Compromise or Courage: Responding to Tests of Faith

PRAY

INTRO: Our lives are not short on crises nor on conflict. We all face them—sometimes daily, sometimes for prolonged periods. The Bible teaches us that God uses such circumstances as tests of our faith. Will we compromise, attempting to take matters into our own hands instead of staying faithful to God’s command, or will we courageously face each crisis with confident commitment to God’s will and his glory?

Today in our text we see how two family members respond very differently to what can most certainly be viewed as tests of faith. One fails miserably, and the other passes with flying colors. The first is King Saul, the second prince Jonathan. The King caves to pressure and behaves wisely in his own eyes (Prov. 3:7), while the prince acts in courageous confidence in the God who goes with them (Deut 31:6).

Let’s look at the situation that Isreal finds herself in. In spite of her sin in requesting a king (instead of trusting God to continue ruling them), God uses this for his sovereign purposes and gives them Saul (son of Kish) to be Israel’s first-ever king. You’ll recall that Saul looks the part (he’s a huge hunk), and the people like him. But not quite everyone is made a full-blown Saul supporter until the Holy Spirit rushes on Saul to the lead the people in successful battle against Nahash, the leader of the Ammonites oppressing the people of northeastern Israel.

As Israel confirms and celebrates her king, Samuel gives a public address to call the people to repentance and confirm their allegiance and accountability to the Lord their God.

We find ourselves in our text today, in the not too distant future, with Israel beginning again to deal with an all too familiar enemy:

Saul and the Philistines (13:1-7)

1 Samuel 13:1–7 ESV

Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for two years over Israel, Saul chose three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. The rest of the people he sent home, every man to his tent. Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba, and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear.” And all Israel heard it said that Saul had defeated the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel had become a stench to the Philistines. And the people were called out to join Saul at Gilgal. And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

The Setting

There are textual issues with v. 1, such that the Gk Septuagint* omits the verse altogether bc of it’s lack of clarity. (*the Hebrew scriptures translated into Greek around 250 years before Christ)

There’s a number missing in Saul’s age, which probably should read 30 or 40 (or something between). 1 Sam. 9:2 called him a young man (or choice man in his prime… kind of idea) - Many of you would call me a “young man” in the prime of life, right? Well, I’m 37. Now I am neither tall nor a runway model like Saul, but you get the point.

Also, if this is meant to be the typical kingship formula then another number is missing before the two (which would be the number 40, since that was both the common understanding and the length Acts 13:21 says that he reigned (no doubt a rounded figure). So it might have read forty and two years.

BUT… It’s also probable from the context that this isn’t the kingship formula but would read something like “Saul was [30 or 40] years old when he began to reign, and when he had reigned two years...”

Saul’s Standing Army

3000 men - 2000 with Saul, 1000 with Jonathan (old enough to fight)

[map 1 - Saul’s kingdom]

Philistine control over Israel

Is Saul complacent?…

1 Samuel 10:7 ESV

Now when these signs meet you, do what your hand finds to do, for God is with you.

It is Jonathan’s initiative (at Geba)…

Jonathan Wakes the Giant

Jonathan attacks and defeats one of the Philistine garrisons, the one at Geba.

The Philistines get wind of it and Saul knows he must draw more troops. So he blows a trumpet to start a chain reaction of getting word out to Israel to join him at Gilgal.

And boy, did Jonathan and Saul ever stir the hornets nest. The Philistines come out in a HUGE show of force (probably) 3,000 chariots and 6,000 horsemen and too many foot soldiers to count!

The people see and hear of this force, and they hide and scatter.

Saul is at Gilgal, but anyone who remains with him is quaking with fear.

Saul’s Impatient Disobedience (13:8-15)

1 Samuel 13:8–15 ESV

He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. So Saul said, “Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the peace offerings.” And he offered the burnt offering. As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came. And Saul went out to meet him and greet him. Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattering from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines had mustered at Michmash, I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the favor of the Lord.’ So I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering.” And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the Lord your God, with which he commanded you. For then the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” And Samuel arose and went up from Gilgal. The rest of the people went up after Saul to meet the army; they went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

Waiting for Samuel

Samuel had previously said...

1 Samuel 10:8 ESV

Then go down before me to Gilgal. And behold, I am coming down to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do.”

Given the context, Saul knew exactly what he was supposed to do.

Saul’s Compromise & Excuse

In Saul’s “defense,” the situation is dire and he wants to seek the Lord’s favor.

So what’s the problem? - Saul disregarded direct instruction.

Application:

When is it ok to disobey? (When is it ok to disregard God’s instructions?) - When you’re in a desperate situation? When you’re convinced that you’re doing something that God would actually want you to do? (even though he has expressly given a different command… doing the wrong thing for the “right reasons”?)

Why must obedience be complete? (the way we’ve been instructed with the right heart attitude—joyful and submissive)

1 Samuel 12:24 ESV

Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

Obedience is the evidence of the condition of our hearts. Failure to obey is failing to obey the test of faith. [consider Abraham… and the letter of James]

If we don’t find it a joy to obey God, then we have forgotten (or never fully appreciated) his great grace to us.

Samuel’s Rebuke

You have done Foolishly

Not keeping the command

Your kingdom would have continued, but now it is doomed. Your kingdom ends with you.

The Lord is choosing for himself another king who has a submissive heart to him, who will obey His will.

Your lack of submission to God as evidenced by this sin is the direct cause of God giving the kingdom to another.

Application: Is God’s response to Saul overly harsh? (Or his response to our sin?)

Can there be any injustice in God?

Job 34:10 ESV

“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding: far be it from God that he should do wickedness, and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.

Romans 3:5 ESV

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.)

Does God do what he says? (He said: 1 Sam 12:14 & 12:25)

Numbers 23:19 ESV

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

Just as Saul’s kingship rose from nothing and started well, so it quickly declines into a display of Saul’s lack of submission to God, such that will lead to nothing. His family is unseated from the throne, and it’s due to Saul’s disobedience. The deep irony in all this, almost to the point that it pains me, is that Jonathan is also deeply impacted by Saul’s sin, and yet Jonathan is faithful to God and courageous in his actions.

But first! (further context)...

A Severe Situation: Outmanned and Outgunned (13:16-23)

1 Samuel 13:16–23 ESV

And Saul and Jonathan his son and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin, but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual; another company turned toward Beth-horon; and another company turned toward the border that looks down on the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness. Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.” But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.

[in this case, the continued consequences of sin… the people, and Saul]

No direction from God

Saul fowled up seeking God’s favor, and receives no direction from God through Samuel.

HUGE Philistine force, tiny Israelite band

(600 left)

Raiders have gone out in three other directions

(destroyers - special forces) to subdue and subject everything and everyone in their path

Israel is poorly armed

Severely outgunned (out-sworded and out-speared) - only Saul and Jonathan have swords (Philistines must have confiscated weapons prior to this)

Jonathan’s Daring Attack (14:1-15)

1 Samuel 14:1–15 ESV

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. 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, 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. 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. The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba. 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.” 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.” Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 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. 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.” 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.” 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.” 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. 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. 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.

[in their own words…]

“Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving”

- faith

“The question in Jonathan’s mind is not whether God can deliver the Philistines into the hands of the Israelites, but whether this is God’s will.” (Deffinbaugh)

“I am with you heart and soul”

- the confidence in a teammate to follow someone who has faith in God and courage to see him glorified

“the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel”

- confident conviction that God confirmed his will

Application: (and summary)

What is the great contrast between Saul and Jonathan at this point? (The coming of a crisis, and our reaction to it, reveals who we are.) - One is complacent and compromising, while the other is courageous because of his confidence in God.

What about you, are you confident in God? How can we strengthen our confidence in God to act submissively to his will and courageously for his glory?

[By way of conclusion, I’d like us to finish reading chapter 14 (which we’ll discuss a bit more next time. But for now I’d like to read it so that you can see the blessing of the Lord because of Jonathan’s courage.]

The Lord Rescues Israel (14:15-23)

As opposed to the disastrous consequences brought on by Saul’s disobedience, consider here the God-honoring result of Jonathan submissively seeking God’s will and courageously seeking God’s glory.

1 Samuel 14:15–23 ESV

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. And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there. 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. 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. 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.” 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. 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. 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. So the Lord saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.

Questions for further thought and discussion:

What’s going on in this passage from 1 Samuel 13 and half of 14 that doesn’t translate to the NT church and your current situation? What aspects are applicable today?

What aim does Saul have that seems right? But then how does he get it wrong? Why is it a big deal to God (& Samuel)?

Does Jonathan seem to be acting in youthful ignorance or from faith in God? How can you tell?

What tests of faith have you recently faced? How did you respond?

What tests of faith are you facing even now? How are you inclined to respond? What should you do?