XXXII
THE BLEATING OF THE SHEEP
N the midst of the Adventure of the Great Trembling, a strange thing happened.
King Saul, when he sent his soldiers to chase the Philistines, forbade them to taste food till the setting of the sun. And this he did in a very solemn manner, making a vow, like Jephthah. He said that if any man ate anything before the sun went down, that man must be put to death. But as the day went on, the soldiers grew very hungry. At last they came to a wood, where there were honeycombs lying on the ground; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for they remembered the king’s vow. Then came Jonathan and saw the honey, and before anybody could stop him he reached out a stick and took some honey on the end of it and put it in his mouth. For he knew nothing of the king’s commandment.
Then the sun went down, and after supper Saul said, “Let us go again in pursuit of the enemy.” But the priest forbade it. The priest said that there was sin in the camp. They must first find out the sinner and punish him as the king had vowed. And Saul said, “Come near now, all you chiefs, and let us see where the sin has been this day. For, as the Lord liveth, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people that answered him. Then said the king, “Stand you all on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side, and we will cast lots.” And they cast lots, and Saul and Jonathan were taken; and they cast lots between Jonathan and Saul, and Jonathan was taken. And Saul said, “My son, what have you done?” And Jonathan answered, “I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand, and so I must die.” And Saul said, “God do so and more also: for thou shah surely die, Jonathan.” But up rose all the people, and cried, “Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? The hero of the battle, the king’s son, shall he die? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground: for he hath wrought with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
Somehow, King Saul was never the same man after that. It seemed as if the dreadful strain and distress of that night had affected his mind. Much of the time he was like himself; but again there were days when he would speak to nobody, but would sit apart thinking dreadful thoughts.
One day, Samuel came to Saul and said, “I have a message for you from the Lord. He wishes you to go to war with the men of Amalek.” Now the Amalekites were the oldest enemies of Israel. They lived down south in the deserts, and had been the first to attack the Israelites when they came out of Egypt. And ever since, they had been like the wild Indians in the days of our forefathers. They would dash up, with bows and arrows, and fire upon the villages of the Israelites and kill the people. “Now,” said Samuel, “you must go to war with these savages and destroy them utterly. You must not leave any of them alive, and you must destroy all that they have, that they may be no more a nation.”
So Saul marched against the Amalekites, and won a great victory. But he did not as Samuel had told him. He spared Agag, king of the Amalekites, and the best of the sheep and oxen. And back he came, and his victorious army, driving the cattle before them, and bringing Agag as a captive.
That night the word of the Lord came to Samuel, and the Lord said, “Saul has turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments.” And it grieved Samuel, and he cried unto the Lord all night. And early in the morning Samuel went to meet Saul, and Saul greeted him and said, “Blessed be thou of the Lord: I have performed the commandment of the Lord.” And Samuel said, “What, then, is the meaning of this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear?” And Saul said, “The people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice them to the Lord.” And Samuel said to Saul, “Stop! let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” And Saul said, “Say on.” And Samuel said, “The Lord sent you on a journey, and said ‘Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites.’ Why did you not obey?” And Saul said, “I have obeyed the Lord: except that the people brought Agag and the sheep and oxen to sacrifice them to the Lord.” And Samuel said, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath rejected thee from being king.”
And Saul fell down before Samuel and cried, “Forgive me, and the Lord forgive me; I have sinned.” But Samuel turned to go away. And Saul caught hold of Samuel’s cloak, and the cloak rent. And Samuel said, “Thus hath the Lord torn from you the kingdom of Israel this day.” And Saul cried, “Do not tell the people: honor me now, I pray thee, in the sight of the people.” And to this Samuel consented. He went with Saul, and with his own hands hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord. But from that day he sought another king to set over Israel in the place of Saul.