Havasu Christian Church
Series in I Samuel
July 14, 2024
I Samuel 13:1-14
“Jonathan takes the fight to the enemy.”
INTRO: Faith… Without action… It’s dead!
James 2:14–17 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
Today in I Samuel, we see faith, the faith of Jonathan.… in action! We also see the lack of faith of his father Saul. I suspect that there’s a thing or two to learn from this.
1 Samuel 14:1–23 Now the day came that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron. And the people who were with him were about six hundred men,
3 and Ahijah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the priest of the LORD at Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.
4 Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to cross over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp crag on the one side and a sharp crag on the other side, and the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
5 The one crag rose on the north opposite Michmash, and the other on the south opposite Geba.
6 Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few.”
7 His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire.”
8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men and reveal ourselves to them.
9 “If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you’; then we will stand in our place and not go up to them.
10 “But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hands; and this shall be the sign to us.”
11 When both of them revealed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, the Philistines said, “Behold, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.”
12 So the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, “Come up to us and we will tell you something.” And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hands of Israel.”
13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor bearer behind him; and they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer put some to death after him.
14 That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half a furrow in an acre of land.
15 And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. Even the garrison and the raiders trembled, and the earth quaked so that it became a great trembling.
16 Now Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there.
17 Saul said to the people who were with him, “Number now and see who has gone from us.” And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.
18 Then Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel.
19 While Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion.
21 Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.
22 When all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, even they also pursued them closely in the battle.
23 So the LORD delivered Israel that day, and the battle spread beyond Beth-aven.
- Jonathan trusted God!
- Apparently, Jonathan was the man his father should have been.
- Quite the contrast with his dad!
- Jonathan expects the leading of the Lord.
“Then Jonathan said to the young man who was carrying his armor, “Come and let us cross over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; perhaps the LORD will work for us, for the LORD is not restrained to save by many or by few.””
- God does not disappoint!
- God shows Jonathan what he should do.
- Jonathan didn’t wait to act!
- He got busy doing what needed to be done!
- Bozez means slippery, like slippery slope. And on the other side is Seneh, meaning thorny cliff. You have Jonathan and his armor-bearer literally walking down a path between a slippery slope and a thorny cliff to an enemy outpost that is sure to put up a fight.
- Was Jonathan “Testing” God?
- Jonathan needed guidance.
- This wasn’t a “fleece moment” like Gideon.
- Jonathan isn’t saying “prove to me.”
- He is saying to God, “Guide me.”
- The Philistines “Invite” Jonathan to come up “so they can tell him something.”
- Jonathan & his armor bearer climb a slope so steep that they have to do it on hands and feet.
- They are probably pretty winded when they get to the top!
- Jonathan didn’t fight alone!
- He has his armor bearer as backup.
- Why?
- Strength in numbers…
- Mentally and Physically
His armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart; turn yourself, and here I am with you according to your desire.”
- Jonathan’s bravery inspires his armor bearer, and vice versa.
- It’s just smart to have someone who can watch your back!
- Jonathan’s faith in action had a great effect!
- Saul is motivated by Jonathan’s actions.
- There’s a commotion going on in the camp of the Philistines.
- One of their outposts has been attacked, 20 men killed, and the rest have run back to the main body of the army.
- There’s “trembling in the camp.”
- This large group of men are uneasy. They are probably milling around like scared sheep.
- Then God sends an earthquake!
- Now they are really rattled.
- The army of the Philistines begins to “melt away.”
- Probably a trickle at first, then a full on stampede of frightened men.
- This gets Saul thinking that something is going on that he needs to know about.
- So, first thing he does is to see if anyone is missing.
- Sure enough, Jonathan and his armor bearer are nowhere to be found.
- He then calls for the Ark of the Covenant to be brought to him.
- Perhaps Saul thought that bringing the Ark near to him would force God to tell him what he wanted to know.
- It may be that Saul is trying to “get back into God’s graces, but without true repentance.
- The “Priest on duty” Ahijah, is “wearing an Ephod.”
- Is this “THE Ephod” worn by the High priest? Probably.
- What’s probably going on here is that Saul wants the High Priest to consult the Lord about what to do.
- But in verse 19 Saul tells the Priest “Withdraw your hand,” he seems to basically be telling him, “Never mind. I don’t need to consult God. I got this!”
- This attitude is what cost Saul and his descendants the Kingdom.
- The people are motivated by Jonathan’s action.
- What’s left of the army goes on the attack!
- When the Hebrews attack, the Philistines are so scared, they begin fighting and stabbing each other to get away!
- The “Turncoat” Hebrews change loyalties.
- They have been sellouts to the Philistines, but now they change sides and attack as well.
- The deserters even come out of hiding to help chase and kill the Philistines.
- What should have been a huge victory for the Philistines, becomes a great victory for the Hebrews, thanks to God’s intervention and Jonathan’s willingness to let God use him!
Conclusion: What can we learn from this great battle?
- Obviously, the first thing to get out of this is to trust God!
- True faith isn’t just about “head knowledge… Assent. It’s also about doing what God wants you to do.
- The great people of faith in the Bible didn’t always know what God had in store for them, but they trusted Him to take care of things.
- Don’t go into battle alone if you can help it!
- Jonathan had his armor bearer for back up.
- Jesus sent His disciples out in pairs.
- Scripture tells us that if we are going to confront a brother about a sin, take someone with you.
- It helps us stand firm, knowing someone has our back!
- When you trust God and get on with the battle, it will have a great effect on others.
- Some will join in with pure motives.
- They have been waiting and hoping for someone to lead the way in following Jesus.
- Others may be encouraged to return to service by seeing what you are doing.
- They may climb out of their “hidey hole” and get busy serving.
- There may even be some people who have “changed sides” who come back!
- They may have been hurt by someone in church
- Intentionally, or otherwise.
- They may have become disillusioned when some plan or pet project didn’t happen.
- There will also be some people who don’t appreciate being bothered.
- It may be your pagan neighbor…
- It may be the “lukewarm Christian” sitting a few seats away in church.
- God will use your faithful action to accomplish HIS purpose.
- It may go exactly as you think it will.
- It may go in the exact opposite direction of how you think it should.
- Some of God’s people may want to change your perfect idea…. Don’t be afraid to let them have their say.
- But keep at it! God has a plan.
- When God calls you to do something, don’t worry about who gets the credit!
- I’m sure Saul was quick to remind everyone that as King, he was leading the army.
- Even if no one else knows, God knows what we did and how hard it was.
- Don’t let yourself become like Saul!
- “I want God’s blessings, but in the end, it’s all about ME ME ME ME!!!!
- I’ll make a show of trusting God.
- I’ll make a show of consulting God.
- I’ll make a show of being a man or woman of God.
- But ultimately, I want to be in charge!!!
TAKE THE FIGHT TO THE ENEMY!!!
