1 Samuel 14:1-23

Because God Saves, Exercise Your Faith!

Chapter 13 ended with a very dim and discouraging situation - The people were scattered and in hiding, Saul was told that his dynasty would end, Samuel left them, and they didn’t have enough weapons to fight against 6000 Philistines.

Saul and the Israelites were in a helpless and hopeless situation with no victory in view! (600 men and the rest were in hiding vs 6000 horsemen)

Has God abandoned them?

In chapter 14, we find the answer. The answer is a big NO.

God is still at work as their deliverer and He will not abandon His people! (cf. 1 Samuel 12:22)

The key passage is in verse 23:

1 Samuel 14:23 NIV So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.

God’s Deliverance – God made the point [to Saul] that victory can be achieved by His POWER – He used 2 people only to defeat a whole camp, without the use of the ARK (which Saul believed to be his lucky charm).

When faced when a helpless situation, you can do 2 things:

Either You exercise faith in Godor you allow yourself to be paralyzed by fear.

Because God saves, exercise your faith!

4 Ways to Exercise Your Faith:

I. You must have a faith-enabled CONVICTION.

Jonathan’s conviction (firmly held belief /faith) is that no one can hinder God from saving! (vv.1-7)

We observed that Jonathan was expectant of the Lord’s intervention to SAVE (v.6) and was dependent upon a sign that he believes is from the LORD (v.8)

Jonathan was confident in God’s promise to save! He has FAITH that God will do something to get them out of the seemingly hopeless and helpless situation.

Hebrews 11:1–2 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the men of old gained approval.

Notice the difference between Jonathan’s and Saul’s convictions (belief / faith in the Lord)

2 Contrasting Characters:

Saul – dependent upon his power, his army, and his strategy. As a result, he was crippled by fear.

Jonathan – dependent upon the LORD and His leading! As a result, he became courageous and dependent upon God for wisdom and strength, because He knows that God honors those who honors him.

Jonathan acted on his own, without the King’s knowledge. He should have asked permission from the King, but Saul was as clueless about what to do or what God’s plan was for them.

We read in verse 2 that Saul and Ahijah (the priest) were resting under the pomegranate tree…what were they doing under the pomegranate tree in this time of war?

We read as well that the priest was wearing an ephod (v.3)– a vest used for divination, to know the will of the LORD.

Two scenarios:

1. Saul did not seek the Lord’s Will – despite having the Priest with Ephod. He was still waiting for an opportunity to attack and probably was fearful of what would happen if he made a move.

2. Saul did not receive instruction from God – they were seeking God’s instruction but there was no message, there was no instruction from the LORD. God did not speak through Ahijah to give His instruction to Saul.

Instead, God works through the heart of Jonathan, who is trusting to the LORD and was dependent upon the LORD’s leading!

Reflection:

· How well do I know God?

· Have I experienced God’s hand at work in my life?

Application:

1. Deepen your conviction of God by spending more time with Him in Word and Prayer.

Transition:

Your conviction (faith) in God will be evident in the way you live and in the way you make decisions.

In difficult situations like that of Jonathan, will you be fearful or courageous?

Well, Jonathan showed courage! and that leads me to 2nd point.

II. You must have faith-enabled COURAGE

- Jonathan’s proper understanding of God’s power to save enabled him to act with courage! (v.8)

Was it a SUICIDE ATTACK???

• No, it was an exercise of faith!

Illustration:

Hebrews 11:8 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.

Hebrews 11:17–19 17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; 18 it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” 19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.

Hebrews 11:30 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.

Our courage should be based not on our ability but on God’s ability and character.

Application:

1. Spend more time looking at God and His ability than looking at your inability.

2. Spend time with people who are courageously walking in the Lord.

- people who are not afraid to be mocked by the world because of sharing the gospel

- people who stand firm in their faith without compromise.

- people who are willing to obey the Lord despite the possibility of losing their jobs, friends, and loved ones.

3. Attempt great things for God(to point people to Jesus. Ex. William Carey)

Transition:

A Christian needs to be courageous, but at the same time prudent (vigilant) to wait upon the Lord’s confirmation before acting on something to avoid mistakes.

Like Jonathan, who waited for the Lord’s confirmation before acting.

III. You must have a faith-enabled CONFIRMATION

Jonathan waited for the Lord’s confirmation. (vv.9-14)

Jonathan learned from the mistake of His father who had not waited for the Lord.

A. Jonathan observed and waited for God’s confirmation (vv.9-10)

How do we know it is the will of the Lord? – through His Word, through Conviction, Through confirmation.

B. Jonathan acted when it was time (vv.11-13)

Real faith is accompanied by action.

You need to cooperate with God by doing your part – waiting & walking in step with God.

Illustration:

In ballroom dancing, the two dancers need to walk in step with one another…they need to have proper coordination, to avoid stepping on each other’s feet.

To have proper coordination, they need to know each other very well, which is achieved by constant practice, dancing together, spending a lot of time together…

Result of waiting and acting at the right time (v.14):

Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed 20 men and had a little but sweet victory over the enemies.

Proverbs 3:5–7“5 Trustin the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”

acknowledge - submit, the idea of having intimacy

Application:

1. Our responsibility is to consult God’s Word so we can know and then submit to His will.

2. Consult godly people.

3. After we get confirmation, we need to act on it.

Transition:

As we do our part of having a deep conviction in God’s character and ability to save, having the courage to act and the patient’s to wait upon God’s confirmation, God will also do His part.

IV. You must look forward for God to CONTEND.

God intervened to secure their victory and empowered others to fight! (vv.15-23)

THE REAL REASON FOR DELIVERANCE

God intervened! God moved in response to Jonathan’s exercise of faith!

In the end, it was not Jonathan, nor Saul, who delivered Israel that day – It was God (v.23). Even without the aid of the ARK, and the priest.

God caused the earth to quake (v.15) and caused the confusion/fear in the hearts of the enemies, that they killed each other (v.20)

(v.16) Saul and the rest who were in hiding were encouraged and joined in after they saw the commotion and the confusion of the enemies.

Because of God’s empowerment and the display of Jonathan’s conviction and courage that melted the enemy, The fearful Israelites were encouraged to fight and later achieved victory!

GOD did not abandon Israel, despite the disobedience of their King.

Application:

1. Expect God’s hand to move in your circumstance according to His timeline and ways. (He can change your circumstances but not in our timeline and in the way we wanted).

Gospel:

Like Saul and the Israelites, we are in a helpless situation because of sin. We are helpless from the power of sin. We can’t do anything to defeat sin and therefore we were all hell-bound.

But God intervened to save Israel by using Jonathan. In the same way, God intervened for us by sending His Son Jesus Christ to save us by dying on our behalf.

So that, through faith in His finished work on the cross, and the shedding of His blood, we will be rescued from the eternal pain of hell.

Conclusion:

Like Jonathan, let your faith be rooted in the God who saves! Believe that nothing and no one can hinder God from saving you! Even your sins, no matter how big and how many! God forgives and God rescues.

Even in your times of trouble and hopelessness, have courage! Jesus has conquered sin and death! Jesus, our conquering King is always with us until the end of the age!

Because God saves, exercise your faith!