Neville Goddard on 1 Samuel 14:38-43 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read 1 Samuel 14 in context

Scripture Focus

38And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day.

39For, as the LORD liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die. But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.

40Then said he unto all Israel, Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side. And the people said unto Saul, Do what seemeth good unto thee.

41Therefore Saul said unto the LORD God of Israel, Give a perfect lot. And Saul and Jonathan were taken: but the people escaped.

42And Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken.

43Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand, and, lo, I must die.

1 Samuel 14:38-43

Biblical Context

Saul commands the people to identify sin and declares that Jonathan must die, but the crowd remains silent. A lot is cast to determine guilt, Jonathan is chosen, and Saul questions him; the people intervene as Jonathan explains his minor act of tasting honey, and the scene ends with the ruling seeking punishment while the people defend Jonathan.

Neville's Inner Vision

Saul's demand to cast lots to uncover sin is a symbolic inner move, not a real external crime. The chiefs and people symbolize the broader self—the collective habit of thought—that would enforce a harsh verdict. Jonathan represents the higher self or true nature that acts in harmony with life, while the honey-taste marks a tiny pleasure used by the old state to justify a rigid judgment. The lot falling on Jonathan reveals a moment of apparent separation, but the inner community refuses to finalize a sentence you do not deserve. In Neville's terms, this drama is an inner stage where you discover you are not defined by external judgments but by your own inner state. There is no external court by which you are condemned; your I AM, your present awareness, governs reality. By revising the scene inward and aligning with the truth of life, you dissolve the fear of death and awaken to a seamless, forgiving consciousness that already loves you as you are.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Close your eyes, and assume the I AM state: 'I am not condemned; I am forever loved.' Then imagine Jonathan stepping forward as your higher self in the inner court, and revise any sense of death into life by claiming your present freedom.