1 Samuel 14:1-8
Saul and Jonathon are in Gibeah with what's left of the army; which is only about 600 men. Saul must have felt dejected and completely incapable of fighting the Philistines. They were greatly outnumbered as well as not having weapons. Jonathon seems to be a man of action and he tells his armor bearer of his idea but doesn't tell Saul. His armor bearer must have seen the faith of Jonathon. Now this was a huge number of Philistines in the army. The detachment could have been smaller than facing all of them but they were still grossly outnumbered.
God isn't intimidated by bad odds. Stay with him, even when (& especially when) the odds are bad. In verse 6 we see the faith and guts of Jonathon when he claims that nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. Jonathon is ready to step out in faith and trust in the Lord's will. The armor bearer was with Jonathon "heart & soul". Jonathon and his armor bearer were close like you might imagine them to be having been in battle together.
The two passes Jonathon sought to pass to get to the enemy were marked with 2 sharp rocks, one on one side, one on the other. They were named Bozez and Seneh. Boaz means shinging or bright white. Seneh means thorny. This forms quite a picture. Jonathon is on the move while Saul is sitting under a tree in the shade. Saul is in the company of friends and assistants while Jonathon is and his armor bearer are in the company of the enemy.
1 Samuel 14:8-10
This was a simple plan; stand up and show themselves and see what happens. If they say 'come up to us' it was to be a sign that God had given them into their hands.
1 Samuel 14:11-14
When Jonathon and his armor bearer pop up out of these rocks the Philistines think they are some of the army that was hiding in caves. They may have thought it was a couple men coming to surrender to them. They yell at Jonathon and his assistant to come to them. They want to show them something. This probably means they were going to teach them a lesson with the end of a sword. But to Jonathon, this was the sign that God would deliver them into their hands. Jonathon and his armor bearer climbed up and the Philistines fell before them. They killed 20 men in the first attack.
1 Samuel 14:15-23
Panic struck the Philistine army in what the bible calls a 'great trembling' on the heels of an earthquake. This trembling was an overwhelming fear and anxiety. We see this is clearly the hand of the Lord. The earthquake and the panic were sent by God.
Meanwhile, the watchmen saw something going on; it was a melting away of the multitude of Philistines. Saul orders a role call and found that Jonathon and his armor bearer were missing. Saul's response might have seemed very spiritual after his previous mistakes and the Lord's rebuke. But this wasn't a time to inquire; the Lord was moving. It was time to pick up your sword and move with Him. Saul seems to have a hard time figuring out one time from the next.
The "withdraw your hand" in verse 19 refers to the use of Urim & Thummin used by the priest to determine God's will. This may just be Saul being very careful and particular about discerning the Lord's will. Saul and his men went to battle, the prisoners rejoined them and the men in hiding came out and joined them. Israel was saved by the courage and faith of Jonathon and his un-named armor bearer while the King was at a loss with his army hiding in the hills.
1 Samuel 14:24-36
Saul proclaimed a fast until he avenges his enemies. This was stupid when the army was in the field. It was probably done to impress others and save face when his son had shown such bravery while had been sitting idle. The army could have had honey but they honored the oath so as to avoid the curse. Jonathon wasn't aware of the oath and ate some honey. When the Israelites beat the Philistines they were exhausted and starved. They slaughtered the animals they had plundered and ate with the blood still in the meat which was a violation of the law. In an effort to stop the sin, Saul builds an altar to the Lord so this can be done correctly without sinning. Saul shows leadership here.
1 Samuel 14:37-46
Saul inquires to God about continued pursuit of the Philistines. This is good; Saul seems to be a mixed bag. He gets it right only to mess it up a short time later. However, God doesn't answer Saul's inquiry. The Uriim and Thummin were stones indicating 'yes' or 'no'. This probably meant the 'no' stone kept coming up when asking God if He would speak to them.
God takes oaths seriously, even stupid ones made for th wrong reasons. With this broken oath, God didn't answer. Saul went down to the army to find out who sinned against the Lord. Lots were cast and Jonathon is revealed was the guilty party. He tells Saul he tasted some honey. Saul informed Jonathon that he had to die. The people rescued Jonathon though. This made no sense to them since it was Jonathon who brought this great victory. The must have bruised Saul's pride deeply. The people also said Jonathon worked with God that day.
The whole issue started with Saul's goofy oath. Instead of admitting a mistake, his pride kept getting in the way and he was faced with having to kill his own son. Saul stopped pursuing the Philistines and went back to being a king.
1 Samuel 14:47-52
The sovereignty of Saul was established. Saul was strong and his army grew strong. But he was not a man of God, seeking God's will. His fame spread through the land as he harassed the enemy; yet he didn't bring victory and peace to the people.
Saul's spirituality seemed to be symbolism over substance. He played the part and made an appearance but in reality was far from God.
©2015 Doug Ford
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