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1st
Samuel 13:15-23 “And
Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that were
present with him, about six hundred men. 16
And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the
people that were present with
them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but
the Philistines encamped in Michmash. 17
And the spoilers came out of the camp of
the Philistines in three companies: one
company turned unto the way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of
Shual: 18 and
another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way
of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. 19
Now there was no smith found throughout
all the land of Israel: for the
Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: 20
But all the Israelites went down to the
Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his ax, and
his mattock. 21 Yet
they had a file for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and
for the axes, and to sharpen the goads. 22
So it came to pass in the day of battle,
that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people
that were with Saul and Jonathan:
but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found. 23
And the garrison of the Philistines went
out to the passage of Michmash.” Introduction [Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED653] “But
we are here in 1st Samuel chapter 14, we come to a remarkable
chapter here. If you remember, Jonathan,
Saul’s son took it upon himself back in chapter 13, verse 3, “Jonathan smote
the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba.” And the Philistines heard of it, “and Saul
blew the trumpet throughout all of the land, saying, Let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had
smitten a garrison of the Philistines,” which wasn’t true, Jonathan had
smitten them, “and that Israel also was had in abomination with the
Philistines. And the people were called
together after Saul to Gilgal.” (verses 3c-4)
And then it gives us a picture the Philistines in verse 5 of
chapter 13, “And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight
with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and” all
translations agree, “people as the sand which is on the sea shore in
multitude: and they came up, and pitched
in Michmash, eastward from Bethaven.” your translation might say 3,000 chariots,
there’s a dispute about the number. The
men of Israel when they heard began to hide themselves, they hid themselves in
the caves and in the thickets and so forth, and Saul was left with 600
men. He took it upon himself then to
offer a sacrifice, Samuel came and told him that God was giving his kingdom to
another, we came as far as verse 14 last week in chapter 13, it says in verse
15, “And Samuel arose, and gat him up from Gilgal unto Gibeah of
Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people that
were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the
people that were present with
them, abode in Gibeah of Benjamin: but
the Philistines encamped in Michmash.
And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three
companies: one company turned unto the
way that leadeth to Ophrah, unto the land of Shual: and another company turned the way to Beth-horon: and another company turned to the way
of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.”
(verses 15-18) Now if you have an
army that is like the sand of the sand of the sea, logistically, you have to
send out these raiding parties, just to try to provide enough as far as food
and supplies and so forth, so that’s what’s taking place here [Napoleon had
said that an army marches on its stomach].
“Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews
make them swords or spears:” (verse 19) so archeologists have
concurred metallurgy was much in the hands of the Philistines at this point in
time, not in the hands of the Israelites.
I’m thankful that in my life there was a “Smith” who was able to put a
sword in my hand, that was Chuck [see https://unityinchrist.com/history/smith.htm],
that’s a different story. “But all
the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share,
and his coulter, and his ax, and his mattock.” (verse 20) even their
agricultural tools, they went down and paid the Philistines to sharpen
them. It says “Yet they had a file
for the mattocks, and for the coulters, and for the forks, and for the axes,
and to sharpen the goads.” (verse 21) it seems somewhere in Israel someone
had a file for the mattocks, for the coulters, for the forks, for the axes and
to sharpen the goads, “So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there
was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were
with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul
and with Jonathan his son was there found.” (verse 22) so Saul at least had
a sword, we don’t know, probably a few men around him also did, and Jonathan
had a sword, the rest of the Israelites were armed with agricultural weapons
and so forth. “And the garrison of
the Philistines went out to the passage of Michmash.” (verse 23) So you have this army without number,
unimaginable to us, and they’re up on this high plain, and part of them, a
garrison of them moved to this passage, this path through the mountains,
through the crags by Michmash and set themselves up in a strategic place
there. And this will bring us to an
attitude that Jonathan, who, when you look at his dad and all the excuses Saul
made and all the things he did wrong, it is remarkable that he ever raised a
son like Jonathan.” (That brings us to
chapter 14.) 1st
Samuel 14:1-52 “Now
it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young
man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines’
garrison, that is on the other side.
But he told not his father. 2
And Saul tarried in the uttermost part
of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were
about six hundred men; 3 And
Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of
Eli, the LORD’s
priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And
the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. 4
And between the passages, by which
Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a
sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of one was Bozez, and the
name of the other Seneh. 5 The
forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and
the other southward over against Gibeah. 6
And Jonathan said to the young man that
bare his armour, Come, let us go over unto the garrison of these
uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD
will work for us: for there is no
restraint to the LORD
to save by many or few. 7 And
his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee
according to thy heart. 8 Then
said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will
discover ourselves unto them. 9 If
they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in
our place, and will not go up unto them. 10
But if they say thus, Come up unto us;
then we will go up: for the LORD
hath delivered them into our hand; and this shall be a sign unto us. 11
And both of them discovered themselves
unto the garrison of the Philistines:
and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the
holes where they had hid themselves. 12
And the men of the garrison answered
Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a
thing. And Jonathan said unto his
armourbearer, Come up after me: for the
LORD hath
delivered them into the hand of Israel. 13
And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands
and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his
armourbearer slew after him. 14 And
that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about
twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of
oxen might plow. 15 And
there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also
trembled, and the earth quaked: so it
was a very great trembling. 16 And
the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude
melted away, and they went on beating down one another. 17
Then said Saul unto the people that were
with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan
and his armourbearer were not there. 18
And Saul said unto Ahiah [God’s
high priest under Saul, who was the great grandson of Eli], Bring hither the
ark of God. For the ark of God was at
that time with the children of Israel. 19
And it came to pass, while Saul talked
unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines
went on and increased: and Saul said
unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand. 20
And Saul and all the people that were
with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against
his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. 21
Moreover the Hebrews that were
with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from
the country round about, even they also turned to be with the
Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. 22
Likewise all the men of Israel which had
hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines
fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. 23
So the LORD
saved Israel that day: and the battle
passed over unto Bethaven. 24 And
the men of Israel were distressed that day:
for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that
eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine
enemies. So none of the people tasted any
food. 25 And
all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the
ground. 26 And
when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man
put his hand to his mouth: for the
people feared the oath. 27 But
Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that
was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his
mouth; and his eyes were enlightened. 28
Then answered one of the people, and
said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be
the man that eateth any food this day.
And the people were faint.
29 Then said Jonathan, My father hath
troubled the land: see, I pray you, how
mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. 30
How much more, if haply the people had
eaten freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? For had
there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? 31
And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. 32
And the people flew upon the spoil, and
took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the
blood. 33 Then
they told Saul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the LORD.
in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed: roll a great stone unto me this day. 34
And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among
the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man
his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD
in eating with the blood. And all the
people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them
there. 35 And
Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built
unto the LORD.
36 And
Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until
the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good
unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us
draw near hither unto God. 37 And
Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou
deliver them in to the hand of Israel?
But he answered him not that day. 38
And Saul said, Draw ye near hither, all
the chief of the people: and know and
see wherein this sin hath been this day. 39
For, as the LORD
liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely
die. But there was not a man
among all the people that answered him. 40
Then he said 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. 41 Therefore
Saul said unto the LORD
God of Israel, Give a perfect lot.
And Saul and Jonathan were taken:
but the people escaped. 42 And
Saul said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. 43
Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him, and said, I did but
taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand, and,
lo, I must die. 44 And
Saul answered, God do so and more also:
for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. 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. 46
Then Saul went up from following the
Philistines: and the Philistines went to
their own place. 47 So
Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his enemies on every
side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and against Edom, and
against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and withersoever he turned himself, he vexed them.
48 And
he gathered an host, and smote the Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the
hands of them that spoiled them. 49
Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and
Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of
his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the
name of the younger Michal: 50 And
the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his host was
Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. 51
And Kish was the father of Saul;
and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. 52
And there was war against the
Philistines all the days of Saul: and
when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.” Saul’s
Son Jonathan, Incredible Man Of Faith “It
says “Now it came to pass upon a day,” and what a day it was, no doubt
it didn’t look different from any other day, “that Jonathan the son of Saul
said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the
Philistines’ garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father.” (verse 1) So, this will be the second time. He went up against the garrison of the
Philistines before. Now the Philistines
have gathered together without number, that hasn’t intimidated Jonathan, he’s quite
a man. And Jonathan seems to be able to
look at his circumstances in light of God, instead of looking at God in light
of circumstances, which many people do, they’re overwhelmed, things go on in
their lives that seem unfair, hard to understand, harsh, it seems like all of
the odds are against them, and they judge God relative to the circumstances in
life. And it’s hard for any of us not to
fall into that sometimes. But Jonathan
was clearly a man who viewed his circumstances in light of God, instead of God
in light of his circumstances, and he looked at a multitude that would have
been just awe-inspiring to anyone, and he says to his armourbearer ‘Well,
look’s like it’s up to me and you. What
about if we go up there to the passage by Michmash and head into the Philistine
army and see what might happen, what about we take a shot at this?’ But it says “he told not his father.” Now his father we’re told is sitting
underneath the pomegranate tree in Migron,
God knows just where he is. And
I’m sure Saul would not have understood this at all, Saul’s not a man of
faith. Saul would have probably said to
Jonathan ‘Don’t do me any favours, don’t provoke them again, we’re in the
mess we’re in now because the last time you got a bright idea to go up to the
garrison of the Philistines.’ So it
says that “he told not his father.” I
don’t think that he ever would have understood.
And the LORD
tells us “And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a
pomegranate tree which is in Migron:
and the people that were with him were about six hundred
men;” (verse 2) he was up near where he lived in Gibeah, the fortress there
in Benjamin, “under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron:” God’s
watching him, he even knew the tree that he was under, relaxing, “and the
people that were with him were about six hundred men” so he’s
got about 600 guys with him. He’s not
happy with the odds at all when he looks over the walls at Gibeah and see
Philistines like the sand on the seashore.
He’s just staying in the fortress there at Gibeah, sitting somewhere in
the city under a pomegranate tree in the shade, relaxing. Jonathan is not content with any of
that. It says “And Ahiah, the son of
Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s
priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod.” (verse 3)
I guess if you’d got named Ahitub you’d be angry enough to name your son
Ahiah. But “Ahiah, the son of Ahitub,
Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s
priest in Shiloh,” a line of the
priesthood that had been refused now by the LORD,
“wearing an ephod. And the people
knew not that Jonathan was gone.” [Comment:
this short verse gives a partial lineage here, if you trace it out elsewhere, Eli has Phinehas, who has two sons, Ahitub and
Ichabod (Ichabod being born as his mother receives news that the Ark has been
taken by the Philistines and her husband is now dead). It seems Ichabod has no sons, but Ahitub has
a son and names him Ahiah, who is now God’s high priest to Saul. Ahiah will have a son and name him Ahimelech,
who as high priest later in Saul’s life, ends up giving David Goliath’s sword
and is killed at the order of Saul by Doeg, Saul’s evil henchman. But Ahimelech has a son named Abiathar, who
then flees to David after his father’s death and becomes God’s high priest to
David, king of Israel, who is later deposed of the high priesthood by king
Solomon, David’s son. That’s this line
of high priests, which ultimately ends with Abiathar, and then switches over to
another family line of Aaron.
Interesting a tiny genealogy showing up in verse 3, if you trace it out
elsewhere.] We think we’re just hearing
this fast report of the ephod, because the Urim and Thummim may be involved
before this is over. The people knew not
that Jonathan was gone. So Jonathan
doesn’t blow the trumpet or make a big deal about himself or his aspirations,
he doesn’t need to be patted on the back by anyone else. He’s very admirable, we all of us know people
like that in the church, they serve, they give themselves, they don’t have
websites and Myspaces about themselves and everything they’re doing [now that
would be Facebook accounts], they’re content at the end of the day to know they
pleased the Lord, they don’t need to be patted on the back by any man. They’re very content to have the Lord pat
them on the back. And it seems Jonathan
is very much like that, the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. “And between the passages, by which
Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines’ garrison, there was a
sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of one was Bozez,” which
means “shining” or “glistening,” the sun must have hit that first, “and the
name of the other Seneh.” (verse 4) which is a high or a lofty crag, it has
that idea, sometimes it can mean “thorny,” but difficult terrain. And that doesn’t seem to effect Jonathan’s
faith at all, he’s gotta go uphill through craggy territory to come into this
passage to Michmash where the Philistine garrison would meet them. The forefront of the one was situated
northward, the one crag over against Michmash, and the other was southward over
against Gibeah, and they’re there today by the way, when you go to Israel
sometimes the tourguide will point out these two crags, still there. Now remarkable, listen to what it says. “And Jonathan said to the young man that
bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these
uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD
will work for us: for there is no
restraint to the LORD to
save by many or by few.” (verse 6) one of the most remarkable statements in all
of the Bible. Him and his armourbearer
are going to go and attack an army that looks like the sand by the seashore. His attitude is, ‘You know, let’s go up
against this garrison of these uncircumcised.’ What he’s saying is, ‘These Philistines
are outside of the Covenant, who do they think they are? I’m going to give these sand-of-the-seashore
a piece of my mind, I don’t care how many there are, they’re uncircumcised,
they’re outside the Covenant, we’re inside the Covenant with our God, he’s our
Father nationally, he’s our God, who do they think they are?’ And there’s a jealousy that burns in the heart
of Jonathan on behalf of the LORD. And he’s willing to step out and do the kind
of thing, that often we’re not very comfortable stepping out and doing,
stepping beyond our comfort zone sometime to do something that the Lord would
put in front of us. He says ‘Let’s
go, let’s see what the LORD
might do, for there is no restraint to the LORD
to save, by many, by few. Look, he parted the Red Sea, he parted the
Jordan River, made the walls of Jericho fall down, there’s no problem here,
God’s at work.’ And
he’s gonna move. Now look, we’re never
recommending, as we go through Bible lessons, to be nuts. That’s not the point here. He’s not insane as he’s doing this. He has some grounds. Leviticus had said ‘And
five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand
to flight, and your enemies shall fall before you with the sword.’ Again, in Deuteronomy, ‘the LORD
shall cause thy enemies that rise up against thee, to be smitten before thy
face. They shall come out against thee
one way, and they shall flee before thee seven ways.’ Ah,
again in Deuteronomy chapter 32, it
had said this, ‘How shall one chase a thousand, and how shalt two put ten
thousand to flight, except their Rock had sold them, and the LORD
had shut them up.’ Unless it is the LORD
doing it, it isn’t as though, I’m sure Jonathan knew these verses, I’m sure he
thought about this, I think Jonathan was in love with the heroes of the past,
in the nation, I think if Jonathan was alive today he would have loved Spurgeon
and Whitfield, Paul the apostle, and Peter, James and John, Peter, Paul and
Mary and all of them. I just think he
was that kind of a man. So it isn’t as
though he has no basis for what he’s gonna do.
Listen, stepping out or acting on the promises of God is faith. If you and I act on the promises of God,
that’s faith. If we’re in some
circumstance and something’s going on in our life and in our heart and we feel,
‘Lord, you promised, Lord, I don’t know, this is really hard, I just can’t
escape this, you know I read this verse last week, I got in the car, turned the
radio on, gives the same verse, I got to work and some guy said ‘Hey, guess
what verse,’ and there’s stuff cooking there, and you have the promise of
God and you step out on that, that is faith.
If you act without God’s promise, it’s presumption, if you just think
you’re going to do some great thing, and you have no basis for it, you have no
promise for it, you just end up looking like a screwy Christian. Jonathan no doubt, has the Word of the LORD
burning in his heart, ‘LORD,
you said it, LORD
you’ve got it, LORD
you’ve put the record of the heroes of our people in front of us, and LORD
you promised that one can put a thousand to flight, two can put ten thousand to
flight LORD,
that our enemies would come one way and they’d flee in a thousand directions LORD. What should we do here?’ and it’s burning
in his heart, and he finally says to his armourbearer, ‘Let’s just go,
let’s see what the LORD
might do, you know, he’s not
constrained, he can do anything, he can deliver by many, he can deliver by
few.’
And sometimes for you and I, maybe it’s just someone in our family we’ve
been afraid to witness to them.
Sometimes maybe it’s a circumstance with a circle of friends, and
there’s compromise or there’s something going on. Sometimes maybe it’s a family having a
difficult time and you know the Lord’s telling you to pray for them, to support
them, give to them, do something. There
are those times in all of our lives, we’re all able ministers in the New
Testament, and the Lord might be telling us ‘You step out here.’ Now, he’s not gonna tell you ‘I want you
to walk on the water over to your friends boat.’ You really don’t have a basis for that in the
New Testament, I mean there are some things.
But if you have his promise and you have his Word, and you are enabled
by the Holy Spirit to step out upon the promises of God, that’s faith. And as I look at him, look, this is
remarkable. I think this brings joy to
the heart of God. And the reason I think
that, is because God’s Word says that God’s joy is our strength, it says the
joy of the LORD
is our strength. We always interpret
that the wrong way. It doesn’t mean if I
jump up and down and sing songs I’ll be strong, the joy of the Lord is my
strength, that’s not what it means. You
and I have all seen people jump up and down and sing songs and crash and
burn. What it says is, what produces joy
in the heart of God, is when he sees his children being strong in faith, the
joy of the LORD
is my strength. And I think the LORD
looked down on Jonathan and said yaaa!
Ya, finally, I’ve got one, I’m gonna wipe this army out, I’ve got one,
it’s all I need, wait till you see this!’
He must have said to the angels, ‘Just watch this, this will blow
your mind.’ “And Jonathan said to
the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison
of these uncircumcised: it may be that
the LORD
will work for us: for there is no
restraint to the LORD
to save by many or by few.” (verse 6) And you can see why he loved David. David as a boy watched, and he’s at least a
decade older than David, David doesn’t seem at this point is born. And it’s remarkable a friendship will
develop, it’s because they had kindred spirits.
Jonathan was there when Goliath was challenging the armies of Israel,
and David as a young boy came and watched the whole thing and said ‘Who
is this uncircumcised Philistine schmilistine, let me go out there, I’ll fix
that guy, who does he think he is?’ and Jonathan said to himself ‘I
remember that spirit, I know what that’s about.’ ‘Let’s go over to the garrison of these
uncircumcised, and you know what? it might just be that the LORD
will work for us, for there is no
restraint to the LORD
to save by man or by few.’ Jonathan’s
Armourbearer Appears To Be A Man Of Faith Also--Jonathan Asks God For A Sign “And
his armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee
according to thy heart.” (verse 7) This
armourbearer is quite a guy, no doubt he’s infected from Jonathan from hanging
around him. ‘ok, you ain’t alone,
it’s me and you, you ain’t getting all of the credit, I’m going here with you,’
remarkably. “Then said
Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover
ourselves unto them.” (verse 8) ‘We’ll
go up through this crag, get through the passage, and we will discover
ourselves, we’ll reveal ourselves unto them, so they can see us.’ and “If they say thus unto us,
Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not
go up unto them.” (verse 9) “But
if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD
hath delivered them into our hand: and
this shall be a sign unto us.” (verse 10) So his
armourbearer says to him ‘Do everything that’s in your heart,’ and
he says ‘Alright, let’s do this, after we get up across the crag here and
we look over and we see the garrison of the Philistines, and that beyond them
we see an army like the sand of the seashore, how about if we do this, we’ll
just jump out and go ‘Na, na, na na, na, here we are!’ we’ll reveal ourselves,
and if they say to us, ‘You guys just stay there until we get there,’ then
we’ll just stay here, we know what’s up.
But if they say to us, ‘You guys come on up here and fight us,’ then we
know the LORD’s
with us, and we’ll go get ‘em!’ I
don’t know if I’m real comfortable with this decision-making method, the
armourbearer thinking ‘Are you sure???’
I don’t think it’s wrong that he’s asking for confirmation, no doubt he
wants to step out, but it’s a very interesting process here. So it says in verse 11, “And both of them
discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews
come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.” because they
had hid themselves in the holes and dens and in the thickets, ‘here’s
some of the ones that were hiding themselves,’ they’re making fun of
Jonathan and his armourbearer--wrong day.
“And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer,
and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come
up after me: for the LORD
hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.” (verse 12) ‘Oh baby, that’s our signal.’ He doesn’t stand around saying now, ‘Maybe
I should put out another fleece,’ … there’s no paralysis of analysis here,
he put this out before the LORD,
it happened, he’s going, he’s going for it, he’s stepping out! Sometimes we sit around and we analyze and we
analyze and we analyze and we never get anything done, we paralyze ourselves
analyzing [analysis paralysis]. No
restriction of the LORD
to save by many or by few. The only way
two guys are going beat them, you know, wipe out a multitude is if God’s with
them, so there’s no use waiting around to check it out one more time, we’re either
insane or we have the LORD’s
leading. And Jonathan climbed up on his
hands and on his feet, look, the terrain must still be tough here, and his
armourbearer after him. And look, it
just says this, “And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet,
and his armourbearer after him: and they
fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.” (verse 13) So Jonathan’s just headed into them,
whacking them with his sword, and evidently as they fall down he keeps moving
and the armourbearer is coming behind him finishing them off, slice, slice,
finishing them off, remarkable. And it
says “And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made,
was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a
yoke of oxen might plow.” (verse 14) the LORD
calls it a
slaughter here. Look what the LORD
tells us, it was within a half acre.
Thanks LORD,
isn’t it remarkable what detail, it’s so precious to the LORD,
he loves that half acre, he knows where that half acre is today, and he wishes
we were all on that half acre, I guarantee you.
He says the slaughter began, it was about a half acre, about half the
sanctuary, and it was one guy with a sword and his armourbearer behind him and
twenty guys against him, that’s not good odds.
But Jonathan just headed in,
whacking, stabbing them, they’re falling down, the armourbearer’s finishing
them off behind him. It was within as it
were about a half acre of land, which is what a yoke of oxen might plow today,
everybody’s going ‘Oh ya, ya.’ The
battle belongs to the LORD,
doesn’t it? Look what it says. “And there was trembling” I like the
way he elaborates on that, “And there was trembling in the host, in the
field, and among all the people: the
garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.” (verse 15)
as they’re killing these 20, guys are falling down screaming, the whole land
starts to rockin’ and rolling, starts shaking and rumbling, the host is
rumbling and trembling it says, people are trembling, the bands that went out
to get supplies, they’re trembling, everything’s trembling here. Notice verse 16, “And the watchmen of Saul
in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they
went on beating down one another.”
The problem is never that Israel’s enemy is too big, the problem is
always that Israel’s faith is too small, not their enemy’s too big, two
guys. Saul’s men are looking over the
walls of Gibeah, they’re held up in the fortress, they’re looking, and Michmash
is up on the other end, they’re seeing the multitude like the sand of the sea,
it says ‘melting away,’ dribbling away, and they’re hacking each
other, hacking each other down it says here, one, two guys in cooperation with
God, it says they were melting away, and they went on beating down one another,
they’re hacking at one another. Saul
Is A Reactive King, Not Proactive “Then
said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is
gone from us. And when they had
numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armourbearer were not there.”
(verse 17) ‘Quick, count, see who in
the world’s out there, see what’s happening, take a count, so who is missing.’ Listen to Saul, “And Saul said unto Ahiah,
Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark
was at that time with the children of Israel.” (verse 18) Now some translations say ‘Bring forth the
ark of God, for the ephod was at that time with the children of Israel,’ the
Septuagint specifically puts “ephod” there, this text, translation has “ark” in
both places. Here’s Saul, like getting
the ‘lucky rabbit’s foot’ again, like he didn’t learn from Eli. The battle already belongs to the LORD,
here’s Jonathan and his armourbearer without the ark, without the ephod,
without anything, and they’re slaughtering a multitude by themselves, and
Saul’s in a fort looking over the wall watching saying ‘What in the
world’s going on?’ and he says ‘Well let’s get the Ark.’ “And it came to pass, while Saul talked
unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines
went on and increased: and Saul said
unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.” (verse 19) Saul says ‘Forget
about the Ark.’ the slaughter is increasing and increasing, he’s
impatient, he says ‘Forget about the Ark.’ “And Saul and all the people that were with
him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against
his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.” (verse 20) people love to join the battle when it’s
already won. You ever notice that? Once a battle’s won all kinds of people are
jumping onboard, they just love to be part of something that’s happening. I can’t blame them I guess. “And Saul and all the people that were with
him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man’s sword was against
his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.” (verse 20) I like that, “discomfiture,” that’s a good
Old Testament word for discombobulated, for they didn’t know who they were
whacking. A divine act is taking place. Look in verse 21, “Moreover the Hebrews that
were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the
camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be
with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.” So there must have been a number of the
Hebrews that had been subjugated by the Philistines, they probably had them
there cooking and drawing water and doing different things, when they saw this,
they fled and joined themselves to Saul and his 600 men, so the army’s growing. “Likewise” it says in verse 22,
“all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when
they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them
in the battle.” So Jonathan’s faith
is snowballing here, what an interesting picture. Listen, faith is contagious, you know, we’re
to stir one another up to faith and good works.
It says not to neglect the gathering together of yourselves, in Hebrews,
not to neglect the gathering together of yourselves. You guys, here we are Wednesday night, we
could be doing other things on a Wednesday night, the Scripture says not to
neglect the gathering together of yourselves, to stir one another up to faith
and to good works, and especially if you see the day drawing
near. If you don’t see the day drawing
near you don’t have a TV. [Comment: Ever since the 24th of February
2022 when Vladimir Putin’s Russian army attacked the Ukraine, causing the
Europeans, especially Germany, to start re-arming their military, and talk of a
United States of Europe becoming prevalent, the day has
been drawing near. What day? see https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm] Especially as you see the day drawing near,
what a wonderful thing, to gather together to worship, to praise and to sing,
to study God’s Word. Faith is
contagious, but look, fear and unbelief, criticism also is contagious. God had said to Israel before they had
entered the land, ‘The officer shall speak further unto the people, they
shall say What man is there that is fearful and fainthearted? Let him go and return unto his house, lest
his brethren’s heart faint as well as his heart,’ when they’re going to
battle. He said if there’s guys in the
army that are fearful and fainthearted, let ‘em go home. Because God said that’s infectious, they’ll
drag other people down, people who are critical and doubtful and they’re
fearful, that infects others. [There is
an episode in Band of Brothers, the one about the Battle of Foy, during
the German shelling of Easy Company’s front lines, where a soldier is clawing
at the ground in abject fear. The
commander sent the soldier back, and out of Easy Company, because fear is
contagious to an army, and Dick Winters couldn’t have even one soldier who had
succumbed to fear remain in his Company, it was too dangerous to allow.]
Interesting picture here, this is gaining in momentum, it started with two
guys. And it says more and more adding
themselves, “So the LORD
saved Israel that day: and the battle
passed over Bethaven.” (verse 23) not Saul. Saul
Stupidly Tries To Take Control Of And Credit For The Miracle “And
the men of Israel were distressed that day:
for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that
eateth any food until evening,
that I may be avenged on mine enemies.
So none of the people tasted any food.” (verse 24) I don’t want to be in this guy’s army,
personally. So none of the people tasted
any food. First of all, it wasn’t Saul’s
battle, it was the LORD’s
battle. It wasn’t Saul’s enemies, it was
the LORD’s
enemies, and it wasn’t Saul being avenged, it was the LORD
and his glory that was being avenged, and he didn’t have anything to do with
it, what a foolish vow. We’re going to
find this guy, and it’s just his pride.
I think he already can’t stand the fact that Jonathan’s in the middle of
it, because he was angry before that Jonathan attacked the garrison of the
Philistines, and he allowed the people to give him the credit for it. Now we’re going to see here, he’s going to
try to take the credit for it again, we’re going to see after the people sing
after David kills Goliath and has victory over the Philistines, they sing ‘Saul
has slain his thousands, David has slain his ten thousands,’ it says
he’s filled with wrath and he’s angry and jealous for David. I think he’s completely just aggravated here
that his son again stepped out without telling him, and the battle, instead of
him saying ‘The battle belongs to the LORD,
God has gained glory,’ this is a miraculous
day, instead he wants to make the people look to him, so he says ‘We’re gonna
fast.’ What a stupid thing to do in
a battle. [Comment: It was Napoleon who said “An army marches
forward on its stomach.”] And these
battles, you know, many of you who have done things physical, people who go to
a gym and work out, boxing or marshal arts, anything cardiovascular or aerobic,
you understand what’s challenged, you watch fighters go three rounds or five
rounds or ten rounds, and it looks like one thing, you get in there and do
that, by the second round you’re ready to drop over dead. And to get on the battle field with swords
and shields, most of them it says are fighting with mattocks and hammers and
agricultural tools, to fight on a battlefield for a prolonged time—and then
Saul, he wants to get the credit, ‘So we’re gonna fast,’ well that’s
really a stupid vow to make, because you get worn out, you get worn down, you
see these guys that do the bike riding, and they’re running out giving them
water, and they’re giving them candy bars, giving all this stuff to give them
the carbs, this is just one of the most foolish, foolish things. And so many times, even through Church
history, man encumbers the work of God with his rules, his methods, his
traditions, so foolish. This day is a day,
it says, it came to pass on a certain day, one of the most remarkable days in
the history of the nation, now Saul opens his mouth again and says ‘Nobody’s
gonna eat until this day is over, that I might be avenged upon my enemies,
nobody’s going to taste any food.’ Verse
25 says, “And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was
honey upon the ground.” You know
there’s never honey on the ground until you’re not allowed to have honey, and
then honey’s all over the ground. You
know how that works? You’re not allowed
to do this, and then it’s there. Just,
always when it’s forbidden it’s just laying around. “And when the people were come into the
wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan heard not when his father
charged the people with the oath:
wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand,
and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were
enlightened.” (verses 26-27) and
notice, “his eyes were enlightened,” he was refreshed. And you know that God had promised to give
them a land that flowed with milk and honey, he must be thinking ‘LORD,
I’m seeing your promises this day, the enemy is fleeing before us, two of us
have put ten thousand to flight, and LORD
now here we are running, this is your land, it flows with milk and honey,’
and it says “he was refreshed.” You guys
ever been in one of those situations where you’re just famished, but we’re
Americans, we never really get…just a Snicker’s Bar, or a Babe Ruth or a
Reese’s one of those, just a Reese’s. I
have people here with problems, they’re up front, they’re going ‘Ooohmmm,
ooohmm,’ I don’t want to hear any paper rattling before the study’s over. He put that honey to his mouth, you guy’s I’m
sure, you’ve sensed, he was refreshed it says, his eyes were enlightened. “Then answered one of the people, and
said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be
the man that eateth any food this day.
And the people were faint. Then
said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been
enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if haply the people had eaten
freely to day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not
been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?” (verses 29-30) ‘You know, if my father hadn’t said this,
and you guys when you’re driving the Philistines running through their camp, if
you could have grabbed provisions, you could have eaten something, maybe this
slaughter would have been complete today if you had the energy, my father has
troubled the land today.’ And it
says, “And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to
Aijalon: and the people were very
faint.” (verse 31) and I’m sure Jonathan was thinking of the victories of
Joshua in the valley of Aijalon, “and
the people were very faint. And the
people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them
on the ground: and the people did eat them
with the blood.” Saul’s
Stupid Vow Robs Israel Of Total Victory Over The Philistines, Almost Gets
Jonathan Killed “And
Saul said, Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until
the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them. And they said, Do whatsoever seemeth good
unto thee. Then said the priest, Let us
draw near hither unto God.” (verse 36) and
the priest says ‘Let’s get God’s direction here, Saul, in this.’ “And Saul asked counsel of God, Shall I
go down after the Philistines? wilt thou
deliver them into the hand of Israel?
But he answered him not that day.” (verse 37) we’re wondering if
there’s the Urim and Thummim involved, whatever way. But look at what it says, “But he answered
him not that day.” should be a capital “H” in your Bible, ‘the LORD
answered him not that day.’ and look what it says, “And Saul said,
Draw ye near hither, all the chief of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been
this day.” (verse 38) Somebody’s
sinning, God won’t answer, there’s a problem, something’s wrong, God’s refusing
to answer, he’s refusing to speak. He
think’s God’s silent because someone’s transgressed his stupid oath, somebody’s
transgressed what he said. He has no
idea here about owning his own sin, making an altar and sacrificing, which was
never his place, and making oaths, which God never prescribed. His says, verse 39, “For, as the LORD
liveth, which saveth Israel, though it
be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die.
But there was not a man among all the people that answered
him.” ‘If there’s a sin somewhere,
even if it’s my own son, he shall surely die.’
I mean, this guy Saul, he’s the
C.E.O. of the stupid vow-factory, it’s unbelievable. He says, ‘even it’s my own son,’ “But
there was not a man among all the people that answered him”
everybody kept quiet because they thought ‘Uh-oh, it is his son, we know
what happened.’ “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.” (verse 40) it seems to be all they
say to him by this time. “Therefore
Saul said unto the LORD
God of Israel, Give a perfect lot.
And Saul and Jonathan were taken:
but the people escaped.” (verse 41) So he’s asking now, Ahiah evidently, to use
the Urim and Thummim casting to make this clear where there’s a problem, and
Saul and Jonathan were taken, remarkably, out of all of the people, those were
the two that were taken, but the people escaped, they weren’t included. Now look, God’s not doing this to humiliate
Jonathan and reveal that Jonathan had sinned in some way, God is clearly
desiring to lift Jonathan before the people as the hero of the day, the man of
faith, and clearly wants to reveal Saul in his foolishness. That’s why he’s allowing this lot to work the
way that it’s working. “And Saul
said, Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son. And Jonathan was taken. Then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou
hast done. And Jonathan told him, and
said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in
mine hand, and, lo, I must die.” (verses 42-43) and Jonathan told
him, ‘Ah, I tasted a little honey,’ you got the whole nation here, the whole
country gathered together, ‘and now I have to die? because I tasted
honey? I wasn’t around here to hear your
vow.’ “And Saul answered, God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan.” (verse
44) thanks dad. Saul’s word was
violated, not God’s, God had made no word that they weren’t to eat honey, God
had made no oath like this. But listen,
we’re seeing over and over and over the weakness of Saul. Saul is the kind of man that saving face for
him is more important than being honest.
He’s so proud that saving face is the bottom line, even at the sake of
his son, even at the sake of doing what he knows is right, he would never come
forward and say ‘I was wrong, I sinned.’
And most likely, if he had done that, the people would have said, ‘Alright,
it’s done, you need to pray, talk with Samuel, get some counsel, let’s move
on.’ But it is an incredible
weakness to be more concerned with saving face than everything else in
life. Because we all make mistakes. And there are times when I’ve had to ask my
kids to forgive me. They didn’t say ‘Well
you’re going to get spanked today dad.’
There are times I’ve had to do that.
And Saul is just not that kind of man.
Look at the people now in verse 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.” (verse 45) ‘He’s the one that God has
used. Saul, we know that.’ Listen,
so the people rescued Jonathan, from their king, who they had come screaming
for, ‘We want a king.’ The people
rescued Jonathan that he died not. Isn’t
it remarkable? Even the people now,
Saul, who didn’t want to loose face even has lost his place with the people. “Then Saul went up from following the
Philistines: and the Philistines went to
their own place.” (verse 46) And of
course it wouldn’t be until under David that this slaughter would be
complete. A
Picture Of Saul’s Royal Line And
verse 47 to the end of the chapter we have kind of a little bit of a picture of
the royal family, very interesting crew.
“So Saul took the kingdom over Israel, and fought against all his
enemies on every side, against Moab, and against the children of Ammon, and
against Edom, and against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines: and whithersoever he turned himself, he vexed
them.” (verse 47) And this
victory enabled him to some degree to have some successes. “And he gathered an host, and smote the
Amalekites, and delivered Israel out of the hands of them that spoiled them.”
(verse 48) So the LORD
is so gracious, the LORD
had already pronounced that his kingdom would be taken away from him, of course
it would be over 30 years before that would be realized. This man is already a failed king. I’m sure if you talked with him, he would say
‘What do you mean?...look at the victories I just had over Moab,’ because
he didn’t realize the victory over the Philistines was something that God
wrought, it says, with his son. He would
always take the credit. So no doubt he
would evaluate this part of his own history ‘Ya, God is blessing me, look at
how this is working out, that’s working out, this is working out.’ But the truth is, the end of his story
was already being written. He was on a
downward spiral from here on in. Chapter
15 of course as we come to the tremendous things that God will say to him, ‘rebellion
is like the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is like idolatry,’ we’re
going to see that finally God speaks to him through Samuel. But here, God’s so gracious on behalf of the
nation, there’s victories that are wrought.
And it tells us this, “Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui,
and Melchishua: and the names of his two
daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of
the younger Michal:” (verse 49) we have at least two other sons, maybe
three, mentioned in other places, from a concubine, Mephibosheth and another
son. There is another son named Abinadab
that he has. And when we get to the end
of 1st Samuel, we’re told there that Jonathan, Melchishua and
Abinadab all died at Mount Gilboa in the battle there, by Bashan. So a few sons not mentioned here for some
particular reason, but it mentions these three.
“the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the
firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal:” (verse 49b) Now Saul doesn’t seem to have much going with
his kids, at all, as we study this. It’s
interesting, it will tell us in chapter 18 that Saul wanted to give to David
one of his daughters, but she was in love with somebody else. Chapter 18, it says ‘It came to pass at
that time that Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, but she
was given unto Adrial the Mahlothite to be wife, and Michal, Saul’s daughter,
loved David, and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him, and Saul said, I
will give him her, that she may be a snare unto him.’ So Saul’s got a very interesting
perspective on his daughter Michal. He
wants to kill his own son here, he is furious with Jonathan later. It tells us, says, ‘Good, we’ll give my
daughter Michal to David, she’ll be a snare, she’s such a pain, she’ll wear him
out, she’ll wear him down.’ You
know, what kind of relationship is that with a daughter? Look, it says “And the name of Saul’s wife
was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of the captain of his
host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.” (verse 50) and we’re
told in 1st Samuel chapter 20, when he’s in an argument with
Jonathan, and he’s angry at Jonathan, he says this, ‘Then Saul’s anger
was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of a perverse
rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen…’ you know,
that’s worse today, that’s what he thinks of Ahinoam. So he doesn’t have a very good relationship
with any of the females in the house, I get the sense here. And it seems like he’s got an impoverished
relationship with his sons, what an interesting picture we have here. So, “the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam,
the daughter of Ahimaaz: and the name of
the captain of his host was Abner, the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.” that was Saul’s uncle. Imagine if your name is Ner and you name your
son Abner, Abba is father, so your name is Ner, you name you son my father
is Ner, imagine having a name like that, ‘Hey, my-father-is-Joe, get
over here.’ So ‘the captain of
his host was Abner, he was the son of Ner, Saul’s uncle.’ “And Kish was the father of Saul;
and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel. And there was sore war against the
Philistines all the days of Saul: and
when Saul saw any strong man, or any valiant man, he took him unto him.”
(verses 51-52) he drafted him into his army, whether he liked it or
not. So, this picture of this man, as we
come to the next chapter, he will completely disintegrate before us, and the
kingdom will be taken in a very active way, and in chapter 16 we’ll meet young
David, interesting transition taking place.
In
closing So
I would encourage you to read ahead, don’t be a Saul, be a Jonathan, if you
have God’s promises, I don’t know what’s going on in your life right now, we’re
in a circumstance that’s difficult [not more than we are now that we find
ourselves in this month of July 2022 with 9 percent inflation, having just
gotten over a pandemic as bad as the one in 1917-1919, and a war raging between
Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation and the Ukraine, and all of Europe
re-arming like it was World War III right around the corner, which it does look
like (see https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm)],
and you’re struggling, but the Word of God is alive in your heart, and you have
particular parts of Scripture that you can refer to, and they’re applicable,
you don’t take them out of context, they’re applicable to your circumstance,
and your heart is stirred, step out in faith, what a wonderful place to be
in. Go back and read that verse. Let’s step out, you guys step out, who knows
what the Lord might do, who knows.
Because he’s not limited to save by many or by few. Who knows what God might do. Look, he took 120 in the upper room on
Pentecost and he changed the world, it’s why we’re sitting here this evening, he
changed the world. So who knows what he
might do this evening. Don’t make
foolish vows, Jesus tells us that in the New Testament, let your yes be yes and
your nay be nay, don’t swear by anything, don’t swear by your head, you can’t
change the color, that’s when you couldn’t change the color, just let your yeah
be yeah and your nay your nay, don’t make vows.
We know there’s guys on TV [those televangelists] that try to make you
make vows, to give them money. Jesus
said don’t do that. They’re not doing
that because they’re led of the Spirit.
But if you have the Word of God alive in your heart, and he is leading
you, and you’re in one of those places and seasons where you know it’s time for
you to step beyond your comfort zone, I’ve got news for you, everything the
Lord has for you is on the other side of that step. Not to do something foolish, but to know in
your heart, you’ve given me these verses, you’ve confirmed and reconfirmed it,
and I know this is you because my flesh doesn’t want to do this, the enemy’s
not telling me to step out and do something for you in this context, your Word
is saying this to me, Lord. Who knows,
who knows what he might do. Let’s stand,
let’s pray, we’ll have the musicians come, we’ll lift our hearts to the Lord. Great night to just say ‘Lord, fill me
fresh with your Spirit, Lord, make your Word clear to me, I don’t want to take
it out of context, I don’t want to be a charismaniac with it, I don’t want to
do what I shouldn’t do with it, but I want it to be sharp, and powerful,
sharper than any two-edged sword Lord, I want it bringing light to my life, as
you say it does, I want it to be a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path,
I want it sung into my heart, Lord, to keep me, I want it to bear fruit, Lord,
as you say that it will, I want it to sanctify me as you say that it will. And Lord I’m looking to you.’ …[transcript
of a connective expository sermon on 1st Samuel 13:15-23 and 1st
Samuel 14:1-52, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia,
13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA
19116] related
links: I
don’t know what’s going on in your life right now, but we’re in circumstances
that are difficult, we find ourselves in this month of July 2022 with 9 percent
inflation, having just gotten over a pandemic as bad as the one in 1917-1919,
and a war raging between Vladimir Putin’s Russian Federation and the Ukraine,
and all of Europe re-arming like it was World War III right around the corner,
which it does look like, see https://unityinchrist.com/prophecies/2ndcoming_4.htm
“I’m
thankful that in my life there was a “Smith” who was able to put a sword in my
hand, that was Pastor Chuck,” see https://unityinchrist.com/history/smith.htm
Audio
version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED653
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