1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men, 3 including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4 Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.
6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. 15 And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.
16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there. 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel. 19 Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 21 Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
The previous chapter laid out how hopeless Israel’s situation was. The Philistines had a formidable force and the Israelites were not only outnumbered but also out-armoured. This story does not flow chronologically after chapter thirteen. Sometime later Jonathan, Saul’s son, and his armour-bearer hed over to a Philistine garrison on the top of a hill. Saul was camped at Gibeah with about six hundred men, including Ahijah the priest who was wearing an ephod (Ex 28:4), and they did not know that Jonathan was not among them.
As they were climbing up the rocky crags Jonathan said to his armour-bearer that they should go and attack the Philistines. He referred to them as uncircumcised indicating they are outside of the Jewish faith and not under God’s protection. Jonathan expressed faith in God’s ability to bring victory despite the odds against them. His armour-bearer pledged his complete support. Jonathan’s plan was counter-intuitive. He planned to show themselves and then gauge the Philistine reaction. If the Philistines called them to come and fight, they would see that as a sign that God was going to give them victory. It was a plan so absurd that victory could only be attributed to the Lord. When they showed themselves, the Philistines beckoned them with a taunt along the lines of “come and we will teach you a lesson”. So Jonathan climbed up and encouraged his armour-bearer declaring, “the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.” The two of them attacked the Philistines and defeated twenty men in a field small enough a yoke of oxen could plow in half a day. The rest of the Philistines trembled due to a great panic sent from God.
Saul’s watchmen noticed the panicked Philistines dispersing prompting Saul to find out who was missing from their ranks. After a headcount, they found Jonathan and his armour-bearer were not with them. The time was right to attack the Philistines but first, they needed to be addressed by the priest (Deu 20:1-4). Saul called for Ahijah to bring the ark of God. While Saul was still speaking with the priest he noticed the Philistine confusion was growing and he sensed he was losing a golden opportunity. So he did the unthinkable. He ordered the priest to suspend his duties and led the Israelites into battle. Once again, instead of following God’s blueprint for battle, Saul headed off on his own mission. When Saul got to the confusion he found the Philistines fighting against each other. This was because some Hebrews who had previously defected and joined the Philistine army (a mistake the Philistines would not make again, 1 Sam 29:3-9) now fought against them. The men who had previously deserted Saul also returned to fight when they heard that the Philistines were fleeing. “So the Lord saved Israel that day.”
This story reveals two character types. One, Jonathan, shows great faith that the Lord is the one who saves moving forward in complete dependence on God, and the other, Saul, insists on moving ahead on his own way without waiting to do things God’s way first—even when His way is clear. Are you charging ahead in your own strength or are you waiting on God’s timing in your life?
Major Stories of the Bible Reading Plan
The 12 Disciples: Mark 3-4