Jonathan Finds Honey in the Woods

1 Sam 14:25-27
“The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground. When they went into the woods, they saw
the honey oozing out, yet no one put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath. But Jonathan had not heard
that his father had bound the people with the oath, so he reached out the end of the staff that was in his hand and
dipped it into the honeycomb. He raised his hand to his mouth, and his eyes brightened.”

Background - The Lord had given a great victory to the people of Israel. A dwindling Israelite army sat in fear
as the Philistine army camped nearby, with far greater numbers and better weapons (see 1 Sam 13:5). In fact,
the Israelites lacked any swords or useful weapons, except for the King and his son, Jonathan (1 Sam. 13:22).
The Israelites could not even engage them in battle. Most of God’s people hid in caves and holes in the ground.
A mere six hundred men stayed with King Saul, guarding him. As we know from the earlier part of the chapter,
Jonathan (Saul’s son) grew tired of waiting in fear for the Philistines to attack, so he went alone with his armor
bearer and defeated an entire Philistine garrison (1 Sam. 14:14). Then the Lord sent panic and confusion into
the entire Philistine army, causing many to scatter and others to attack their fellow Philistines. It was a
moment of victory and deliverance for Israel, a great miracle from the Lord.

When the Israelites saw the chaos in the Philistine camp, they rushed into battle and pursued their enemies for
a long time, defeating them as they went. Then they came upon a provision from the Lord: honey on the
ground in the woods.

Honey – Honey provides the body with a quick source of sugar, which gives immediate energy for a short
period. For Israel’s troops, the honey could have offered essential nourishment so they could continue fighting
that day. The Lord knew exactly where the Israelites would enter the woods, and had honey there waiting for
them.

Throughout Scripture, honey is also a symbol of the revealed Word. By “revealed word” we mean the Spirit’s
prophetic message behind the text – the letter of the Bible brings spiritual death (2 Cor. 3:6), but the Spirit
gives life. In Ezek. 3:1-3, we read about the prophetic word tasting like honey. The Psalms say that His
revealed words are “sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb” (Ps. 19:10). “How sweet are your words
to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103). “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to
the soul and healing to the bones.” (Prov. 16:24). Honey provides short-term energy. Similarly, the revealed
Word is a resource we need every single day. Occasionally partaking of God’s revelation is not enough. The
blessing of the revealed Word equips us for the battles we are facing, and the next day we need more.

Today, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but is rather a spiritual battle to carry out God’s project and
obey his words. (Eph. 6:12 – please note this is not a verse about fending off witchcraft, as so many preachers
claim, but is about the battle to stay faithful to the Lord every day). We must continue fighting to stay faithful
to God’s project until the Rapture. As it says in the New Testament, “But encourage one another daily, as long
as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.” (Heb 3:13).

God has provided us today with the honey we need to finish our battle – the revealed Word. This feeds us and
sustains us so that we can continue serving him and make our time here on earth count for eternity. Without
the revealed Word, our souls will grow weak. We will either fail in our mission or fall into fleshly behaviors and
attitudes (which actually happened to Saul’s men who did not eat the honey). The revealed Word of God is the
nourishment our souls need to survive and thrive. (See Matt 4:4; Lk 4:4).

The Woods – The woods or forests are often a symbol of the people of this world (see, e.g., Judges 9:7; Isa.
10:33; Isa. 14:8; Isa. 44:14; Ezek 17:24; Ezek. 31:4-18; Zech. 11:2; Mark 8:24). As believers, we must live
in this world and interact with unbelievers every day (see John 17:14-15). We are God’s army entering the
woods (the world around us), and as we do, God has provided the spiritual nourishment we need in order to be
effective. He has provided us with the revealed Word.

“They feared the oath” - Unfortunately, Saul had bound his army with an oath that forbid anyone to eat
that day. Saul had started well, as the Lord’s anointed, but by this time God had already rejected him due to
his disobedience. (1 Sam. 13:14). Saul is like a prophetic picture of empty religion, which sadly characterizes a
lot of Christianity today. Other lessons explore Saul’s spiritual problems in more detail, but here we focus only
on his rash vow. Saul thought he was being a spiritual strongman by imposing a strict fast on his army. Yet
fasting does not always please God; rather, God only accepts fasts that we do when He reveals it. Fasting is a
sacrifice, but obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22). Saul never understood this. God wanted the
army that day to have nourishment for the battle, but Saul decided it would be better to fast – the fast was
from his own mind, not from God. Many preachers do this today. They impose their own opinions on the flock
instead of God’s true revelation. Some churches even disavow the revealed Word, teaching their members that
God no longer speaks today, and that all we have is the letter of the Bible. They keep God’s people from eating
the honey that God has provided for us, in order for us to fulfill our mission here on earth. Religious leaders
place unnecessary burdens on the backs of the members (see Matt 23:4).

Remember that Saul’s entire army lacked swords (1 Sam 13:22). Swords are also a biblical symbol of the
revealed Word. “Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph 6:17). We see a consistent
prophetic theme here – Saul’s army was unequipped, a picture of God’s people when they lack true revelations
from the Word. They lack weapons and nourishment. Overall, Saul stands as a prophetic illustration of
worthless human religion (which may even call itself “Christian” in some places). Only the two leaders had
swords.

This reminds us of churches today that require their ministers to get diplomas in Biblical studies or Theology
from professional ministry schools. As a result, there is a “knowledge gap” in the churches between the pastor
and the sheep – only the pastors have the “sword” of the Word, and the rest of the church suffers through the
battle without it. They cannot all go to Bible colleges, of course. All the other people in the church must earn a
living and provide for their families. In contrast, a church that uses the revealed Word makes the message of
the Bible accessible to every member, because the Holy Spirit gives the revelations. When a church abandons
the worthless human traditions about sending pastors to Bible college and seminaries, and focuses instead on
having the revealed Word (the sword of the Spirit, the honey God provides as we enter the woods), then
everyone is equal. The members can have revelations from the Word that the pastor will preach to the church.
Yet religion operates like Saul’s army, where only a few leaders have the necessary equipment (the Word) to
fulfill the mission of the church. The Work of the Holy Spirit is opposite. Any member can get the Spirit’s
meaning from the Word.

Jonathan did not know about his father’s foolish oath. With his rod (which represents the Shepherd’s staff, or
the guidance of the Spirit), he got some of the honey and took it to his mouth with his hand. The hand
represents the five ministries raised by God in the church (see Acts 11:21; Eph 4:11). Once he did that,
Jonathan’s eyes brightened. Brightened eyes talk about discernment, ability to see which way to go, and the
end of spiritual blindness. This is what revelation does for a man. The honey was available to all. Anyone
could take it. It was only a matter of following the Spirit’s guidance. At the same time, the people under Saul’s
direction were fainting, falling by the wayside. They could not finish conquering the enemy that day.

Saul’s oath created an awkward situation spiritually, where Jonathan was in violation of an oath even though he
was doing the very thing God originally intended. When we make an oath or vow before the Lord, God expects
us to fulfill it, and does not excuse us just because we later realize that the vow was foolish. (see Eccl. 5:5-6).
Saul was the anointed leader of Israel and he had the spiritual authority to bind the army under and oath. We
see the spiritual damage that a church leader can do when he injects his own opinions and ideas into God’s
Project – he puts the people under a curse even when they are pursuing the proper goals and trying to get the
proper spiritual resources.

Saul was trying to be a radical leader with his oath, but it led to two failures eventually. First, the army was
unable to finish exterminating the enemy that day. Their victory was incomplete. Second, the soldiers were so
famished and desperate by the end that they ate the captured animals raw, without cooking, and with the blood
still there. This was a serious sin under the Old Testament law (see Lev. 17). They were supposed to keep
blood separate from the flesh they ate. The blood, as it says in Lev. 17:11, points forward to Jesus’ blood that
makes atonement for sin and gives us his life. Saul’s men were so desperate that they mixed the blood with
flesh. It is a tragedy today when Christians lack the revealed Word, and they end up mixing the blood of Jesus
with fleshly things. They think that pleading the blood of Jesus is merely for gaining material things like wealth
or physical healings, or even worldly things that their hearts desire. Their religious leaders have left them so
desperate and spiritually malnourished that they mix the Blood with their own flesh.

Saul’s foolishness is the subject for other lessons or messages. The important thing here is to understand
that God has indeed provided honey – the revealed Word. We need it every day. Each day we need the
revealed Word so that we can have enough strength to serve the Lord effectively and faithfully. His Word feeds
us and renews our strength. As we enter the woods (the world) for our spiritual battle each day, God already
has honey there waiting on the ground for us. It gives us the strength to carry out his eternal Project.

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