Text: I Samuel 14
Theme: Spiritual battles are won by spirit-filled people, but total victory will only come when the battle is totally
Intro:
- In Chapter 13 we saw the beginning of Sauls kingdom, and the beginning of Saul’s disobedience as well.
a. Israel was being oppressed by the Philistines, and their new king could do nothing to prevent it.
b. Saul typifies the works of the flesh and is a reminder to us that we cannot overcome our spiritual enemies through carnal devices. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but spiritual and are mighty through God. - In Chapter 14, we see the contrast between Saul, typifying the works of the flesh, and Jonathan who is led by the Holy Spirit.
a. Jonathan was led by God to engage in battle with the Philistines, knowing full well that he had no hope of overcoming them in his own strength.
b. God delivered the Philistines into the hands of Israel, but Saul became an obstacle to total victory.
c. Lastly, we will see how Saul was more concerned about his own commandments than he was about God’s commandments.
- Jonathan Begins the Battle (Vs 1-15)
a. The hero in this chapter is very clearly Jonathan. Without a doubt, Jonathan was a credit to his father, Saul, and a blessing to the nation of Israel.
– Before David came on the scene, Jonathan was already out there doing battle with the enemies of God’s people and seeing God win great victories for them.
– Jonathan is one of my favourite people in the Bible because, despite who his father was, Jonathan stands out as a godly man whose desire was to please God and liberate the people of God from the oppression of their enemies.
b. Jonathan kept his plan a secret from Saul (Vs 2-7)
– Jonathan probably knew that Saul would oppose this plan since it required a bold step of faith in God, something that Saul was not accustomed to.
– It takes a man of faith to engage in spiritual warfare. That is what the Promised Land was all about, it was a land of fight and faith.
– Both are necessary; we need the battles to keep us dependent on God and we need the faith that depends on God to endure the battles.
c. Jonathan had faith that God would deliver Israel (Vs 4-7)
d. Jonathan prepared a test, like a golden fleece, to see if God would be with them. (Vs 8-15)
– Be careful of the golden fleece mentality. Some Christians want God to lead them in a particular direction and so they make up some sort of “test” to reveal with will of God.
– This is especially problematic when the mind of God on a matter has already been revealed in the Bible, but the Christian is looking for an excuse to ignore the Bible and go their own way.
e. The Philistines responded saying, “Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing.”
– Jonathan went forward cutting down the enemy in front while his armourbearer finished them off as they progressed.
– In the space of less than 50 meters, they slew 20 of the Philistine garrison.
f. God honoured their faith and the earth began to tremble as God went to work among the Philistines to destroy them. - Saul Joins the Battle (Vs 16-23)
a. Saul finally got wind of the battle (Vs 16-19)
– Saul immediately began asking who had gone missing. After numbering the people, Saul realised that only Jonathan and his armourbearer were missing.
– Saul then commanded Ahiah to bring the Ark of the Covenant forward. With the Ark of the Covenant present, the priest would be expected to use the ephod to discern the will of God in the matter.
– However, as Saul heard the noise from the Philistine garrison increasing, he interrupted the divine proceedings and made his own decision.
– Saul was, once again, too impatient to wait on God’s leading in the situation. This is likely the real reason why, when Saul sought Gpd’s leading later in the chapter, God did not speak to Saul through the priest wearing the ephod.
b. Saul went up to join the battle (Vs 20-23)
– The noise coming from the host of the Philistines was so great that Israel knew there was something strange happening, and as they saw the Philistines in disarray, they took advantage of the situation and went on the offensive.
– Remember, Israel was still unequipped for the battle, they still only had their sharpened farming implements as tools, but God was at work in a powerful way and Israel would be victorious through faith.
c. The only weapon that was of any great value in the day of battle was the weapon of faith in Almighty God.
– It all comes down to this; God honours the people of faith. As the hymn says, “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.”
– Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
d. Faith in God is the only way to have victory of the enemies of the Christian.
– Total dependence upon God must be the permanent posture of the Christian life.