understand why God, who is loving and compassionate and promises the righteous to protect them, allows the righteous to die because we are only able to think in finite terms. God, though, isn’t really all that concerned with life in the finite because he is in the infinite, and his promise to protect and care for the righteous is not always while they are still mortal, but when they enter the eternal.
I believe this is the main reason so many won’t believe in God or are confused about his ways: it is because they want him to do and act as they think he should, working on a finite level of understanding, whereas God works from the infinite.
Great comment Steve, and also a very important reminder.
This statement says it all: “God, though, isn’t really all that concerned with life in the finite because he is in the infinite, and his promise to protect and care for the righteous is not always while they are still mortal, but when they enter the eternal.”
In addition to the points Richoka enumerated, I also agree with Steve that God is not just concerned with temporal and the ‘now ‘ but for eternity.
There is a future reward for those whom He seem not to save. The righteous ones that died while God just watch and not save would only usually be those who attain a higher position in the kingdom, and at dispensation of time, they prefer the reward above to the things that pertains to this life.
I believe that mostly, God seeks their opinion, because there is a choice and a will
Examples are Yeshua;
Phil 2:5
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, being in the form of God, did not consider it [b]robbery to be equal with God, 7but [c]made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Acts 7:59
Stephen was stoned to death
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
At a certain dispensation in Paul’s life, he understood what it meant to live on earth or to transition to eternity.
2 Tim 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the … , I have kept the faith. I have fought the good … the faith. I have fought a good fight, I have…
You can tell that at this point in Paul’s life, it did not matter so much to him; what type of death is the matter.
Amen Abraham.
I feel like I always have to be reminded of this.
While the world lusts and strives after material things, I need to remind myself that this planet is not all there is.