1 Samuel 14:34-40: a reflection

34Saul said, “Disperse yourselves among the people, and tell them, ‘Every man bring me here his ox, and every man his sheep, and kill them here, and eat; and don’t sin against the LORD in eating meat with the blood.’” All the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and killed them there. 35Saul built an altar to the LORD. This was the first altar that he built to the LORD. 36Saul said, “Let’s go down after the Philistines by night, and take plunder among them until the morning light. Let’s not leave a man of them.” They said, “Do whatever seems good to you.” Then the priest said, “Let’s draw near here to God.” 37Saul asked counsel of God: “Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you deliver them into the hand of Israel?” But he didn’t answer him that day. 38Saul said, “Draw near here, all you chiefs of the people, and know and see in whom this sin has been today. 39For as the LORD lives, who saves Israel, though it is in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.” But there was not a man among all the people who answered him. 40Then he said to all Israel, “You be on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side.” The people said to Saul, “Do what seems good to you.”

In the midst of Saul's zealous but self-willed religiosity, building an altar and pressing eagerly forward, he asks counsel of God and gets no answer, a silence that prompts him to stop and search for what was wrong. Saul asked counsel of God, shall I go down after the Philistines, the account says; but he didn't answer him that day. Saul had been active and zealous, building an altar, eager to press on against the enemy. But when he inquired of God, God did not answer. This silence was itself telling: it prompted Saul to stop and search for what had gone wrong, to look for the sin that had brought the silence. God's silence became a signal that something needed examining, rather than a cue to press blindly ahead. This shows that God's silence may be a call to stop and examine ourselves. God's silence may be a call to stop and examine, not press blindly ahead. When God does not answer, it may be a prompt to search for what is wrong. Do not press ahead heedlessly when God is silent; stop and examine. God's silence can be a signal to look at ourselves.

Notice what God's silence did in this account. Saul had been zealous and active: building an altar, making resolves, eager to go on against the enemy. When he inquired of God, shall I go down after the Philistines, he no doubt expected an answer. But God did not answer him that day. And this silence was not empty; it was telling. Saul rightly took it as a signal that something was wrong, and set about searching for the sin that had brought the silence, examining what had gone amiss. God's non-answer prompted a search rather than a heedless pressing-on. This holds a lesson about how we might read God's silence. When we pray and seek God's guidance and receive no clear answer, no sense of his leading, only silence, we can be tempted to press ahead anyway, on our own, heedless. But sometimes God's silence is itself a signal, a call to stop, to examine ourselves, to search for what may be wrong, some sin, some wrong direction, something that needs setting right. Rather than plowing blindly ahead when God seems silent, it may be wiser to pause and ask whether the silence is calling us to examine ourselves and our way. God's silence is not always mere delay; it can be a prompt to self-examination. We do well, when God seems silent, not to press blindly ahead, but to consider whether the silence calls us to stop and examine ourselves. When God seems silent, consider whether it calls you to stop and examine yourself. Do not always press blindly ahead when you receive no answer from God. God's silence can be a signal to search for what is wrong. Pause, when God is silent, and ask what he may be prompting you to examine.

That is worth taking to heart, for God's silence may be a call to stop and examine ourselves rather than press blindly ahead, as Saul's unanswered inquiry prompted a search. We can press on heedlessly when God does not answer; but Saul rightly took God's silence as a signal that something needed examining. Pause and examine. When God seems silent to your inquiry, do not simply press ahead; consider whether the silence is calling you to stop and examine yourself and your way. When God seems silent to your prayer or inquiry, do not simply press blindly ahead, but consider whether the silence is calling you to stop and examine yourself and your way, as in the midst of Saul's zealous but self-willed religiosity he asked counsel of God and got no answer, a silence that prompted him to stop and search for what was wrong, since he asked whether he should go down after the Philistines but God did not answer him that day; for Saul had been active and zealous, building an altar and eager to press on, but when he inquired of God, God did not answer, and this silence was itself telling, prompting Saul to stop and search for the sin that had brought it, so that God's silence became a signal that something needed examining rather than a cue to press blindly ahead, which holds a lesson about how we might read God's silence, since when we pray and seek God's guidance and receive no clear answer but only silence we can be tempted to press ahead anyway on our own, but sometimes God's silence is itself a signal, a call to stop and examine ourselves and search for what may be wrong, some sin or wrong direction that needs setting right, so that rather than plowing blindly ahead when God seems silent it may be wiser to pause and ask whether the silence is calling us to examine ourselves, God's silence not always being mere delay but sometimes a prompt to self-examination, so that we do well, when God seems silent, to consider whether it calls us to stop and examine ourselves.

Lord, in the midst of Saul's zealous but self-willed religiosity, building an altar and pressing eagerly forward, he asks counsel of you and gets no answer, a silence that prompts him to stop and search for what was wrong. Saul asked counsel of God, shall I go down after the Philistines, the account says; but he didn't answer him that day. Saul had been active and zealous, building an altar, eager to press on against the enemy. But when he inquired of you, you did not answer. This silence was itself telling: it prompted Saul to stop and search for what had gone wrong. Your silence became a signal that something needed examining, rather than a cue to press blindly ahead. Show me what your silence did in this account. Saul had been zealous and active, and when he inquired of you, he no doubt expected an answer. But you did not answer him that day. And this silence was not empty; it was telling. Saul rightly took it as a signal that something was wrong, and set about searching for what had gone amiss. Your non-answer prompted a search rather than a heedless pressing-on. This holds a lesson about how I might read your silence. When I pray and seek your guidance and receive no clear answer, only silence, I can be tempted to press ahead anyway, on my own, heedless. But sometimes your silence is itself a signal, a call to stop, to examine myself, to search for what may be wrong, some sin, some wrong direction, something that needs setting right. Rather than plowing blindly ahead when you seem silent, it may be wiser to pause and ask whether the silence is calling me to examine myself and my way. Take that to my heart. When you seem silent to my prayer or inquiry, keep me from simply pressing blindly ahead; help me consider, Lord, whether the silence is calling me to stop and examine myself and my way, and to search for what you may be prompting me to set right, rather than plowing on heedlessly.