1 Samuel 14:40
Then 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. Then 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.
1 Samuel 14:40 stands near the beginning of Saul's reign in the account of Jonathan's remarkable victory through which God gave Israel a great deliverance. The setting is Saul's rash decree that anyone who ate food that day would be put to death, showing his foolish and growing rashness, weakness, and blind zeal. That decree endangered Jonathan, who had unknowingly eaten honey after the deliverance. In the verse Saul separates all the people to one side from himself and Jonathan on the other in order to cast the lot and decide the matter before them.
The people accept Saul's authority for him to do what seems good to him. The casting of the lot first selects Saul and Jonathan out of the people and then selects Jonathan, bringing Jonathan's course to light. The episode thus helps show Israel's error in rejecting God's government, exchanging a pious prophet whose prayers brought blessing for a king whose prayer brought a curse upon them. The verse belongs to the March 27 Bible reading, alongside the reminder that obedience is better than sacrifice.