Where Faith Looks

Let’s refresh our memories with what happened in 1 Samuel 13:

King Saul (not the Saul whose name would later be changed to “Paul”, but the OT king of Israel in the 11th Century before Christ)—King Saul decided to take a few thousand men and go after the much stronger, much larger, much better-equipped Philistines.

King Saul and his son, Jonathan, go and poke the bear that is Philistia. They realize, quickly, how outnumbered and out-gunned they are, and so the men with Saul run and hide in the rocks and pits, some in cisterns; others crossed the Jordan River (that is, they ran far, far away; you would, too).

Israel is scared and Saul is impatient. He had been given direction from the Lord’s prophet, Samuel, to wait for seven days and then Samuel would come and tell Saul exactly what to do.

But Saul couldn’t wait or wouldn’t wait. He felt compelled to offer the sacrifices ahead of Samuel’s arrival. There’s a fancy, somewhat-technical, theological term for this.

It’s “DUMB”—d-u-m-b, dum-buh.

In a verse that is as sad as it gets, verse 15 tells us that Samuel left Gilgal. The prophet of the Lord with the word of the Lord has left the building, er, battlefield.

Saul was left to fend for himself against the vastly superior Philistines. Saul has 600 men left and no swords, no spears, and worst of all, no guidance from the Lord Yahweh.

This is where we find the Israelite army, “led” by Saul and Jonathan when we turn from Chapter 13 to Chapter 14.

1 Samuel 13:23–14:5 NIV

23 Now a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Mikmash. 1 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. 2 Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men, 3 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. 4 On each side of the pass that Jonathan intended to cross to reach the Philistine outpost was a cliff; one was called Bozez and the other Seneh. 5 One cliff stood to the north toward Mikmash, the other to the south toward Geba.

As we start reading through 1 Samuel 14, we notice a few things right off.

We see:

Jonathan hatching a secret plan. He did not tell his father what he was going to do. Jonathan knew something; he at least worried what, if anything, Saul would do. When we find Saul, he’s just chilling underneath a pomegranate tree. Why not?

We catch up with two rejected leaders, Saul and Ahijah.

Saul was rejected as king in 1 Samuel 13. Samuel told King Saul that his kingdom will not endure because of his disobedience. So Saul sits here, a rejected king.

And kind of out-of-nowhere, we are introduced to Ahijah, this man wearing the priestly ephod. But what we learn from Ahijah’s little genealogy here is that he is the great-grandson of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. Eli’s line, including this fella, Ahijah, was rejected by the Lord (1 Samuel 2:27-36, 3:11-14).

So, the group with the bulk of the men is being “led” by two rejected leaders.

A secret plan, rejected leaders, and an impossible path forward.

Where Jonathan had decided to cross was apparently at the worst spot imaginable. A narrow pass with a cliff on each side. The names of the cliffs are given to us. These must be some famous cliffs to be named. Their names, Bozez and Seneh, can be roughly translated as “slippery” and “thorny”. So there’s a path, but it’s nearly impossible to cross.

A secret plan, a couple of rejected leaders, an impossible path—this scene has been set. What’s going to happen? What’s it going to take to get Israel out of this mess?

In a word: faith.

1 Samuel 14:6–12 NIV

6 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.” 7 “Do all that you have in mind,” his armor-bearer said. “Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Jonathan said, “Come on, then; we will cross over toward them and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. “Look!” said the Philistines. “The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in.” 12 The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us and we’ll teach you a lesson.” So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”

Faith looks, not at our circumstances, but to our God

This is the kind of faith that Jonathan has and exercises. This is what he says to his young armor-bearer:

1 Samuel 14:6b (NIV)

“Perhaps the Lord will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few.”

Jonathan is given faith to see what is truly before him. It’s not an impossible task ahead for him, because he’s not alone. His faith is expectant and understanding.

Jonathan says “perhaps”—a word used before in 1 Samuel (6:5; 9:6) that means “maybe”, but a “maybe” that always has a positive in mind.

This “perhaps” from Jonathan is expectant. It’s not a “well, here’s hoping,” but rather a faith-filled expectation that the Lord who acts on behalf of His people will act on behalf of His people again.

When I was the operations manager for a financial advisory firm in KC, regarding some of our clients’ investments, we had to repeat often the phrase: “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”

Just because a stock or an investment did this then doesn’t mean that’s how it’s gonna behave going forward.

Where God is concerned, past performance is a guarantee of future performance. God is always faithful, always good, always just. He will always fight for His people, always.

Faith believes this. Faith trusts. Faith expects. Faith looks to the Lord, and not to circumstances.

What’s more, Jonathan’s “perhaps” confesses the power the Lord has and also retains the freedom of the Lord; Jonathan knows that the Lord will do as He pleases. Faith doesn’t dictate to God, like Saul thinking he could coerce God’s favor out of Him.

Faith looks to God and trusts Him fully.

Saul’s just sipping on a pommie-salami in the shade of the pomegranate tree, worrying about numbers. Jonathan on the other hand is trusting the Lord in spite of the circumstances.

Faith like Jonathan’s is expectant and it’s backed up with some understanding.

He knows there is no limit to what the Lord can do—just think about what the Lord has done in Israel’s history up to this point.

The authors of the Bible make a point to bring up God’s rescue of His people , God’s bringing His people out of Egypt, parting the Red Sea so they walked through on dry ground; God’s providing for His people in the wilderness; God bringing His people into the Promised Land; God providing judges to deliver the people.

Most recently, 1 Samuel 7, the Lord fought the Philistines for His people, throwing them into a panic: “the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the Lord thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites.”

There is no limit to what the Lord can do. Or, as Jonathan puts it: nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by a few.

There is no obstacle to prevent the Lord from rescuing His people. Nothing can stand in the way of the Lord’s salvation. Nothing. This is Jonathan’s faith, his conviction, his understanding.

Jonathan is walking by faith, believing God will lead them based on what the Philistines say to them. The Philistines mock them a bit and then tell Jonathan to “come up to them” (v. 12), the exact words Jonathan used in verse 10.

And Jonathan goes forward in faith: 1 Samuel 14:12 “So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Climb up after me; the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.”

Faith, like Jonathan’s, looks—not at our circumstances—but to our God.

There’s more:

1 Samuel 14:13–23 NIV

13 Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. 14 In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre. 15 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. 16 Saul’s lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. 17 Then Saul said to the men who were with him, “Muster the forces and see who has left us.” When they did, it was Jonathan and his armor-bearer who were not there. 18 Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God.” (At that time it was with the Israelites.) 19 While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the Philistine camp increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 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. 21 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. 22 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. 23 So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.

Faith looks to God who gives the victory

Jonathan and his armor-bearer—the few the Lord will use to save (v. 6)—go, and the Philistines fall. It started with 20 Philistines. And then there was panic. Then the ground shook. This terrible panic was a panic sent by God (v. 15).

The Philistine army was melting away in all directions (v. 16). The tumult (noise) in the Philistine camp increased more and more (v. 18).

When Saul and all his men decided to get off their biscuits and join the battle, what they found was the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with their swords (v. 20).

This, because victory belongs to the Lord—certainly not to Saul or his lazy men, and not even to Jonathan and his armor-bearer (though Jonathan was certainly more involved than Saul).

The Israelites who had fled in fear even join in on the battle as soon as they heard the Philistines were on the run (v. 22). It’s pretty easy to join the fight after the bad guys have left. Sissies. Faithless sissies.

Verse 23 sums up the entire battle:

1 Samuel 14:23 NIV

23 So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven.

Faith looks to the God who gives the victory in total, not just to a god who lends a hand. The Philistines are handled, not by the clever military strategy of the king or anyone else, but by the hand of God.

Jonathan was right. It was the Lord who had given the Philistines into the hand of Israel (v. 12). Faith looks not at our own ability, but to God who gives the victory.

We were dead in our transgressions and sins…we were by nature deserving of wrath, but because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2).

Faith looks God—the One and Only God—to give the victory. We can NOT do it. We, like Israel, are helpless. We’re dead. Dead people can’t fight. But God can, and does. Faith looks to Him.

In this next section, verses 24-46, there’s a lot going on. It’s too much to read (which is partly why I suggested you read it ahead of time).

So let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

There’s an interesting shift from verse 23 to verse 24.

1 Samuel 14:23–24 NIV

23 So on that day the Lord saved Israel, and the battle moved on beyond Beth Aven. 24 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.

What’s going on? Israel is in distress. Another translation of that phrase—in distress—is “hard-pressed”.

In 1 Samuel 13, Israel was hard-pressed because of the Philistine army’s numbers and their imminent attack.

Here, in 1 Samuel 14:24, Israel is hard-pressed because of Saul, their king.

See the contrast. The Lord saves. Saul makes a big, ol’ mess out of things. The Lord saves. Saul makes a ridiculous demand and places a curse on his men: Cursed be anyone who eats food before evening comes...

Jonathan doesn’t hear Saul makes his ridiculous demand/curse. Jonathan sees some honey and eats it. That’s how it goes.

See honey, eat honey. See honey, eat honey.

Saul’s men were faint, but they don’t dare eat any honey for fear of Saul’s curse. Saul’s men watch Jonathan eat some honey and then tell him, “Shouldn’t have done that…your dad said not to...”

Jonathan realizes his father has made trouble for the country. He says so:

1 Samuel 14:29 NIV

29 Jonathan said, “My father has made trouble for the country. See how my eyes brightened when I tasted a little of this honey.

The men are exhausted. No food. A day of battle. They are faint and they choose poorly: they eat some meat and hastily eat it with some of the blood.

This is a mess, thanks to Saul. But what’s the point? The point is:

Faith looks to God who saves in spite of us,

Salvation for the people is from the Lord, not from Saul, not from Saul’s foolish demand.

God saves—praise the Lord!—in spite of us. If salvation was dependent upon Saul, the Philistines would have rolled right over them a while ago.

If salvation was dependent upon us, that wouldn’t be good.

It’s good God saves in spite of us, because all the people have broken faith (v. 33). Saul tells his men, after they in a starved stupor eat meat with blood in (a covenant no-no), “You have broken faith.”

“Oh, yeah. That’s kind of a pot-kettle scenario, don’t ya think?”

The people and the king—all of them—have sinned against the Lord. They certainly don’t merit salvation. If it was based on performance, no one of them would have been saved.

Saul was ready to kill his son for eating some honey. Whackadoodle.

Saul goes through this elaborate scheme of offering sacrifices, praying to God for an answer, using the ephod of the priest of determine if Saul or Jonathan should die. The lot falls to Jonathan:

1 Samuel 14:43 NIV

43 Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him, “I tasted a little honey with the end of my staff. And now I must die!”

I think God gives the men of Saul’s army good sense to realize the foolishness of Saul and the whole scenario. They stand up:

1 Samuel 14:45 NIV

45 But the men said to Saul, “Should Jonathan die—he who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Never! As surely as the Lord lives, not a hair of his head will fall to the ground, for he did this today with God’s help.” So the men rescued Jonathan, and he was not put to death.

It’s a really sad and strange scene. It’s not just as simple as Jonathan eating some honey. It’s a failure of leadership. It’s sinful, foolish, faithless stuff.

But God, rich in mercy, works salvation in spite of it all. Jonathan is spared, as are the rest of the Israelite men that day. The Philistines are on the run. The threat is neutralized.

Why?

Do they deserve it? Do they warrant this? Did they find a way to defeat the Philistines themselves with clever military schemes? No. No, no. That’s not it at all.

God saves them in spite of them. This is the God to whom faith looks.

Faith, when misplaced, looks inward. Sometimes misplaced faith searches horizontally to find a savior—a friend, a leader, a politician, a party.

But faith—true faith, biblical faith—looks to the God who saves in spite of us.

Faith looks to the One who stooped down to save us, the One who took on flesh and dwelt among us, the One who was perfect, spotless, blameless.

Faith looks to the One who died for us to make us right with God, the One who died for us in spite of us.

Faith looks to Him. And Him alone.

The author concludes chapter 14 with some information about Saul’s family.

1 Samuel 14:47–52 NIV

47 After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. 48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. 49 Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal. 50 His wife’s name was Ahinoam daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the commander of Saul’s army was Abner son of Ner, and Ner was Saul’s uncle. 51 Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were sons of Abiel. 52 All the days of Saul there was bitter war with the Philistines, and whenever Saul saw a mighty or brave man, he took him into his service.

Strange ending to a strange bit of history. Why is this here? I believe this is here to teach:

Faith looks to God who saves in spite of us, not because of us

The lesson, the truth that emerges here is that God saves, but not because of anything in us.

From the outside, barring his foolishness, verses 47-48 cast Saul in a positive light. He fought against all their enemies, wherever he turned. He fought valiantly. He defeated enemies. He delivered Israel.

But Saul has been rejected by the Lord. Which scorecard is correct?

History has a way of assessing man’s achievements, contributions, success. What is observable about Saul, historically, makes a mark and a pretty good one. He’s been a pretty effective king from a military standpoint: He fought against all their enemies, wherever he turned. He fought valiantly. He defeated enemies. He delivered Israel.

However, the most vital assessment isn’t from history or from our peers. What matters most isn’t the applause of men; what matters most is God’s assessment.

What matters most is not success, but submission to God and His will. Saul might have been successful in some of his endeavors, but he failed at keeping God’s covenant.

The Lord isn’t looking for winners, but disciples—disciples who put their faith in Him for everything, including what they cannot do themselves; disciples who have faith in the Good News about Jesus who perfectly obeyed His Father and fulfilled the demands of the law for us.

Disciples have a faith that looks to the God who saves, not because we’re good enough (we aren’t!), but because who Jesus is and what Jesus has done has been imputed to us, credited to us, transferred to us by grace through faith.

Faith looks, not at our circumstances, but to our God: the One who gives the victory, the One who saves in spite of us, and not because of us.