Faith that acts 1 Samuel 14:1-23

Introduction

Have you ever found yourself in a moment when everything around you screamed, “It’s over”? When the odds were stacked against you, when fear sat heavy on your shoulders, and the path forward seemed impossible?

That’s exactly where Israel finds itself in 1 Samuel 14. The Philistines have overwhelmed the land, God’s people are hiding in caves, and their king, Saul, is sitting under a pomegranate tree — paralyzed, passive, and uncertain. Fear dominates the camp. Faith is hard to find.

But in the middle of this fear-filled silence, one young man rises — Jonathan, the son of Saul. While everyone else is waiting, Jonathan starts walking. While others sit back, he steps up. Why? Because he believes something powerful: “There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.”

This passage reminds us that real faith doesn’t wait for perfect conditions — it moves forward, trusting in the power of God. Faith doesn’t need a crowd, just a conviction that God is able. And faith, even from one person, can ignite a victory for an entire nation.

And as we walk through this text, here’s the big idea I want to press on your heart:

“Faith moves forward when fear sits still — because the battle belongs to the Lord.”

If you’ve been standing still in fear, wondering if God can come through — this message is for you. Let’s see what God can do with a willing heart and a little faith.

Faiths Initiative vs 1-7

Jonathans secret mission vs. 1-3

There was some fear in the camp because of the great army of the Philistines that had overtaken many of the cities surrounding the Israelites.

When fear comes into our lives we have a choice to make and here Jonathan made a choice that he wouldn’t allow fear to cripple him, instead he came up with a plan to defeat the Philistines.

We find Jonathan ready to fight and Saul ready to sit

While Jonathan is planning his attack we find Saul sitting under the pomegranate tree.

Notice the 600 men Saul has left in the Israelite army are there with him, but he also has the rejected priestly line with him

He has his reasons for calling him Ahiah the “son of Ahitub, brother of Ichabod [remember the dark day when “No glory” was born, ], son of Phinehas [Phinehas, who dishonored the priesthood through indulgence and immorality., son of Eli [whose line would be judged and excluded, 2:27–36; 3:11–14], The Lords priest in Shiloh.” The writer may be saying more than appears. “Here are the leaders: sitting there is Saul, whose dynasty has been rejected (13:13–14), assisted by Ahijah, whose priestly line has been rejected.

Our faith should cause us to go forward for the cause of Christ and not to be crippled by fear.

The description of the path vs. 4-5

The path that Jonathan chose would not have been an easy one they were surrounded by sharp rocks and to most would seem like an impassible route

Jonathans faith in Gods power vs. 6

While Saul might’ve struggled with his faith, his son Jonathan got it

He realized something that his dad didn’t, God doesn’t need the most people to win, in fact God doesn’t need any of us to win, because he has already won.

He realized the battle didn’t belong to him, it belonged to the Lord

So often we find ourselves trying to fight our battles in our own strength, and forget that God will fight for us if we let Him!

I love what he says here

It may be that the Lord will work for us

God is always working for us

For their is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few

Here he tells his armor bearer “The number of people on our side doesn’t matter because we have God on our side” He’s not looking at the odds!

Romans 8:31 “31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”

A faithful friend vs. 7

Jonathans armour bearer was bought into the mission, he had heard the odds that were against him

Notice though he wasn’t just a yes man, his heart was in following Jonathan.

There is a great difference between the 600 following Saul and the one following Jonathan and that was the faith filled leader who knew that the battle wasn’t his to fight it was the Lords, and the Lord can win the battle with one just as easy as he could win the battle with 600 or 6 million.

Application: True faith won’t be overcome by fear. When we realize that God fights your battles for you, you will no longer be crippled by fear and you, like Jonathan can face the enemy

Faiths test vs. 8-14

A sign from God vs. 8-10

Jonathans plan is simple, but it will decide what the Lord wants them to do

They would reveal themselves to the Philistines

If they told them to stay, they would stay where they were and they wouldn’t go up to them

A divine appointment vs. 11-12

They showed themselves to the Philistines and the Philistines told them to come up to them

So Jonathan calls his armorbearer to go up to them

Look at the wording in verse 12 “for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.

Wiersbe said this “This kind of arrogant self-confidence was exactly what Jonathan wanted to see, because this gave him and his armor-bearer opportunity to get close to the guards before attacking. Who would fear one soldier and his armor-bearer? But these two men had almighty God on their side!

A small beginning, a big impact vs. 13-14

As they went up to the Philistines Jonathan and his armorbearer slew 20 men, which 2 vs. 20 is a pretty good defeat, but what happened next is an even bigger miracle

Terror and confusion gripped the enemy camp and prepared the way for a great victory of the army of Israel.

All of the Philistines trembled and the earth shook

Great moves of God often start small

Application: It doesn’t matter who you are fighting if God is on your side and fighting the battle for you. There are some great victories in the Bible, we could read about the battles one on the conquest of the promised land, or any of the battles in the historical section of the bible, but none of those battles compare to the battle that Jesus Christ won on the cross where he defeated death, hell and the grave, where we can cry out “O death where is thy sting, O grave where is thy victory” He fought an won that battle so we could have eternal life, and all we have to do is believe the Gospel! What a great victory!

Faiths victory vs. 15-23

Confusion in the camp vs. 15

After their defeat of the 20 men, there is confusion and chaos in the Philistine camp

They are trembling, the earth is quaking, the bible tells us there was a very great trembling. Look at the vivd picture in vs. 15

This is only something God can do, and God showed up because of the faith that Jonathan had in Gods ability to fight for him!

Saul joins the action vs. 16-19

In the first part of this chapter we find Saul under the pomegranate tree, and now his watchmen see the craziness going on and they get Saul up

They see the Philistines running down the mountains and in the confusion they were beating each other down

Saul’s reaction is to number the people

They number the people only to realize that Jonathan and his armorbearer are the ones missing.

This was the second time that Jonathan had acted on his own (13:3), and it probably irritated Saul that his own son should be so independent. As we study the life of Saul, we will see more and more evidence that he was what some people call a “control freak.” He envied other people’s success, he was suspicious of any strategy he didn’t originate or at least approve, and he was ruthless when it came to removing people who challenged his leadership or exposed his folly.

After Saul realizes who is missing he does something interesting, He asks the priest to bring the ark of the covenant.

He was probably planning to take the ark to the battlefield with the army, a foolish tactic that had brought judgment in Eli’s day (chap. 4), and the priest could use the ephod to determine God’s will in the matter.

But the priest never had a chance to determine God’s will, for when Saul heard the noise of the battle increasing, he interrupted the divine proceedings and made his own decision. Once again, Saul’s impatience and self-confidence got the best of him, and he acted without knowing God’s will or receiving God’s blessing

Israel joins the fight vs. 20-22

The bible tells us that all Israel came together and they took their sword was against the enemy and there was a very great discomfiture which means “Rout; defeat in battle; dispersion; overthrow”

The hebrews left at the camp came to join in on the fight

Even the Hebrews that ran to the hills after seeing they were outnumbered by the Philistines came out to join in the battle

They followed hard after them in battle

The Lord won the battle vs. 23

No amount of strategy or planning could have won this battle for the Israelites, it was the Lord

NO amount of soldiers or weapons could’ve won this battle for the Israelites, it was the LORD

Application: We must remember that the Lord fights our battles and he always wins, but just like the children of Israel conquering the promised land, we can’t sit back in fear, we must go forward in faith!

Conclusion

Jonathan didn’t wait for favorable conditions. He didn’t wait until the numbers made sense. He didn’t wait for the approval of men — not even his own father, the king.

He simply trusted that God was able, and that God was with him.

And what did God do with one bold step of faith? — He shook the enemy. — He stirred the people. — He secured the victory.

The battle was the Lord’s — but the faith belonged to Jonathan.

Let me ask you: What battle are you facing today that looks impossible? What situation has you hiding in the caves of fear, waiting for something to change? Could it be that God is waiting on you to move, so He can show you His power?

Remember what Jonathan said:

“There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.”

Whether you feel outnumbered, overwhelmed, or overlooked — if God is with you, that’s enough.

Maybe today is the day you stop sitting under the tree of indecision, and start climbing by faith. Maybe today is the day you stop counting who’s on your side, and start trusting who is on your side.

Because the same God who gave Jonathan victory that day is still fighting for His people — and He has already won the greatest battle at the cross. Through Jesus, sin has been crushed, death has been defeated, and the tomb is empty.

Now it’s your turn to move forward. Not in fear — but in faith.

If you have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ come today and we can show you from God’s word how you can be saved