Brave and Loyal
Notes
Transcript
Claim - Jonathan trusts God to save in His strength, Saul keeps relying on his own plans which lead to sad and complicated victories that don’t last or save
Focus - We want to be like Jonathan, but we are like Saul, which is why we need Jesus!
Function - To rejoice in Jesus, the the one who trusted when we do not!
Pray
I know - I know -
you’ve been on the edge of your seat since Novemeber the 29th - not for the end of lockdown - but for the next chapter of 1 Samuel!
We were left on a cliff hanger in chapter 13.
In fact we should have read the first few verse of this chapter as we find Jonathan (Saul’s son) literally on a cliff hanger! But we’ll come to that.
First we need to set our context agina from chapter 13 to help us apply todays chapter.
Chapter 13 showed us how the King the Israelites wanted - Saul, a King like all the other nations,
wasn’t going to save them.
The Philistines - the great enemy - struck fear into the Israeliets,
Soldiers have fled to the hills,
And if you remember,
the prophet Samuel was a little late in turning up to make sacrfifces to the Lord God
before the battle could commnce,
And so we found that King Saul did not have faith in God,
And so he did not follow God’s word delieverd through the prophet Samuel -
and so he went ahead, without Samuel, and made sacrifices to God on his own.
“What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash, I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
I don’t know about you, but I felt a bit for Saul in that situation.
He’s trying to do what he thinks is best,
But apparently not:
“You have done a foolish thing,” Samuel said. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.
It’s a finite judgement.
Saul’s reign and dynysty will not last.
Like us, Saul finds obedince to God’s word,
especially when it requires patience, and serious trust, very difficult.
He took things into his own hands
- like Adam and eve who desired knowledge or equality with God - and so acted against God’s command.
Abraham and Sarah who desired a child and feared they could wait no longer,
Like you or me who find ourselevs often dissatisfied with this life
- and rather than choosing obedience to God’s word,
We fix things our own way
How would you finish this sentance...
One area I am struggerling to obey God in His word is...
greed?
angre?
gossip?
lust?
hatred?
worry?
selfish comfort?
I wonder how often we seek fulfilment in those areas - rather than trusting God by obeying His word.
Our disobeidience all boils down to the King Saul tradgedy:
He did not obey, becasue he did not really trust that God
in His word
had it all under control!
If he did he’d have waited!
If we did - well we would wait -
patiently obeying.
Obedince to God requires braveyr, humility and trust:
bravery - to do the right thing when it’s hard,
humility - to know your ways may not be God’s
trust - that God will save His people
We foolishly believe that our way, our instant plans for fulfilment - are better than God’s.
Perhaps you don’t even have a faith in God at all! So why would you obey, trust and be patient in Him?
But whatever our king is, however our lack of faith is demonstrated..
We have done a foolish thing!
For as we see with King Saul
- our dynasty will fail
- our false kings will let us down
- the enemy will overcome.
We have done a foolish thing!
For Saul,
his army scattering,
Samuel the prophet - leaving in disgust,
He’s told he’s a fool for not trusting and being patient with God.
The Philistione army are looming,
His soldiers don’t even have any swords, 13v23
King Saul - has failed God,
He and all the Israeliets who asked for a King just like this - they are finsished - surely!
We are finished for our disobediecen - surely!?
It’s battle day - and it’s not looking good.
and we’re left in the hands of 2 people at the end of chapter 13 and beginning of 14
The King Saul
and His Son Jonathan -
Both under the same judgement -
for Jonathan is the crown prince who will never wear the crown.
SO what will our 2 main characters do?
One day Jonathan son of Saul said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
And while Jonathan gets on with things, armed with his one sword and young armour bearer:
Saul...
Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left.
Jonathan ‘moves’ with his lone sword and young armour bearer,
Saul the leader ‘Sits’ under the tree, with 600 men, a priest, an ephop that was used to discern the will of God!
It’s hard to know what Saul was hoping would happne next!
But isn’t that the case with all the kings we want?
They look good -
They promise much -
But at the end of the day they are sat under the pomegranit tree - waiting for us to serve them.
While Jonathan and his young servant walk between 2 great cliffs -one on each side - towards the enemy
His Father and King and Military leader has failed,
And his task against the enemy seems impassabale and impossibly dangerous!
But v6 reveals a great secret - not so much the plan Jonathan has - but the faith he has:
Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, “Come, let’s go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”
Jonathan has faith marked by 3 things:
Bravery - let us go over to those uncricumsised men!
Humility - Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf - he assumes nothing of his own plans, but knows all is down to the Lord,
Trust - Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.
It’s an extraordinary statement
- that takes us by suprise given his Father’s example of taking things into his own hands as he sees fit.
Of course Jonathan is taking things in hand by acting - acting with great bravery -
But it is not based on selfish ambition,
or on vain pride,
or on entitlement,
Or his own abilities.
It is based on a humility that says God may or may not help me here - that’s up to Him
But one thing I do know and trust - is that he will Save his people!
His young armour bearer who you’d think would leg it
“Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.”
This young man - porbably a boy, aslo has faith in his master,
He shows the same Bravry, he shows untold loyalty
- and one can only presume given what Jonathan has just said about the Lord
- that the armour bearers bravery and loyalty is based on the same faith that God can save!
We don’t have time for the detail of the strory - but basically,
they trust that if the Phlistines call them up the cliff then God will give them victory,
but if the the Philistiones come down the cliff - then this is not the time!
Of course God rewards such Brave, humble, and trustful faith
- and as they entre the philistine camp they sleigh 20 men and then chaos and fear and confusion engulf the philistines.
Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.
God works through his brave, humble, and trusting servants to save his people.
Think of the brave humble and trusting frontier missionaries who in times gone by would pack their beloging ins in a coffin, knowing that that is what they would return home in.
This is the kind of Faith of Jonathan,
But God’s people were saved through them.
In 15 to 19 Saul runs around wondering what to do when they hear and see the enemy confused.
But eventually - look what Jonathan and his bearer achieve through the work of God:
Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords. Those Hebrews who had previously been with the Philistines and had gone up with them to their camp went over to the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit. So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.
Through His servant Jonathan - God saved Israel.
And reunited His people as one!
It’s a picture of the King the Israeliets really need isn’t it.
Brave, humble, trusting, loyal - a man of faith.
A rescuer who’s actions result in the ‘scared ‘ coming out of hiding,
a rescuer who is prepraed to give his own life to save his people’s.
a rescuer who trust God’s will over his own suffering,
As we consider Jonathan, surely we then consider Jesus - the King we all need!
Brave - for he goes willingly to defeat the enemy Satan and his evil,
Humble - for he gave up the glory of heaven to live a life of total obedince to His Father, even to death.,
Trusting - that God can save by few, or by many - or as Jesus knew - he can save by 1!
You see faced with our failing kings today,
faced with our own disobedince and lack of trust,
faced with our fear casueing us to hide in the hills,
faced with no hope,
We look up and realise God will save through another King,
the brave, humble trusting servant = the Lord Jesus.
Our role is to follow!
Like the young armour bearer
- our bravery, our humility, our trust, is based not on what we can do
- but on our loyalty to our master.
He has taken the risk,
approached our enemies,
defeated them and won,
We like the bearer can be brave and loyal - obedient and faithful - becasue he has already acheieved it!
We follow - we don’t lead.
And so when we fail - and when our false kings fail,
it is not the end (as Jonathan might have thought)
it is our reminder to look to our saviour Jesus!
Who single handedly brings our enemies to their knees in confusion,
Freeing us -
By the Lord’s strength - we can be brave and Loyal to Him - whatever our temptations.
The last half of this chapter only goes to emphasis the tradgedy of either following a king other than Jesus, or even trying to be your own king, over Jesus!
The author gives us a flash back of before the battle explaining how Saul
in the dent to his pride of chapter 13, wants revenge on the enemy..
Now the Israelites were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
Notice the selfish heart of Saul,
I, My, myself!
Unlike Jonathans - ‘Perhaps, the Lord will help me, ‘
The Lord will save.
Back to the insueing battle and of course Johnathan wasn’t there when Saul gave the oath
- so he happily eats wild honey while pursuing the philistines!
Jonathan even tells the soldiers what a ridiculous oath that is - surely they need to be well fed and energised to fight!
Not only that, but the troops are so hungry that once the enemy is defeated and ‘Sauls personal vedetta is accomplished’ -
they then sin against God himself
by eating the livestock they plunder with the blood still in it!
It’s sad isn’t it that having asked for a King who would not save them,
they are still more concnerned to keep his commands - not to eat until they have won,
rather than God’s commands to not eat animlas with blood still in them.
But that is what following anyone other than Jesus does!
It’s a downward slippery slope - the false kings draw us in,
we become slaves to their commands more than the one king we truely need
- the one king who can save us - the Lord Jesus!
The guilt we feel when we betray our true king Jesus while obeying the foolish demands of our false kings - of greed, and pride, comfort and angre, lust!
But the The Israelites finally seem to get it when later on King Saul discovers that Jonathan ate honey when he shouldn’t have.
And the Israleietes are faced with a choice between the King they wanted - Saul,
and the rescuer that God used to deliever them - Jonathan.
You see God is silent when the preists suggest that King Saul should enquire of God before pursueing the Philitines even further.
Saul therefore said, “Come here, all you who are leaders of the army, and let us find out what sin has been committed today. As surely as the Lord who rescues Israel lives, even if the guilt lies with my son Jonathan, he must die.” But not one of them said a word.
It’s astonsihing how tradigc Saul has become...
Even demanding the life of his own son - who has just delievered Him and his people from the enemy - becasue he ate a little honey!!
Meanwhile Saul has disobeyed ‘God,’
the entire army has sinned by eating animals with the blood -
and Saul thinks God’s silenece is down to Jonathan who hadn’t heard Sauls selfish and proud oath about his army fasting until vicotry!
But we shouldn’t be surpirsed - our own kings today demand the same.
We are enslaved to our pursuit of money, or comfort - forever pursueing more, never satisfied.
And the sad truth is they lead to our own death and judgement before God,
and in all lieklyhood the same judgement upon our chidlren -
for we have not riased them by example and instruction to be brave and loyal to the true King alone!
But there
smile - pause
in that failure and repenctance again - lies the great hope of the gospel - of this passage.
The people are saved despite their sin - despite their disobedince.
Despite their bad choice of King!
For God saved them, by a few (Jonathan and the bearer).
And so to for us - God has saved us, by just one - his only son Jesus.
Who wasn’t rescued by the poeple - as Jonathan was -
but was crucified on the cross -
to take the sin of the very people who killed him,
so long as they repented and believed he is the true King -son of God.
IN the end - the brave, humble and trusting saviour
- enabled the people to be brave and loyal to him
And so with us,
whatever King we keep bowing to must now be rejected!
Not thorugh our bravery but becasue Jesus has saved us despite our kings already!
And as we marvel at our brave, humble and trusting saviour King Jesus,
We follow his example, we follow like an armour bearer for Him our warrioir,
Brave and Loyal - for we know God will Save His people - through one man,
Jesus
Pray