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The judgment that came upon King Saul could not be limited to him; it included his sons, his family, his dynasty. Saul's sin was distinctly personal. He committed acts of wilfulness; he failed in the completeness of his obedience (1 Samuel 13:8-14; 1 Samuel 15:8, 9). And yet his sin could not be personal only - no man can secure that his sin shall be, while he comes into relations with others. Saul's sin must also be official - the iniquity of the representative person, the king; and relational - the iniquity of the father, the head of a family. So far as a man's sin starts a train of consequences, he cannot limit the disabilities to his own suffering, and he may not wonder if the resultant calamities should strike him through the suffering of those most dear to him. To our feeling the exceeding bitterness of the consequences of wilful sin lies in the fact of their involving others, and those whom we would most anxiously spare.

I. THE INNOCENT DO NOT SHARE IN THE GUILT. Distinguish between the guilt and the calamity that follows on it. The guilt can rest only on the man who does the wilful and guilty act, because an action is only guilty action when it is wilfully done against light and knowledge. So, depending on the will, it belongs exclusively to the individual. King Saul was guilty before God, but his sons were not, save as they may have personally accepted and approved their father's acts, and so made themselves individually responsible. This way of becoming sharers in guilt is taught by St. Paul in Romans 1:22. He comes under the Divine judgment who has pleasure in them that do evil things, as well as those who actually do the evil.

II. THE INNOCENT MAY SHARE IN THE CALAMITY THAT FOLLOWS ON SIN. This may be illustrated from the family sphere - a father's wrong-doing breaks up the home, etc.; or from the social spheres - neglect of sanitary laws on the part of local governments involve the innocent citizens in disease and plague; or from the national spheres - a king's wrong-doing brings war, and battle and siege are calamities for women and children as well as for soldiers.

III. THE INNOCENT MUST SHARE IN THE CALAMITY THAT FOLLOWS ON SIN. For this is precisely the condition under which God has set mankind. It follows, of necessity, upon that fact of the "solidarity of the race," which modern writers are now setting in prominence, but which St. Paul taught as one of the basis-principles of Christianity long years ago. See his speech at Athens and the Epistle to the Romans. Illustrate by the figure of "many members in one body." One limb or organ, diseased, gives vain and weakness in other organs that are not diseased. Men are, in actual life, as vitally related as parts of the body, and if one member sins the other members suffer with it.

IV. THE INNOCENT SHARING IN CALAMITY HAS A MORAL MISSION. It is one of warning. We only feel the real evil of sin through the pressure of the troubles that follow upon it. But it becomes an effective warning that we must drag others down with our sin; and we can never be sure who will be the chief sufferer - it may possibly be our dearest and best.

V. THE INNOCENT SHARING IN CALAMITY HAS A RECOVERING AND REDEMPTIVE POWER. It awakens to a sense of sin, recovering us from the delusions of self-will. It binds men together in a brotherhood of helpfulness; seeking to relieve from burdens of suffering, they are led to see that suffering must be dealt with at its root, which is sin. Lead up to the fact of the Lord Jesus Christ, the innocent member of the human race, the spotless and perfectly obedient Son of God, suffering in, with, and for a guilty world. It is precisely this which is the fullest and most effective revelation of the guilt of mankind. Yet it is precisely this which is the great recovering and redemptive power. "He was wounded for our transgressions," and "by his stripes we are healed." - R.T.

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KJV: And the Philistines followed hard after Saul, and after his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.

WEB: The Philistines followed hard after Saul and after his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.