1 Samuel 13:16-18 KJV 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 Bethhoron: and another company turned to the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
I. INTRODUCTION—OLD TESTAMENT PICTURES = NEW TESTAMENT INSTRUCTIONS
1 Corinthians 10:11 KJV Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
-Those are the words of Paul as he is explaining the huge price that doubt and unbelief took on the children of Israel. He noted that there was some that died in the wilderness and never made it to the Promised Land.
-He then exhorts a New Testament church to understand that all of the accounts and encounters in the Old Testament were written for our instruction. He infers that the wanderings of Israel can very well be a picture of what the church life and saint life looks like. We have to use these Old Testament stories to help us in our spiritual battle.
William Gurnall—So many go into the field against Satan, and so few come out conquerors; because all have a desire to be happy, but few have courage and resolution to grapple with the difficulties that meet them in the way to happiness.
-So it is that we find this story in that same vein of thought also. God in His great grace passed to us a Book where He has spoken so that we can see how to go.
Psalms 119:11 KJV Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
II. THE BACKGROUND OF THE TEXT
-The background surrounding this text is in the first three years of Saul’s reign as the new king of Israel. This battle he is about to go into will his first one against Israel’s arch-enemy, the Philistines.
-Saul had already put together an army of three thousand soldiers to help him to defend the nation.
• Two thousand were under his command at Michmash.
• One thousand were under the command of Jonathon at Gibeah.
-The Philistines were to be formidable enemies for Saul and his men as you see played out through the rest of 1 and 2 Samuel.
-But as for 1 Samuel 13, it is not difficult to see that the Philistines were breathing down their neck with fear and intimidation. The clues to that end are found in this chapter.
-In 13:4, Israel was had in abomination with the Philistines. . . meaning that the Philistines were not pleased that they now had a king and had already defeated the Ammonites in a battle.
-In 13:6, the people were distressed. . . literally means that they were squeezed and pressed together and were in great difficulty.
-In 13:6, the people had fled to the limestone caves. Those who could not make it to the caves hid in the thickets which were found in the clefts and fissures of the rocks.
-Some managed to find the high places which were secret holding places like stone vaults. Lastly, they hid in the pits which were old water reservoirs that were fed by the rain. When there was no rain, the pits dried up and this is where some of the Israelites were hidden.
-In 13:7, some of the people actually fled to Gad and Gilead which would be northeast of Jerusalem across the Jordan River to the east and above the Dead Sea.
-Israel was literally set back on their heels because of their fear. Our hope for victory can get choked out when we look at the enemy. Victory depends more on our faith, hope, and trust in God than the strength and even the weakness of our foe!!!!!
• Fear will cause you to shift the blame just like Adam tried to do.
• Fear will make you lie just like Abraham did about Sarah.
• Fear will make you run to Laban just like it did to Jacob.
• Fear will make you build a golden calf just like Aaron because he feared the people.
• Fear will cause you to lose your Promised Land just like the ten faithless spies.
• Fear will cause you to back down from Goliath.
• Fear will put you behind the winepress like a trembling Gideon.
• Fear will make you run from Absalom just like David did.
• Fear will cause you to sink just like Peter on the stormy sea.
-Somewhere you will have to learn you must walk by faith and not by sight.
A. The Philistines
-The Philistines were feared by the people of Israel because of their massive numbers. Not only was Israel fearful of them but all of the surrounding nations and people were fearful of them.
-Their claim to fame and notoriety was the wooden chariots that they used. They had managed to discover the power of using wood and iron together to strengthen these ancient vehicles. The wheels had attachments to hold swords so that when they were driven through an enemy army, they became primitive and violent meat cutters.
-When this Philistine army deployed at Michmash, many of the Israeli soldiers became deserters of sorts and fled the battlefield and found caves to hide in.
-When you trace back in history, most scholars believe that the Philistines came from the Phoenicians. They were idolatrous and spent much of their time worshiping Dagon and Ashtaroth.
-Perhaps the vilest of all of the Phoenicians would come one of Israel’s queens. Jezebel, of the Zidonians, was attached to the Phoenicians and she corrupted Israel with Baal worship.
B. What They Did
-If you look in the Bible and do a search on the word Philistines, you can see how they operated to be destructive.
• The Philistines envied the blessing of God on Abraham. Gen. 26:14.
• The Philistines stopped up their wells. Gen. 26:15
• The Philistines offered their idolatrous gods to Israel. Judges 10:6
• The Philistines shaved Samson’s hair, burned out his eyes, and put him to grinding corn. Judges 16:20-21
• The Philistines took the Ark of the Covenant from Israel. 1 Samuel 4:2-6
• The Philistines beheaded Saul’s body, stripped him of his armor, and took it to their house of idols. 1 Samuel 31:8-9
• The Philistines are listed in multiple places as being in battles against the Israelites.
-Everything that they could unsettle, they took it upon themselves to do it.
III. THE SPOILERS
-The word that the writer uses under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost captures the picture in even greater detail for us. The Hebrew word for spoilers is shaw-khath which means to ruin, corrupt, or to decay. In the moral sense it means to pervert and corrupt.
-When you look at how that word is used in other verses in the Old Testament you will find it being used 146 times.
• Battered (1) 2 Sam 20:15
• Corrupt (11) Gen_6:11; Gen_6:12; Deu_4:16; Deu_4:25; Deu_31:29(2); Psa_14:1; Psa_53:1; Pro_25:26; Eze_20:44; Eze_23:11
• Corrupted (11) Gen_6:12; Exo_8:24; Exo_32:7; Deu_9:12; Deu_32:5; Jdg_2:19; Eze_16:47; Eze_28:17; Hos_9:9; Zep_3:7; Mal_2:8
• Corrupters (2) Isa_1:4; Jer_6:28
• Corrupting (1) Dan_11:17
• Corruptly (1) 2Ch_27:2
• Destroy (68) Gen_6:13; Gen_6:17; Gen_9:11; Gen_9:15; Gen_18:28(2); Gen_18:31; Gen_18:32; Gen_19:13(2); Gen_19:14; Num_32:15; Deu_4:31; Deu_9:26; Deu_10:10; Deu_20:19; Deu_20:20; Jos_22:33; Jdg_6:5; 1Sa_23:10; 1Sa_26:9; 1Sa_26:15; 2Sa_1:14; 2Sa_14:11; 2Sa_20:20; 2Sa_24:16; 2Ki_8:19; 2Ki_13:23; 2Ki_18:25(2); 1Ch_21:15; 2Ch_12:7; 2Ch_12:12; 2Ch_21:7; 2Ch_25:16; 2Ch_35:21; Psa_106:23; Isa_11:9; Isa_36:10(2); Isa_51:13; Isa_65:8(2); Isa_65:25; Jer_5:10; Jer_6:5; Jer_11:19; Jer_13:14; Jer_15:3; Jer_15:6; Jer_36:29; Jer_48:18; Jer_49:9; Jer_51:11; Jer_51:20; Lam_2:8; Eze_5:16; Eze_9:8; Eze_22:30; Eze_26:4; Eze_30:11; Eze_43:3; Dan_8:24(2); Dan_8:25; Dan_9:26; Hos_11:9; Mal_3:11
• Destroyed (21) Gen_13:10; Gen_19:29; Jdg_6:4; Jdg_20:25; Jdg_20:35; Jdg_20:42; 2Sa_11:1; 2Sa_24:16; 2Ki_19:12; 1Ch_21:15; 2Ch_24:23; 2Ch_34:11; 2Ch_36:19; Psa_78:38; Psa_78:45; Isa_14:20; Isa_37:12; Jer_12:10; Lam_2:5; Lam_2:6; Hos_13:9
• Destroyer (3) Exo_12:23; Pro_28:24; Jer_4:7
• Destroyers (1) Jer_22:7
• Destroyest (1) Jer_51:25
• Destroyeth (2) Pro_6:32; Pro_11:9
• Destroying (5) 1Ch_21:12; 1Ch_21:15; Jer_2:30; Jer_51:1; Eze_20:17
• Destruction (1) 2Ch_26:16
• Down (1) Jdg_20:21
• Lose (1) Pro_23:8
• Mar (4) Lev_19:27; Rth_4:6; 1Sa_6:5; Jer_13:9
• Marred (3) Jer_13:7; Jer_18:4; Nah_2:2
• Off (1) Amo_1:11
• Perish (1) Exo_21:26
• Spilled (1) Gen_38:9
• Spoilers (2) 1Sa_13:17; 1Sa_14:15
• Thing (1) Mal_1:14
• Wasted (1) 1Ch_20:1
• Waster (1) Isa_54:16
-Other translations use the word “spoiler” in a different way:
NIV—Raiding parties.
American Translation—Raiders in detachments.
Jerusalem Bible—The raiding contingent.
-These Philistine spoilers left the camp in three detachments in three different directions. This was a common military strategy in those days because it provided greater options and mobility to the attackers (1 Sam. 11:11; Judges 7:16; 9:43; 2 Samuel 18:2).
-But the direction that the spoilers took really speaks to the murderous motivations that rested in their souls. Their efforts were strategic in an effort to destroy Israel.
-We have the spoilers of the world, the flesh, and the devil to contend with.
• When we are unprepared. . . the spoilers come.
• When we confused about which direction we are fighting against. . . the spoilers come.
• When we are in places of prosperity and blessing. . . the spoilers come.
• When we get into a position of willful and proud ignorance. . . the spoilers come.
A. Ophrah in the Vicinity of Shual
-The first place they went was toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual. Orphrah was located in the tribe of Benjamin.
-If you will remember, Rachel died while giving birth to Benjamin.
Genesis 35:18 KJV And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.
-The original name Benoni simply means sorrow but Isaac changed it to Benjamin which means son of my right hand. He was saying that there is power in sorrow. The right hand was always symbolic of great strength and power.
-The Philistine spoilers of our generation want to come in and shut down our ability to weep, to cry out, to intercede. Intercessory prayer has fallen on hard times! Where are the weepers???
-Great revival movements have always hinged on the abilities of saints, of churches, and of preachers to give themselves to intercessory praying.
-Sister Freddi Trammel in her book called “The Prayer Journey” has this to say about intercessory prayer:
Intercessory prayer is filling the gap between someone and/or a situation and God. It is, in my thinking, grasping either the hand in one’s spirit of that person for whom one is interceding, stretching the width, and grasping with the other hand the HAND OF GOD. Then, with travailing, agonizing prayer you pull. . . pull. . until you make connection with both of the hands which you are grasping. When the hand of God touches the situation for which you are praying the answer will be there. Anything that is touched by the hand of God will be changed.
Intercessory prayer is never accompanied by a serene, beautiful setting. Sometimes there is fasting involved. Groanings which cannot be uttered escape the lips of the intercessor. A woman in labor is compared to the person who travails and intercedes in prayer.
-She also included a prayer that Brother T. W. Barnes had prayed in various ways over the years:
“In the NAME OF JESUS, I cut off Satan’s line of communication to all these we are praying for. In Jesus’ Name, I cut it off, Lord. We plead for the blood. And now, Holy Spirit, talk to them. Talk to them in morning, talk to them in the noon, talk to them at night. Talk to them on their bed at night. Make them dream about eternity. Make them dream about the rapture. Make them dream about hell. Talk to them, Lord. Talk to them. AMEN.”
-While that may seem awfully simply, there is something about feeling the burden of intercessory prayer. It will cause great sorrow to well up in your soul.
-The spoiler comes in and does everything he can to destroy the motivation for intercessory prayer.
• He uses recreation.
• He will get you to hold on to a grudge.
• He wants you to be offended.
• He wants you to criticize.
• He wants to embitter you over life situations.
• He wants you to stop coming to church.
• He wants you to see all the imperfections in the members of the church.
-This is the way the spoiler works. Our prayer closets are really mirrors of our own spiritual condition. Effective prayer is hard work!
• Self-exposure of your true spiritual condition comes in prayer.
• Spiritual deformities are exposed to us in places of prayer.
• Carnality will be discovered in a prayer chamber.
-A prayer meeting always leaves us changed. But the job of the spoiler is to put you into a state of prayerless paralysis.
-The first place the spoiler wants to destroy is that of intercessory prayer. What if I were to tell you that the condition of someone’s soul rested with your ability to get into contact with God for them? Would it make a difference?
B. Bethhoron
-The second place that the spoilers went was a place called Bethhoron. If you go back to Joshua 10, you will find that a great deliverance and victory took place there when God helped Joshua and his men defeat an alliance of ten kings.
-Joshua 10:7 notes them to be “all the people of war” and “the mighty men of valor” who are engaging in the war. But when you read further down you will discover that God rained down a hailstorm on the opposing armies so that it destroyed more in the storm than the warriors did.
-The Philistine spoilers went back to a place where God’s deliverance had been and determined that they would take it for a stronghold. You have to be vigilant in places of past victory. The devil would love nothing more than to come back in and create havoc there.
-A New Testament principle of this thing is noted in the words of Jesus.
Matthew 12:43-45 KJV When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. [44] Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. [45] Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
-You must be on guard in these kinds of situations.
-If you have had deliverance and victory in the past, you can’t let the spoilers get back in and form a stronghold there. Defend against the god of this world so that your mind does not become blinded.
Galatians 5:19-21 ESV Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, [20] idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, [21] envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
-I would trust that we are not involved in these kinds of things but the question falls on these lines.
• Are we entertaining these things through our interaction with the world?
• Am I listening to music that exalts these behaviors?
• Am I allowing Facebook and Twitter to be a venue of gossip and talebearing?
• Am I watching movies, television shows, and internet venues that portray these things?
• Am I letting spoilers come into my life that is tearing down places of past victory?
-I have discovered that I can’t make a list long enough to keep you “honest” as one might say about getting involved in these things but I can tell you one thing; there is a price that comes when we lower our holiness standards and allow things in.
-As Jesus said, you have to sweep the house clean and then fill it with righteous, godly, and holy things.
-I have come to realize that as a pastor, I have been outflanked by technology. iPads, iPhones, and all sorts of internet gadgets has now really made holiness an issue of the heart. What we have to figure out is whether or not it is going to be a stumbling block or not.
-You can be just as carnal as you want to be and you can be just as spiritual as you want to be. I am pleading with you to get plugged into this church like you never have before! The Rapture is near. The Lord is coming back and one of the most chilling Scriptures in the Word is this one:
Matthew 24:12 KJV And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
-How do we get beyond letting our love wax cold for God. The answer is found in the Word:
Hebrews 12:1-3 KJV Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [2] Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. [3] For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
-We must make it out of this world and gain Heaven!
C. The Valley of Zeboim
-The third place the spoiler wanted to get into was the valley. There are some things that take place in the valleys of the Bible. The Bible makes note of valleys being well-watered by mountain streams (Psalm 104:8, 10). The Bible makes mention of the valleys being places where fountains and springs are (Deut. 8:7; Isa. 41:18).
-Valleys are fruitful with lush produce and where a quiet place of peace is present.
-The Philistine spoilers are desperate to get into the valleys so that they can commandeer them.
-But going back to the Bible, valleys are descriptive of a lot of things:
• The church of Jesus Christ—Song of Solomon 6:11
• Blessings—2 Cor. 20:26
• Removal of obstacles—Isa. 40:4; Luke 3:5
• Victory—Josh. 10:12-14; 1 Kings 20:23-28
• Prosperity—Numbers 24:6
• Growth—Deut. 34:3
• Refreshing—Joel 3:18
• Holiness—Psa. 60:6
• Craftsmanship—1 Chron. 4:14
-These are the places that the spoilers want to get into. If they can thwart the production from taking place in the valley, then they can shut down everything in us both individually and collectively as a church.
-The raiders want to spoil:
• The production of new souls won in the harvest.
• The production of believing God for blessings.
• The production of victory.
• The production that comes with prosperity.
• The production that comes with revival and refreshing.
• The production of a hunger for holiness.
-That is why the Philistines went after the valley of Zeboim. Let me reiterate something from this morning:
-Do you know what caused you to like Pentecost the first time you walked in?
• It was the freshness of freedom that you felt.
• It was the stirring down deep in your soul.
• You didn’t have to worry about someone shutting you up if you said Amen!
• You didn’t have to worry about an usher coming by to take you out because you were dancing in the Spirit!
-Can you remember those early days of your conversion when it seemed like God was watering your soul with a fire-hose? It was so fresh, so new, so exciting, and you could not wait to get to church.
-The spoilers want to wipe all of those things out in the valley of spiritual growth!
IV. CONCLUSION—THE REMEDY
-The Philistine spoilers want to get into places of intercession, places of past victory, and places of spiritual production to close down what God has determined the He wants to do.
-The only remedy against the nasty Philistine spoilers was the two forgotten swords that were in possession of Jonathon and his armor-bearer. Everything is gone! There are no weapons to defend them except for the two forgotten swords. But look what happened:
1 Samuel 14:12-16 KJV 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 all 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.
-We have to get our hands back on the Word and use it for all we are worth.
• There is doctrine in the Book.
• There are promises in the Book.
• There is healing in the Book.
• There is blessing in the Book.
• There is hope in the Book.
-Everything that the spoilers attempt to take away from us, we can find power in putting our hand on a forgotten sword!
-One man, one church, or one small group of people can make a difference! Look to the early days of the Pentecostal movement and you will discover that it was common people and common preachers that God used to bring about a great revival. . .
-History needs to be repeated!!!!!
Philip Harrelson
July 13, 2012
