1 Samuel 14:45
And the people said unto Saul, Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day. So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not.
Saul had pronounced sentence of death upon Jonathan for violating his rash vow. That violation had been unknowing, for Jonathan had tasted food without knowledge of the oath his father had laid upon the army.
The people saw that Jonathan was the one who had wrought the great salvation and deliverance for Israel on that day. They understood that he had done it by working with God, and that God had worked through him to accomplish it. They therefore refused to allow the sentence to stand, and rescued Jonathan so that he did not die. By their firm refusal they held Saul back and kept him from carrying out his decree.
God Himself used that opposition of the people as the means to prevent Jonathan's death. Their stand served to show Saul that his vow had been rash and wrong. It likewise exposed his judgment to put Jonathan to death as unjust.