Each of us is facing a different kind of challenge each day.
Some of you are facing some health issues.
I just heard of a news regarding our close relative who has been diagnosed with cancer.
She is going through rough times right now and we had to help her deal with her new challenge.
Some of you are facing some financial issues, or relationship problems, or probably some challenges at work.
I want to remind you that the Lord will not forsake you if you will ask His daily guidance in your life.
Regardless of how difficult those challenges might be, you can be able to overcome them and grow in the process.
That is what we are going to talk about today.
Last week, we studied about the bad decisions of King Saul and consequently bringing along the entire Israel in a very difficult situation.
He was the complete opposite of the godly integrity of Samuel all his life.
However, in spite of his weaknesses, in spite of his failures and many misgivings, God has proven that He will never forsake His own people. Israel.
Imagine, Saul the king, provoking the strong and well-armed Philistines into a war even if they have no armors and no army?
It was a big military gamble.
Imagine, Saul provoking God by offering the sacrifice which was supposed to be done by Samuel.
It was a big spiritual gamble.
But in spite of these foolish decisions, the Lord intervened and restrained the Philistines from completely destroying Israel.
Even if the enemy had a vast army as numerous as the sand on the seashore compared to the six hundred men of Israel, God did not allow Israel's defeat.
God's invisible power will protect His very own people from her enemies.
And He will do that to each and every one of us if we trust Him.
We are always safe under His strong and powerful hands.
The Psalmist declared in 94:14 (NIV) "For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance."
Look at those two things God will not do to us: "Not reject and never forsake His people."
Why? Because they are God's inheritance, God's treasures.
Of course, God is talking about the nation of Israel here.
But when you receive Christ as Lord and Savior, we have been grafted in and became part of the new spiritual Israel who belong to Him.
You and I are very precious to God's sight.
Even though we failed in the past or made horrible mistakes, yet God will never ever forsake us.
Because He loved us so much.
He cares for every one of us.
He might discipline us or chastise us due to our sins but all these are for our own good to make us stronger each day.
This is the message of 1 Samuel chapter 14.
Actually, chapter 14 is a very long chapter - consisting of 52 verses.
But we will divide these into two messages and continue with the second part next year after the Christmas season.
We will focus our study today in the life of Jonathan, the son of King Saul.
We will learn how his faith and courage led him to victory in spite of the overwhelming dangers ahead.
We will look at three things:
1. Jonathan's faith and courage.
2. Jonathan's search for God's direction
3. Jonathan's victory through God's intervention.
THE LEGACY OF JONATHAN.
1. JONATHAN'S FAITH AND COURAGE. 1 Samuel 14:1-5 (NIV) 1 One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, 3 among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left. 4 On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez and the other Seneh. 5 One cliff stood to the north toward Mikmash, the other to the south toward Geba.
In verse 1, we find the faith and courage of Jonathan.
He said to his armor bearer, "Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side."
Notice that he resolved to go to the camp of the Philistines without telling his father about it.
Why wouldn't he tell his father? Probably because he knew right away that his father would forbid him.
Jonathan knew how discouraged his father was at that moment and might not even ask his advice.
And so, Jonathan allowed God to lead him even though he knew it was very dangerous to do so.
He wanted to serve his country compelling him to go that inspired his courage and bravery of heart.
You see, the love of God should always compel us to go and share the message of salvation to people even though we are fearful.
It should be our motivating factor that will inspire us to be courageous and brave because that is the right thing to do.
But notice in verse 2, where we find King Saul staying with only 600 men with him.
What happened to the original 3,000 men that he had chosen and trusted in the previous chapter?
They were all gone and hiding in caves and quaking in fear.
You see, putting our confidence on our military troops is good, but it would be best to put our trust in God alone.
Because many times those marines, those navy seals and drones can fail us but God will never fail us.
His mantle of protection will always be over us as His children.
God is always watching over us.
Back to verse 2.
Have you noticed where King Saul was at that time?
The text tells us that Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah "under a pomegranate tree."
Some Bible scholars believe that Gibeah was located near the caves.
That means they too were hiding for fear of the Philistines.
Imagine, even the King himself was hiding in fear of the enemy due to his own making.
It was surely one of the lowest point of Saul's spirit, now that he had forgotten to seek the Lord and fallen under God's displeasure.
Every now and then, he knew that the Philistines would come and attack them.
So, he had to hide and not be seen by them.
You see, if you are far away from God's guidance you will never think you are safe enough wherever you may go.
There will always fear in your heart.
Now, notice something interesting in verse 3.
We find a priest, named Ahijam among the company of King Saul because he was wearing an ephod.
Why is Ahijam with King Saul and not the prophet Samuel who anointed him as king?
Because remember in the previous chapter, we found Saul being rebuked by Samuel when he offered the sacrifice himself.
Saul should not have done that.
He was a king and not a priest.
It was a grave disobedience to the Lord's command.
And so, Samuel left him.
But he knew he needed a priest to offer sacrifices especially when he is at war with the mighty Philistines.
And so, he chose Ahijam to be with him because he probably thinks that this priest will never rebuke him but will do as he says.
It seems that his heart has not been humbled and changed.
Here is a deserted prince courting a deserted priest.
Just as they say, "Like feathers will flock together."
Then, in verses 4 and 5, we find the difficult way to access the enemies' camp.
1 Samuel 14:4,5(NIV) "4 On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez and the other Seneh.5 One cliff stood to the north toward Mikmash, the other to the south toward Geba."
The dictionary define a cliff as a steep rock face, especially at the edge of the sea.
These are strong natural barriers that seems impenetrable to the enemy.
Not just one but two, one to the north and the other to the south.
Imagine in order to reach the enemy's camp, Jonathan had to climb through the strong and sharp rocks of the cliff named Bozez and the other named Seneh.
He looked at the challenge ahead but it did not discourage his resolution to proceed.
He looked at every challenge as an opportunity to advance his cause. .
This brings us to Lesson No. 1. The Challenges we face must make us stronger as a person.
There are those who easily give up when they face challenges of many kinds, in business, in marriage, in finances, in relationships, in church.
As Christians, we have to face them and deal with them accordingly.
One we overcome them, we become more stronger and wiser individuals just like Jonathan.
Look at this quote and this picture of a man pushing a big boulder uphill.
"When life gets harder, challenge yourself to be stronger."
The Bible says in 1 John 4:4(NIV) 4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."
The one who is in you is greater than who is in the world.
We need to believe this fully.
And so, I challenge you to face those difficulties and learn to overcome them so that you will be stronger over time.
Ask yourself: Do you shrink when opposition comes or do you get wiser and stronger?
Story:
How many of you have tried to drive through a dense fog?
It's hard, isn't it?
You can't see anything even in short distances.
Many car accidents happen when a fog suddenly descend in a freeway.
The best thing to do is to use windshield wipers and defrosters to limit excess moisture on the windows.
Also, it would help if you drive with low beams and fog lights.
High beams will worsen visibility because they reflect off the fog.
According to the Bureau of Standards in Washington, a dense fog covering seven city blocks to a depth of 100 feet is composed of less that one glass of water.
That amount of water is divided into about 60 billion tiny droplets.
Yet when those minute particles settle over a city or the countryside, they can almost blot out everything from your sight.
Many Christians today live their lives in a fog.
They allow a cupful of troubles and difficulties to cloud their vision and dampen their spirit.
Anxiety, turmoil and defeat strangle their thoughts to more forward.
Their lives are being "choked by the cares of this world" (Luke 8;14).
Brothers, and sisters, those troubles are one equivalent to less than one glass of water.
Remember that "God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline" (II Tim. 1:7).
Let's not let the fog get us down! "Let's live in the Sunshine!
Adopted from The Paper Pulpit.
First, we learned that Jonathan had the faith and the courage to face the enemy no matter how strong they are.
2. JONATHAN'S SEARCH FOR GOD'S DIRECTION. 1 Samuel 14:6-13 (NIV) 6 Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.” 7 “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.” 12 The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.” So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. 14 In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.
In these verses, we will learn about how Jonathan searched for God's direction as he pursued his plan and overcome those challenges.
Let's start with verse 6.
We see Jonathan getting stronger and even encouraged his young armor bearer to go along with him in this daring adventure.
Verse 6: “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”
He needed the help of somebody that he could rely on.
He encouraged his armor bearer to go with him to the outpost of the "uncircumcised men."
These "uncircumcised men" means they have no covenant with God and therefore strangers to God.
They are not God's people.
Israel are God's people. Hence, they have nothing to fear.
He knew his identity.
That is why he assured his armor bearer: "Perhaps, the Lord will act in our behalf."- "Perhaps, the Lord has not abandoned us."
If you know who you are as a Christian, as a child of God, nothing can hinder you.
Nothing can put you down.
Whether your enemy is many or few.
Jonathan is putting his confidence on God's saving power and not on his own abilities.
This is the kind of attitude we need to emulate as Christians whenever we face mounting oppositions or challenges ahead.
The Lord will not forsake His people who will trust in Him.
There is nothing that can restrain the Lord in doing His work.
There is no limitation to His power.
It is up to Him to save us whether our numbers are many or we are few.
Then, in verse 7, we find Jonathan's young armor bearer promising to stand by him and to follow him wherever he goes.
And this greatly encouraged Jonathan to move forward in this bold adventure under God's direction.
The plan to single handedly attack the enemy is set forth in verses 8-10, 8 Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.”
Those are simple signs - we will show ourselves to them and we will proceed or not depending on their response.
If they tell us to wait, we will stay where we are.
If they tell us to come over, we will cross over them.
These statements reveal how he trusted on the providence of God.
He knew that God governs the hearts and minds of men - even those who do not know or serve him.
He also knew that God will direct the steps of those that acknowledge his name and seek his for direction.
He was searching for God's direction.
This brings us to Lesson No. 2. The Challenges we face must make us search for God's direction.
2 Chronicles 14:11 (NIV) 11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”
When King Asa was facing a great difficulty in life, he called upon the name of the Lord.
He reminded God that there is no one like Him, able to help the powerless against the mighty.
What do you do when you are facing a great challenge in life?
Seek His direction.
Depend on Him totally.
Ask for a sign.
Then, in verse 11, we find how the guards of the Philistines reacted when Jonathan and his armor bearer showed themselves to them:
1 Samuel 14:11(NIV) 11 So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.”
They looked at them with disdain, with ridicule and contempt.
They considered them as cowards crawling out of their holes where they were hiding.
But Jonathan knew that this is not true.
How can they be cowards when God is with them?
Hence, Jonathan's faith was all the more strengthened.
Look at the next picture where they climbed upon the cliff and attacked the Philistines.
It was said that about twenty men from the Philistine army fell before Jonathan.
He just overcome a big challenge in his life.
His faith was able to move mountains.
Amazing things can happen if you search for God's direction upon your life.
I would like to read to you a prayer from an unknown source that explains this event.
"Lord, I've never moved a mountain and I guess I never will.
All the faith that I could muster wouldn't move a small ant hill.
Yet I'll tell you, Lord, I'm grateful for the joy of knowing Thee, and for all the mountain moving down through life You've done for me.
When I needed some help you lifted me from the depths of great despair.
And when burdens, pain and sorrow have been more than I can bear, you have always been my courage to restore life's troubled sea, and to move these little mountains that have looked so big to me.
Many times when I've had problems and when bills I've had to pay, and the worries and the heartaches just kept mounting every day, Lord, I don't know how you did it.
Can't explain the wheres or whys.
All I know, I've seen these mountains turn to blessings in disguise.
No, I've never moved a mountain, for my faith is far too small.
Yet, I thank you, Lord of Heaven, you have always heard my call.
And as long as there are mountains in my life, I'll have no fear, for the mountain-moving Jesus is my strength and always near.
May the Lord move that mountain in your life by allowing God to guide you.
First, we see Jonathan's faith and courage.
Then, we see Jonathan's search for God's direction as he pursued his plans.
3. JONATHAN'S VICTORY THROUGH GOD'S INTERVENTION. 1 Samuel 14:15-23 (NIV)
15 Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God. 16 Saul’s lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. 17 Then Saul said to the men who were with him, “Muster the forces and see who has left us.” When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there. 18 Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest,“Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. 21 Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit. 23 So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.
In these verses, we see first of all the panic done by the attack of two men in the camp of the Philistines.
Imagine. Just two men creating a havoc to the army of the Philistines.
Even the ground shook like an earthquake as a result of such surprise move by Jonathan and his armor bearer.
However, at the end of verses 15, it gave credit where credit is due - "It was a panic sent by God."
Only God could have done such a great catastrophe to the enemy.
Because of the power of God, they set their eyes against each other.
Other Bible scholars said that they melted away like snow before the sun and went on beating down one another.
That means when they fled due to panic and fear, they were chased by the Israelites.
But instead of turning back to fight those who chase them, they just considered every one that stood on their way as their enemies, even those who were their fellow Philistine soldiers.
Remember that in the beginning, these Philistines were so sure and so secure of victory because of their numbers as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
And because they have the swords and spears compared to the clubs and slings of the Israelites.
But now, God showed them the folly of their confidence.
It was their own swords and spears that brought them their own destruction.
In fact, those swords are more fatal in their own hands than if they had been in the hands of Israel.
Now, going back to the camp of Israel, in verse 17, we find Saul inquiring who among their troops were missing.
When they found out that it was Jonathan and his armor bearer, it was the time when he began to inquire of God.
But as the confusion in the Philistine camp increased, he stopped seeking God.
Verse 19 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest,“Withdraw your hand.”
That means, No need to consult God.
No need to wait any longer for His answer.
Saul was very unwise indeed compared to Jonathan.
Saul thought he did not need to seek an answer from God.
He thought seeking God was not important at that time.
He trusted on his own strength rather than on God.
He then assembled his troops and went to battle.
You see, he was only consulting God when he was in great difficulty but when things got better, he discontinued his search for God.
Many people are doing that as well.
When things get rough and tough - they would be found in church.
When things got better, they are nowhere found.
Brothers and sisters, we must always seek the Lord in good times and in bad.
Seeking God should always be our priority.
But because of Jonathan's faith and courage, God intervened and defeated the enemy.
This brings us to Lesson No. 3. The Challenges we face must make us rely on God's intervention for victory.
Deuteronomy 20:4 (NIV) 4 For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”
It was the Lord that saved Israel that day.
He did it by them, for without him, they could do nothing.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Summary of Lessons Learned:
Lesson No. 1. The Challenges we face must make us stronger as a person.
Lesson No. 2. The Challenges we face must make us search for God's direction.
Lesson No. 3. The Challenges we face must make us rely on God's intervention for victory.
How do you face your challenge?
I would like to close with this quote:
"We don't grow when things are easy. We grow when we face those challenges."
May the Lord bless you as you begin to trust God more each day.
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