Area in focus:
1 Samuel chapter 14.
Let's, first, identify major characters in this chapter.
1. Jonathan
2. Saul, the king
3. The people (soldiers), and, of course, God!
Jonathan
Introduction
Jonathan had recorded some solo successes against the Philistines. He had killed one of their commanders (1 Sam 13:3). And again, about 20 Philistines in a surprise raid! (1 Sam 14:14). From the division of the soldiers between him and his father, it appeared Jonathan had some level of independence to plan and initiate attacks with his soldiers against the Philistines.
But in this very occasion, he took only with him his armour bearer. And with God's help, he brought success to Israel. Acting on the inspiration of God, he provoked an attack against the Philistines and killed twenty of them. God completed the routing by causing the Philistine soldiers to turn against themselves in slaughter.
Even the Hebrew saboteurs who had deserted their country to fight on the side of the enemy Philistines switched camp again and fought against the Philistines!
Saul was not part of this conquest. He didn't know how it started. But he was to take glory later for the victory. He made a rash oath that nobody must eat until "I take revenge against my enemies." Jonathan, without knowing, violated the oath and must die for it!
This present us with the question:
To what extent can someone be help accountable for offence he committed without knowledge?
In classification of sin and what makes sin mortal, the Catholic Church teaches that one of the essential ingredients that make sin mortal is knowledge. For a sin to be mortal, according to paragraph 1857 of the catechism of the Catholic Church (hereinafter referred to as CCC),
three conditions must together be met: the object must be grave matter, it is committed with full knowledge and with deliberate consent. These three conditions must be present, not one missing. For instance, a man under duress, perhaps at gunpoint, to shoot another, may be absolved of guilt, because of lack of consent. Without knowledge, imputability of guilt to an offence could be diminished or even nullified (CCC 1735).
Jonathan ate honey, not knowing there was order prohibiting food.
However, ignorance is of different category, vincible and invincible ignorance.
Vincible and invincible ignorance occurs when one fails to take due diligence to know what he is supposed to know. (E.g. a danger road sign by roadside, but someone fails to take notice and fall into harm). Invincible ignorance obtains when, for instance, pagans are expected to know what Catholic teach about Holy Eucharist! One important thing to note is that ignorance, in itself, is not a sin! However, it is trite in law that "Ignorantia juris non excusat" - ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
This maxim may have derived from Leviticus 5:17: "If a person sins and does what is forbidden in any of the LORD's commands, even though he does not know it, he is guilty and will be held responsible." Why so? Because when it comes to breaking the law, it is a pure act! And every act is directly committed is imputed to the author (CCC 1736).
All that is needed to establish culpability is to prove that the person actually break the law. Intention, reason or excuse of ignorance is secondary. Deliberate intention aggravates punishment. While lack of it or ignorance could temper the guilt. Judges consider two main ingredients in law in their sentence of guilt, actus rea and mens rea. The issue here is not whether Jonathan knew or not. The issue is that he had broken an oath in place! And the remedy is the consequent punitive action! Law, by its nature, is rigid, strict and devoid of sentiment, or emotion.
The law does not understand, "Abeg!"
The demand of the law is justice. Forgiveness appeals to mercy and compassion, which are products of grace!
Truth is that Saul's binding oath, made in the name of God, was violated! That is what concerned God. His Holy Name was at stake! Other facts that Saul made the oath without thinking, his son, Jonathan violated without knowing, the soldiers could have been spared the punishment of hunger and temptation, are all sentiments! Jonathan knew he was guilty. He resigned himself to fate and offered himself willingly for execution, though he regretted his father's unreasonableness.
Saul and Rash Oath
Ecclesiastes 5:2 warned, "Think before you speak, and don't make any rash promises to God. He is in heaven and you are on earth, so don't say any more than you have to." When someone talks before he thinks, he is clearly lacking in virtue. Prudence is a very important human virtue. Saul appears to lack it. He has lost total control of himself! Every step he takes was in wrong direction. What is behind Saul's continuous mistakes may not far from the fact the moment God left, he became a living dead. That is what wilful disobedience and arrogance brought upon him.
In Num 27:21, God said to Moses, "He (Joshua) will depend on Eleazar the priest, who will learn my will by using the Urim and Thummim. In this way Eleazar will direct Joshua and the whole community of Israel in all their affairs." What did Saul do? He wasn't consistent with this pattern. In 1 Sam 13:6-14, Saul could no longer wait for the arrival of Samuel. He decided to do things by himself, and he received the consequence! - In 1 Sam. 14:18,19 Saul said to Ahijah the priest, "Bring the ephod here." Later he said to the priest, Saul was speaking to the priest, "There is no time to consult the LORD!" So he went into battle on his own accord. - He made a reckless oath, using the name of God, which has left him. "A curse be on anyone who eats any food today before I take revenge on my enemies" (2 Sam.14:24). The use of the word "I" clearly establishes Saul as an ego person, with little regard for God.
Saul did not wholeheartedly rely upon the guidance of God. Yet he wants to take credit for victory God worked for the people (cf. 1 Sam 14:36). In contrast, Jonathan, his son, relied upon God's guidance. Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come, let's go over to ..(1 Sam 14:6, 9). Oath Moses encouraged the Israelites to make their promises in the name of God. Deut. 6:13 says, " Honour the LORD your God, worship only him, and make your promises in his name alone." Obviously, abuses must have occurred as a result of frequent invocation of God's holy name. Thus, God warned, "Do not use my name for evil purposes, for I, the LORD your God, will punish anyone who misuses my name" (Deut. 5:11). Lev. 19:12, "Do not make a promise in my name if you do not intend to keep it; that brings disgrace on my name. I am the LORD your God" (see Num.30:2, Deut.23:21).
And Jesus said, “You have also heard that people were told in the past, ‘Do not break your promise, but do what you have vowed to the Lord to do.’ But now I tell you: do not use any vow when you make a promise. Do not swear by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by earth, for it is the resting place for his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Just say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’—anything else you say comes from the Evil One" (Mat.5:33-37).
Did you notice that there were some Hebrews fighting on the side of the Philistines who turned against the Philistines when the battle ensured? (1 Sam 14:21). These represent the most dangerous set of people in any organization, community, or state. Those who are with you but in bed with the enemy! Their loyalty and allegiance is not assured. Beware of them!
Saul took a vow, using the Holy Name of God! He pronounced a curse/a sentence of death against anyone who disobeyed. As a king, his word is a decree, a law, in itself! And as a king, what he says, binds on those within his kingdom/juridical control. In those days, as it is today, people try to show their truthfulness or seriousness to issues by swearing an oath. And God's name makes such vow irrevocable. But because of the fallen and imperfect nature of man, some of these oaths were made rather recklessly. There was lack of prudence.
Prudence is a human virtue that guides in wisdom. It is right reason. Moses warned the people thus, “When you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not put off doing what you promised; the Lord will hold you to your vow, and it is a sin not to keep it." He rather advised them, "It is no sin not to make a vow to the Lord, but if you make one voluntarily, be sure that you keep it" (Deut.23:22-23).
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