Audio Access Available Above
“A Portrait Of What God Seeks” • 5.10.15 • Calvary Christian
Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- In our previous study, King Saul had taken
matters into his own hands and offered a burnt sacrifice, using the pressing
circumstances and Samuel's absence as his excuse.
- Aside from being told that he was now a
rejected King, Saul is also aware that God is actively looking for a
replacement, a person who will live after the heart of God.
- In the section before us, I can't help but
believe that we have an accurate portrait, a wonderful picture of just such a
man in the person of Saul's son, Jonathan.
- Our text reveals a three part structure,
which looks like this:
I. The Grave Situation (13:15-21)
II. The Great Expectation (14:1-15)
III. The Grand Realization (14:16-23)
Text
I. The Grave Situation (13:15-21)
• I
Samuel 13:15-18 : "Then Samuel arose
and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people
present with him, about six hundred men. Saul, Jonathan his
son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the
Philistines encamped in Michmash. Then raiders came
out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto
the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, another company
turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the
border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness." : The first thing you notice here is that
beside the prophet Samuel, 1,400 men have deserted from Saul's side.
- Saul and Jonathan have now
combined the remnants of their two forces into one force, while the Philistine
force remained encamped in Michmash, just 5 miles from them!
- Saul has just been told of God's
rejection of him. Without blinking an eye, he simply continues on and counts
his depleted force. No repentance. No stepping aside. "Let's just carry on
men!"
- Many who had been with him were
hiding themselves wherever they could find a place, including the Eastern shore
of the Jordan River! (I Samuel 13:6,7)
- Sadly, we'll also discover that
there were men who defected to the Philistines camp! The scene in Gibeah of
Benjamin, Saul's home town, was a sad sight to behold.
- Additionally, the Philistines
are active and beginning to flush out the Israelites, sending raiding parties
in three different directions. They are searching for men and scavenging for
food.
- The men of Israel are
undermanned, nearly surrounded and outgunned! Look at verse 19.
• I Samuel 13:19-21 : "Now there was no blacksmith to be
found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, 'Lest the
Hebrews make swords or spears.' But all the Israelites would go down to the Philistines to
sharpen each man’s plowshare, his mattock, his ax, and his sickle; and the charge for a sharpening was
a pim for the plowshares, the mattocks, the forks, and the axes, and
to set the points of the goads. So it came about, on the day of battle, that there was neither
sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and
Jonathan. But they were found with Saul and Jonathan his son. And the garrison of the Philistines
went out to the pass of Michmash." : This
makes matters profoundly worse! Israel is virtually defenseless!
-
Their "army" had been members of a theocratic government, which only
required that they stand still while God scattered the enemy before them!
-
The people of God only had to chase and dispose of the enemy in a hand to hand
manner. The Philistines represented an entirely new kind of threat.
-
Their use of metallurgy advanced them greatly beyond the people of Israel and
the Philistines monopolized the trade, broadening their war chest with every
"pim" they collected.
-
Saul and Jonathan alone had swords. On the human plane, Israel needed men and
weapons! They had neither! Finally, you can score a great strategic location to
the Philistines
-
They secured the city and pass of Michmash which is a city on a hill surrounded
by a series of rolling hills and craggy ravines.
-
They had the high ground and controlled the routes leading up to the city. By
all accounts, Israel is in a very precarious position. Take a look at chapter 14.
II. The Great Expectation (14:1-15)
• I Samuel
14:1-3 : "Now it happened one day
that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come,
let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.' But he
did not tell his father. And
Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is
in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men. Ahijah
the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s
priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that
Jonathan had gone." : Jonathan's action of
attacking the garrison at Geba in 13:3
had provoked this response from the Philistines. But instead of hiding, he's
continuing to advance!
- It began in his mind as the majority of the
force sat around waiting for Saul to consider the next move. Then, he bravely
spoke his plan to the one guy that would listen! His Father? No!
- He spoke it to the man that accompanied him
in every military exercise! He shared this with a man who was as much as
warrior as he was! "Let's go see some Philistines!"
- This younger man, the armor bearer, would carry
additional weapons for his master and would be tasked with finishing off his
master's wounded victims.
- There is a glint in Jonathan's eyes as he
suggests this action of going over to the Philistines on the other side of the
gully. The Spirit tells us that he didn't tell Saul? Why?
- Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree, on
the outskirts of town, near the border of Migron. He and his 600 men are just
sitting there in a defensive posture, hoping to stave off an attack.
- The commentators are divided in their
assessment of Jonathan's actions. Was he wrong for provoking action outside of
the chain of command or was he right for recognizing God's command?
- Remember that God is looking for a man who
heart is after His own! The Philistines have no business in Israel and their
polytheistic ways were abominable to God! One cannot fault Jonathan!
- Jonathan's aggression and desire for action
is admirable and completely in line with God's heart! It's sad that he is
leading in that department while the leader, his Father, sits out of position.
- Jonathan is on the hunt, looking for an
advantage, seeking an open door, armed with his heart full for God. Saul is
sitting with hundreds of advisors and religious symbols waiting.
- To bolster his religious profile, Saul has
called for the Priest Ahijah, a relative to Eli, who wore the Ephod. This is a
strange scene.
- Samuel has already disclosed God's
displeasure with Saul's action of offering the burnt sacrifice. He's not here
with Saul, so the King turns to Ahijah.
- Did you notice Ahijah's lineage? Ichabod's
name means, "The glory is fleeting."
- He was born the day that his Father Phineas
and his grandfather Eli died in Shiloh. Ahijah is Ichabod's nephew and he has
the family ephod, which contained the deciding stones.
- God clearly spoke through Samuel that each
priest from Eli's line would be a grief to Eli's heart, indicating God's
rejection of his line as priests. Saul is desperate!
- The rejected King brings in the rejected
Priest! Ahijah is standing in, holding on to that vestment related to God's
direction, which was useless to a man that God refused to work with!
- Saul is a man who is fine with symbols,
religious celebrities and ceremony. He's just not any good at obedience to the
Lord. Ahijah's presence is a further demonstration of that.
- That sort of thinking leads a person to adopt
a defensive posture, rather than looking to be on the offensive for God. Notice
as the story returns to Jonathan.
• I Samuel
14:4-7 : "Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the
Philistines’ garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on
the other side. And the name of one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.
The front
of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite
Gibeah. Then
Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, 'Come, let us go over to the
garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing
restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.' So his armorbearer said to him, 'Do
all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your
heart.'" : The two men have begun to venture
out and are now on a road between to peaks which face each other called Bozez
and Seneh.
- "Shining" and "Thorny"
provides a great thin roadway which naturally neutralized a large force. An
army would be forced to line up single file to advance a battle.
- Jonathan can't let go of what he sees as an
opportunity. Having moved in the direction of the enemy and received a better
look at their location, he now focuses on a single garrison.
- Do you notice how God moved Him? First, there
was a general direction. Second, there was a specific location. Now, there is a
defined action, all of which was revealed as Jonathan moved!
- Did Saul see any of this? He could not have
seen it from his location! Neither will you see what God intends if you stand
still, afraid to follow His first command!
- If you have never surrendered your life to
Christ, that is His first command! Acknowledge Him as Lord and name His Son the
Savior of your soull!
- If you are newly saved, you need to look for
every opportunity to grow. Sunday is mandatory. Weekly fellowship is
indispensable. Daily reading is essential! Movement fuels growth!
- If you are not serving, you must seek the
Lord and ask Him to reveal your gifting! Hint: it will be an area where you
already see a lack! Until you move, you won't see anything!
- What Jonathan sees now is one garrison of
uncircumcised Philisines. This displays the key element of Jonathan's advance.
This is not a racial distinction. This is a relationship designation!
- Circumcision to a Jew, was a covenant seal of
fidelity, marking a cooperative trust in the living God! He would indeed move
on behalf of His covenant people to protect and defend.
- The Philistines were not in a covenant
relationship to God. They are trespassers on God's land! This is the source of
Jonathan's outrage. Note the source of Jonathan's output!
- Jonathan believes that God might work for
them! His thinking is that God might be behind this. He might have inspired
this line of thinking and He may be inclined to deliver that day!
- This is not the thinking of a mad man or a
suicidal kamikaze warrior. Jonathan's suggestion is in fact, the most
reasonable course of action! Jonathan was a man familiar with the Word of God!
- He knows the promises of Moses, which assured
that 1 man would put a thousand to flight when Israel obeyed the Lord. (Deuteronomy 28:7 and 32:30)
- Joshua, after the conquest of Canaan,
reflects upon the truth of that promise.
• Joshua
23:9-11 : "For the Lord has driven out from before you great and strong nations; but as
for you, no one has been able to stand against you to this day. One man of you shall chase a
thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you,
as He promised you. Therefore take careful heed to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God." : Jonathan knows God's promise in His Word as well as His history of action, both ancient and
recent!
- He remembers the story of Shamgar's ox goad
which beat back 600 Philistines in Judges
4.
- He remembers the rain that fell and
neutralized Sisera's chariots, leading Barak to victory in Judges 5 and 6. More
recently, he saw God scatter the enemy at Samuel's prayer! (I Sam. 7:9,10)
- Jonathan knows that God doesn't require
numbers. He could simply save with the two of them! He assumes God's presence and wonders what He would do if he
tried something!
- Notice the armorbearers response: "Do
all that is in your heart! Go then."
- He didn't stop there! "You go and I'll
wait here!" No, he said "Go for it and I am going with you, trusting
what the Lord has put in your heart!"
- Is it any wonder that Jonathan could confide
in him? And yet, with men like this, there also needs to be a balance. Take a
look at verse 8.
•
I Samuel 14:8-10 : "Then Jonathan said, 'Very well, let
us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until
we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, ‘Come up to
us,’ then we will go up. For the Lord has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to
us.'" : Jonathan's venture was calculated.
He had an idea and a desire, but he would not move forward without God's direct
confirmation!
-
I am not a big fan of signs or fleeces, especially today with a completed canon
of scripture, the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit and a flood of likeminded,
fellow believers at my disposal.
-
But when you are in the heat of the moment and there is an opportunity, God
will reveal a way that will keep you on the right track! But do, please, notice
the specifity of the sign.
-
"If they say 'wait there' we know it's a no. If they say, 'come up, we
know it's a go!'' Additionally, take note of the fact that the sign for go
meant a counter intuitive approach!
-
On the road, Jonathan had the advantage. Having to go up to the garrison, would
have put them in immediate danger! Let your sign be one that only God could
receive glory from!
•
I Samuel 14:11-15 : "So both of them showed themselves
to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, 'Look, the
Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.' Then the men of the garrison called
to Jonathan and his armorbearer, and said, 'Come up to us, and we will show you
something.' Jonathan
said to his armorbearer, 'Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.' And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees with his
armorbearer after him; and they fell before Jonathan. And as he came after him,
his armorbearer killed them. That first
slaughter which Jonathan and his armorbearer made was about twenty men within
about half an acre of land. And there was
trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and
the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great
trembling." : The two Israelis revealed their
position and drew the Philistines response. They have no idea who this is. They
believe it to be another one of the hiding horde.
-
When they uttered the phrase "Come up" you can almost see Jonathan
turning to his armor bearer with a smile on his face. "God is with
us!"
-
Notice verse 13. Jonathan climbed up
on his hands and knees, thoroughly defenseless and vulnerable to attack, but
determined to follow God's lead.
-
In one motion, Jonathan climbed the hill and began the slaughter, he and his
armor bearer taking out nearly 20 men within about a half acre of land. What
does that tell you?
-
The Philistines were running from Jonathan and the armor bearer! They had to
chase the Philistines that were running away and dispose of them in mid flight!
-
All this time, we have been consumed by what Israel saw. When Jonathan and his
armor bearer acted, what was it that the Philistines saw? Whatever it was, they
responded in sheer terror!
-
The fear that this generated went through the entire camp of the Philistines,
as well as those that were raiding. Note the repetition of the word
"trembling."
-
God had moved through two men who were confident in His ability. Their enemies
quaked. Those that threatened them quaked! The earth even quaked underneath
them!
-
Jonathan had done what he could do, trusting that God would then do what He
could do!
III. The Grand Realization (14:16-23)
•
I Samuel 14:16-19 : "Now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah
of Benjamin looked, and there was the multitude, melting away; and they went
here and there. Then Saul said to the people who were with him, 'Now call the
roll and see who has gone from us.' And when they had called the roll,
surprisingly, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. And Saul said to Ahijah, 'Bring the
ark of God here' (for at that time the ark of God was
with the children of Israel). Now it happened, while Saul talked to the priest, that the noise
which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase; so Saul said to
the priest, 'Withdraw your hand.'" : Back in
Gibeah, the men assigned to the watch witnessed an odd sight, as the Philistine
multitude began to dissolve before Israel's eyes.
-
The text further indicates that they were beating on each other as they left,
as a person strikes upon something with a hammer! They were doing this, as they
scattered in every direction.
-
It was only at this moment that the people discovered that Jonathan and his
armor bearer were missing and only because Saul sought to discover who was
stealing his thunder!
-
The enemy is dissolving before your eyes and you take roll!? Saul can't get the glory, but he can
call for the Ephod.
-
What a useless gesture, as the enemy continued to fall apart apart from their
involvement! He finally puts an end to the farce when he realizes the moment
for glory is passing.
•
I Samuel 14:20-23 : "Then Saul and all the people who
were with him assembled, and they went to the battle; and indeed every man’s
sword was against his neighbor, and there was very great confusion. Moreover the Hebrews who were with
the Philistines before that time, who went up with them into the camp from the
surrounding country, they also joined the Israelites who were with Saul and
Jonathan. Likewise
all the men of Israel who had hidden in the mountains of Ephraim, when they
heard that the Philistines fled, they also followed hard after them in the
battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the
battle shifted to Beth Aven." : When
Saul and the army finally made it to the battle, they had little to do, as the
Philistines were doing it to themselves!
-
Why would Israel need swords? Let's just have the Philistines use theirs
against each other!
-
The Philistines were in a complete panic! You get the picture of men in such
fear that they are striking out all around them in order to protect their
lives!
-
Now that the battle is going in the people's way, those who had defected to the
Philistines returned to the camp of Israel, as did all the men who were hidden
in the mountains of Ephraim!
-
There's nothing like front runners! There they are when the victory is secured!
Their bravery all of a sudden cannot be challenged!
-
They are the ones running after the Philistines, screaming out to them,
"Cowards!" And once again, who gets the credit for saving Israel? The
Lord saved Israel that day!
-
The innumerable Philistine force whose strength was in their combined number and
unity, was driven away. The Lord saved the day, but Israel would continue to
battle.
-
You know what: This is the story of every Christian I know! The war is never
over! It just moves from one place to another!
-
The battle merely shifts to another place, because your enemy will never admit
defeat!
Conclusion
-
Primarily, you can look at this chapter and see God raising up a man after His
heart and using his courage and personality to deliver His chosen people from
their enemies!
- He
didn't claim victim status. He didn't look at Saul and resign himself to
"that guy" or "that rule" or "that governor."
- Jonathan
looked to a very capable God and believed that if He wanted to, He could work
on their behalf as they moved in faith!
-
Principally, you might be facing insurmountable odds. You might be undermanned,
outgunned and out of position. What does that inspire in you?
- Are
you a Saul, fearfully waiting and hoping for some kind of miraculous relief or
are you a Jonathan, excitedly seeking out an opportunity for God to work on
your behalf?
-
There are too many of the former! I pray that God may make you and I more like
the latter, the person after God's heart!
No comments:
Post a Comment