Address—G.H. Hayhoe
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Shall we turn to First Samuel chapter 13, just like to look at an incident in the life of Jonathan, and we'll read some verses and both in the 13th and 14th chapter, First Samuel chapter 13.
First 3 Thank you. And Jonathan Smolt the Garrison of the Philistines that was in GABA and the Philistines heard of it. And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, let the Hebrews hear. And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the Garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had an abomination with the Philistines and the people were.
Called together after Saul to Gilgal.
And the Philistines gathered themselves together to fight with Israel 30,000 Chariots and 6000 horsemen and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude. And they came up and pitched in Mikmash eastward from Beth Haven.
When the men of Israel saw that they were in a Strait, for the people were distressed, then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in high places, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews went over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.
And he tarried 7 days according to the set time that Samuel had appointed. But Samuel came not to Gilgal, and the people were scattered from him.
And Saul said, Bring hit her a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings, and he offered the burnt offering. And it came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came.
And Samuel went out to meet him, that he might salute him.
And Samuel said, What hast thou done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered themselves together at Mikbash. Then said, I, The Philistines will come down upon me to Gilgal, and I have not made supplication unto the Lord. I forced myself therefore, and offered a bird offering.
And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly, thou hast not kept the commandment of the Lord which he commanded thee.
For now, would the Lord have established thy Kingdom upon Israel forever?
The 17th verse and the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the way that leadeth to Oprah unto the land of Shu all.
And another company turned the way to Beth Oren, And another company turned the way of the border that looketh to the valley of Zeboim, toward the wilderness.
Now there was no Smith found throughout all the land of Israel.
For the Philistines, and lest the Hebrews make them swords or Spears, but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen every man his share, and his Calder, and his axe, and his mattock.
Yet they had a file for the Maddox, and for the Calders, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to sharpen the gold golds. So it came to pass in the day of battle that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan. But with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.
And the Garrison went out to the passage of Mikmash.
But I like to look also at the next chapter. But I believe there's a sort of an introduction to what we have brought before us here in this 13th chapter. And I trust it will be a help and encouragement to us because we're living in days when, as we know, the spoilers are busy. But we know that the Lord can and does come in for the deliverance of Israel on this occasion.
And even do something that had a great show of strength, but he used that which looked like weakness itself. For the apostle could say, when I am weak, then am I strong. When we acknowledge our weakness and lean upon the mighty arm of the Lord, then we find that there's no situation too difficult for him. He's able, brethren, for everything that we could possibly meet in our individual lives or in our lives in the assembly, because He loves.
People, He loves them to the end, and He seeks the blessing and good of His people. And if our hearts are in harmony with Him, that's what we would seek also, because they are dear to Him. He desires the blessing of His own. He desires the blessing of each one of us who belong to Him here in this room.
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Well, Murray began here. We have Jonathan brought before us. I think sometimes we have a sort of a view of Jonathan as what we saw toward the end of his life, that at the end of his life there wasn't that usefulness for the Lord that there had been at the beginning. And this is surely a warning to us. We might think because the Lord uses it on one occasion, that now we're giants and that he can use us, but none of us are unless we're dependent upon the Lord.
And so we find failure afterwards in Jonathan because it was not dependence on the Lord, there was looking to man instead of to the Lord. And this very man whom God so mightily used here was afterwards had a very sad end. So we can learn personal lessons for all of our lives that someone has said we never graduate from the school of God.
We never learn all the lessons that he wants us to learn, but I hope in some measure we are.
Learning. And if we always remember that prayer of the 16th Psalm, it's good for us all the time. Preserve me, oh God, for in thee do I put my trust.
Well, Jonathan was used here in this third verse where he began in the 13th chapter. God used him for the deliverance of Israel. He went out and smote the Philistines. But it's very interesting to see that his father Saul, who was a man after the flesh, he jumped in and he tried to get the credit for himself. We see he did it later on, too. You know, sometimes you might do something for the Lord and you get discouraged because nobody noticed that.
They noticed everybody else, but they didn't notice you. And you say, oh, it's not worthwhile because nobody gave me any credit. The Lord always has the record down properly. When Mary anointed the feet of the Lord Jesus, there were many that criticized even of the Lord's disciples. But we can be absolutely sure that the Lord had the record correctly and He has everything down. What did Mary do when?
When there was fault found with what she.
She had done. She didn't say a word. She just left it with the Lord. What did Jonathan do here?
As far as the record goes, he didn't say anything. It looks like Saul. Notice what it says here.
In the fourth verse and all, Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the Garrison. Well, Saul hadn't done it, but he he got the credit on this occasion. Never mind who gets the credit down here. The point is how things appear as they will be manifested at the judgment seat of Christ. Paul said to me it is a very small thing.
That I should be judged of you or of man's judgment, The margin says Man's Day.
As things look now, we sometimes just have to leave things because God has this down. It was Jonathan who had smelt the Garrison, but everybody heard it, reported that Saul had done it.
But you notice another little thing here in the end of the third verse that Saul said.
Let the Hebrews hear. I just want to call attention to that word Hebrews.
Jonathan never called the people of God Hebrews. He always saw them as Israel.
Israel is the name that was given to Jacob after he had had that conflict, and it means a Prince with God.
And we need to look at God's people as God sees them. They're very dear to him.
Even as I mentioned about Balaam yesterday, it says in the top of the rocks, do I behold them? He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel. Were things going wrong at that time? Very much so. But how did God see them? He saw them as those who were His people. And we need to look at the people of God as God sees them. He sees every believer as to our standing.
Holy and without blame before him.
In love, watch loved. And so the man of nature who saw was might say, well, if the Hebrews you might say, where does that word come from? Well, Abram's father in the flesh was Eber. That was before Abram was called out in grace at all. The name Hebrew became attached to them because.
That's what he was by nature, but what he was by grace we see brought out in the case of.
Of Jacob, as I say, when God changed his name to Israel. And so how good it is to view the people that way. So the Philistines called them Hebrews and saw the man after the flesh called them Hebrews. But in spite of everything that was wrong, we find that Jonathan never spoke of them that way. He saw them as dear to God, and he saw them in that place of acceptance and favor and you know.
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Believe this is very important for us that we always look at the Saints of God in that prospectus, see them as God sees them and it won't be hard to love them when you realize that because they're precious to him. As we were mentioning what a wonderful thing that we're chosen in our chapter we had it says you've not chosen me, but I have chosen you and doesn't it thrill you sometimes when you're perhaps in a big crowd of people.
And just think for a minute, I've been chosen to be an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.
To share eternal glory in association with Him. Oh, what a wonderful place grace has brought us into.
Well, as soon as the attempt was made to smite this Garrison of the Philistines, then we find that.
The Philistines gathered together and they bring out a great big army and pitch in Mi'kmaq.
So we find the reaction then among the people of God. Some of them went and hid themselves in caves and some of them went over across the Jordan, back to the other side of the Jordan where they thought they would escape the problem. No, we can run away sometimes from difficulties and say just count me out, I'm not going to get involved. But you know.
We're called to conflict, the Bible says. Thou therefore endure.
Hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. And we all have to remember that as part of the people of God, there's no difficulty that comes up that we don't all feel it. We're in the same family, we're members, the one body. We all feel things. And no, he's trying to run away. No, he's trying to go over to the other side, went over to the Philistines in order to escape the conflict.
Oh, brethren, if we try to choose an easy path.
We all find that there are thorns and briars in the path of East and so.
It's best to just remain with the people of God in the midst of the difficulties and trials that come. And there were those that just remained true. It might have for the time not have been easy, but nevertheless just to remain with the people of God. For the ark was says the ark was still there. The ark, the symbol of God's presence among his people. That's everything.
I say it's everything we lose sight of that, that the Lord is in the midst, that the Lord is among his people. We're going to get easily discouraged, but we need to have the sense of this in our souls, in spite of all our weakness, that the Lord is faithful. And so it reminds us in this chapter that the ark was there.
Well, what about Saul? He had been told to wait seven days and Samuel would come down.
Well, he waited. You say it Taz. He waited seven days, but it appears he didn't wait till the end of the 7th day. That's why perhaps Job and James, it says let Patience have her perfect work. Because sometimes we say I've waited long enough. I waited long enough.
And maybe if we only realized that deliverance was coming, but we just stopped short when the Lord was about to come in, why, we think we waited long enough. That's what Saul thought. He waited long enough. So what did he do? He acted impetuously. He acted without waiting upon God, and he forced himself. He forced himself.
He didn't walk in that path. God isn't a hard taskmaster.
He doesn't want us to force ourselves. He gives us to see the path and it says that he opens up the way. The children of Israel didn't have to force their way through the wilderness. The cloud went before.
And marked out the way the commandment of the Lord directed them.
The art went with them in their journeys and didn't have to force themselves. Say there's trouble here, we got to get going.
Now, now it says he wouldn't wait until it tells us here that he went ahead. Notice what it says. He had a lot of reasons for it. In the 11TH verse, Samuel said, what hast thou done? And he starts to explain.
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Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that thou camest not in the days appointed, and that the Philistines were gathered together at Michmash. Wasn't that good reasoning?
But you know all these things, and seeing everything as he saw it. But it wasn't patience that patients have her perfect work. He, the believers, shall not make haste. We can afford, brethren, to wait upon God till his time comes. And so he had, as we might say, didn't like to see the people scattered from him.
He thought that the Lord hadn't come in as he had expected he would, and that the enemy seemed to be gathering its forces. So he forces himself to offer this sacrifice, not a loss.
And you know, I might say here, without going into it in detail, it was a permanent last. It was a permanent loss. Oh, how little we realized we might make some step that affects the whole of the rest of our lives. When Abraham decided to have a child by Hagar, he brought a problem into his life and into the life of the nation. That hasn't ended yet, Hasn't ended yet.
Oh, how good it is just to wait in God's time.
Because we might think, oh that was a small thing, but some of the steps that we make have far reaching effects. May the Lord keep us and give us grace and patience to wait His time.
But how the Philistines had another scheme in the 17th verse.
And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies.
The Philistines saw the weakness of Israel. They saw that they weren't prepared.
And so now they said it worked to do a work of spoiling.
And didn't all go in the same direction. What may be spoiling in your life?
What may be spoiling in my life may be quite different, but the enemy is going to do everything he can.
To spoil that growth of soul, that going on with God, that fruitfulness that we were talking about in our chapter in our lives. He doesn't want to see that fruit for God in our lives. And He, He knows just what our weak point is. My weak point, I say, is different from yours. The problem in one assembly is different from another. But the Lord knows and the enemy.
I might say the Philistines in the Bible are the picture.
Of the enemy's power from within, there is what comes in from without. But the Philistines were in the land.
And they pictured to us how the enemy often works from within. He brings into our lives, perhaps through things, situations that arise, things that spoil truthfulness in our lives.
But he had also worked another plan before the spoilers did their work.
What was that?
He had worked a plan so that none of them had swords or Spears.
He had volunteered. Apparently the Philistines had volunteered a trap and all their tools, but not their swords. And you know, brethren, if I can speak frankly, this is a day of prosperity. This is a day when a lot of us have much more than our parents had. We have lots of things here in this world, and there are all kinds of help to get along and to get somewhere in the world.
So they said, oh sure, we'll start.
Tools. We'll sharpen your gulls, wheel all your holes, right? Anything that you're using for your work, wheel sharpen, but don't bring us any Spears.
You know, can I say this for myself as well As for you? It's getting harder and harder to have time to read the word of God, to meditate. Someone has said meditation is almost a last starts. We have so much pressure on every hand that we just don't have time to spend over God's precious word so that it becomes part of us, as the Bible says.
Meditate upon these things. Give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear unto all. That was a word to a young man. May I say to you, dear young people, acquaint yourself with the word of God, and don't just read it. Meditate upon it, meditate upon it, think about it. Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.
Says Jeremiah, Thy words did find, and I did he them.
And they were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart. So we need that time.
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And do it when you're young.
I'm, I'm older, as you know, and I can't retain things like I used to. If I read, I forget quite a bit of what I've read. If I quote any verses to you, I didn't learn them yesterday. It's because I learned them before. And I want to encourage you while you're young, store your mind with the word of God. And then as the Bible says, a man that is a householder brings out of his treasure things new and old, doesn't have to run to the grocery.
Or at the last minute, He's got it on the shelf. And that's what you and I need to have. Our hearts and our minds filled with the precious things of God.
Well, you might think it was kind of strange that it says Saul and Jonathan. Saul had a sword, Jonathan had a sword.
We can have a knowledge of the word of God and not use it.
Not use it.
There are Christians that I know and they they know the word of God very well, but they're not using it.
But we need not only to have it, but to use it, to use it, to use it first on ourselves.
For the children of Israel, use any swords on the people of the land. They made sharp knives for themselves.
That's self judgment. That's something we all need. So we find just these two.
Jonathan might have easily been discouraged, and perhaps you, dear young person, are discouraged and say, well, none of the other young people enjoy those things. And you know, it's hard to be a kind of a loner. Well, maybe it is. It is difficult to be a loner. But what a blessing you may be. What a blessing you may be. As I look back in my life, I think of young people, not just older ones, young people.
Real blessing to me because they love the word of God. They talked about it.
They encouraged me and they can't. You can be a blessing, much more than you'd think.
If you meditate upon the word of God, read it. Meditate it.
And so that, as the Bible says, out of his belly something you've made your own, Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. You know, sometimes you hear people who are very learned and can tell you a great deal, But other people, you feel it comes from their billing. They've made it their own. It flows out of something that you know, they're enjoying themselves. And that's what we have, I believe.
Well.
Tells us here after the Philistines sent out the spoilers.
Then they had worked this plan so that there was number Smith in the land of Israel. And now the Garrison moves out. Now they're all ready to make their attack because they know people aren't ready. It's easy to attack people that don't have swords and Spears in their hand. So now they move out here. And here's Saul with his sword, and he was 600 men arresting under a pomegranate tree. Had a sword, all right, but no.
Spiritual energy, to use it for him was just sort of become relaxed and we come.
Can become relaxed with the knowledge of the Scripture, brethren, we can become sort of at ease, say, well, how wonderful that we have the truth of God and kind of settle down and not have it practical. Not have a love for the people of God, nor have a desire for their difficulties to try and help in the time of problem. And now it tells us here. I'd like to read some verses in this 14th chapter.
Now it came to pass upon a day that Jonathan the son of Saul, said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come and let us go over to the Philistine Garrison that is in the other side. But he told not his father.
And solitary in the uttermost part of Gibeah, under a pomegranate tree, which is in Migron. And the people that were with him were about 600 men. And Ahayah, the son of Ahitab, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas the son of Eli.
The Lord's priest in Charlotte wearing an ephod, and the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to get go over sharp rock on the other side, and the name of the one was Boaz, and the name of the other Cena.
The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Mikbash, and the other southward over against Gibeah. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, let us go over unto the Garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
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And his armor bearers thumb unto him. Do all that is in my heart turn thee. Behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
Then, Sir Jonathan, behold, we will Passover unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.
If they say thus unto us, Carry until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up unto them. But if they say thus come up unto us, then we will go up, for the Lord hath delivered them into our hands.
And there shall be a sign unto us.
And both of them discovered themselves unto the fellow under the Garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, Behold the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.
And the men of the Garrison answered Jonathan and his armor. Aaron said, Come up to us, and we will show you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his Armory bearer, Come up after me, for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands, and upon his feet, and his armor bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearers slew after him.
And that first slaughter which Jonathan and his armour bearer made was about 20.
Naughty man within, as it were, an half acre of land which a yoke of oxen might plough. And there was a trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people, the Garrison and the spoilers. They also trembled, and the earth quaked. So it was a very great trembling. And the Watchmen of Saul and Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, A multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.
Then said Saul unto the people that were with him.
Number now and see who has gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armour bearer were not there.
And Saul said unto hire, bring hit her the ark of God, for the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel. And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased.
Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand, And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle. Behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.
Moreover, the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about even, they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.
Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in Mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed over.
Under Beth Avon.
Well, here we see how the Lord graciously came in.
Says it came to pass upon a day. I think that's very lovely. Now that day might be today, brethren, for any one of us here, perhaps as a brother, the sister, maybe you feel that your life hasn't been devoted to the Lord. You haven't really given him the place that he should have in your heart or perhaps in mine. And maybe this is the day, very last day of these three days of meetings when the Lord has so spoken to all our hearts. Perhaps he is speaking to.
One of us or more and saying you can do something.
For the Lord's glory and for the blessing of his people. I think it's very lovely to see this. Was it because things were looking a little brighter now? I would say they look more dull than before. Everything was set to make problems worse instead of better here, with the Garrison coming against them. The spoilers had been at work in their three companies. The people didn't have swords.
Jonathan could easily have said it's no use, it's no use. There is nothing that a person can do at such a time as this.
Isn't this lovely? It says here it came to pass upon a day, and we find in that passage in 2nd Corinthians 6.
Where it says, behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. We sometimes limit that to the salvation of the soul, but if you read the context there, you'll see that it's talking about service to the Lord. And Paul is saying that now is the time. And he's talking about how needful it was that those who served the Lord should be devoted, even though perhaps misunderstood, just devoted.
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Love to him and for the good of his people. Read the 6th chapter Second Corinthians and you'll see that. And so it came to pass upon a day. Well he might have said, I'm just one person, what can I do?
Well, there's another nice thing our brother Barry pointed out to us yesterday about how when David was, if I can say, going to school in Babylon, he had three friends who equally had the fear of God before them. Well, he's the one that seemed to be the spokesman, perhaps the one who was the brightest. Nevertheless, his stand became an encouragement to those other 3.
And so here it says that, Jonathan said to his arm.
Farmer Bearer, there was someone who was, shall I say, supporting him. And I want to give you a good verse, dear young people. It's in the 119th Psalm, in the 63rd verse. It says I am a companion of all them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. There's a saying in the world. Show your friends and I'll show you what you are.
Show me your friends and I'll show you what you are. What kind of friends do you have? Are they ones that fear the Lord?
That value His word, that encourage you in following the Lord. What are the ones that are constantly trying to pull you away, telling you that following Christ is difficult and that you really can't do it when everybody's against you? Well, if you just have your eye upon the Lord, you will not only follow Him alone, but you will seek the good and the blessing of others. You will be an encouragement.
Allow you perhaps may not realize how you could possibly.
Do it, I say again, as I look back on my life, I think of young people, young people, I say, who wanted to follow the Lord, who were a blessing in my life. I enjoyed the ministry of older ones, but young people seem to speak to me in a special way if they had a love for the Lord and a desire to please Him. So here is these two and it says they said, come, let us go over to the Philistines Garrison that is on the.
Well, it tells us here that there are just the two of them. What hope did they have when we read in the chapter before what a vast number of Philistines there were?
Well, you know when we have the Lord why it's a great company. If someone has said.
You can have a long line of zeros, but just put a one in front of it and you have a tremendous number. And the longer the line of zeros the better because that just means you think you're only a 0. But one person in front of that long line of zeros is a huge number. And so it's good to have the sense that the Lord is with you. And I believe Jonathan had this in his soul and also his armor bearer.
And so he told, not his father.
Perhaps he recalled what Abraham did. God called Abraham to leave Ur of the Chaldees, and he told his father.
So his father stepped in and took things over, and his father was quite a hindrance to him.
For a number of years, his father, in this case King Saul, and Abram's case it was Tyra.
And there was never any real progress as long as he leaned upon his father.
And the Lord Jesus said he that loveth father or mother more than me.
Is not worthy of me. I have to say to you, sometimes you have to take a stand even against people that you love the most to be faithful to the Lord Jesus. He has a right to have first place in your heart and mine. I know it's not easy to stand against people you love, but many of us are realizing it in present difficulties that it's awfully hard when you're misunderstood by people you love perhaps the most.
He told, not his father. I suppose he knew his father would say, Come on, said unto the pomegranate tree, There's no problem here. Just sit down here where it's easy going. That would have been an easier choice.
Solitaried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree, and he had 600 with him. More than this, he also had the priest there. You know, there was departure in the priesthood at this time. We read here about Eli's sons and we know what God had pronounced upon Eli's sons. There wasn't a going on for the Lord in that household.
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There's a sad story about.
Eli and his household.
And so it says here that he, these people were with Saul. But then there's another little point in the end of the third verse, and the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.
Did he make a lot of noise? Did he say I'm going to do something? No, just went about it quietly.
I happen to have the privilege of being present when my brother Jimmy Smith went out to serve the Lord down in the Dominican Republic. And her brother Anna's perhaps a brother known to some older ones here who used to serve the Lord in those parts. They asked him to give a little word, and I never forgot what brother, what Brother Anna said to Brother Jimmy Smith on that occasion. He said, you're going down there.
It's a it's a big work for the Lord, but he said.
Don't do a lot of talking. You said don't do a lot of talking and he said in his broken English delight, don't make no noise was the thing. I never forgot that little thing. Delay. Don't make no noise, don't make a lot of noise about things. Just go on quietly with the Lord as the Lord Jesus walked through this world. What a quiet pathway didn't seem it made a great deal of impression on many people, but he lived always to please his Father.
The heavens could burst asunder, not the Pharisees and scribes, but the heavens burst asunder, and two occasions where the Father declared his delight in him.
Well, you say, were there difficulties? Listen to what it says in this fourth verse.
And between the passages by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines Garrison, there was a sharp rock in the one side.
And a sharp rock on the other side.
And it tells you where these were situated. One was over against the Philistine Garrison. The other was over on Saul's side where he was with his 600 men. In other words, there was a difficulty in facing the Philistines.
But there was also the difficulty that many of the people of God were seeking a very easy, comfortable path. Paul had to say to Timothy. So therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Brethren, I think one of the snares of our present society is ease. We like to have it easy. We don't like to have difficulties. We don't like sharp rocks in the path.
But God has never promised that the path of following Christ would be easy, Lord Jesus said.
In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
Paul said to the young believers, we must through much tribulation enter into the Kingdom of God. When Moses made his choice, he didn't choose to have a good time with the people of God and not finding fault with the fun that the young people have had here. I think it's nice. But I do say don't expect everything's going to be fun and following the Lord. There's going to be sharp rocks, there's going to be tribulation if you really set out to follow the Lord.
Jesus.
And we must, through much tribulation, enter into the Kingdom of God.
Well, it tells us here in the sixth verse. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the Garrison, Garrison of these uncircumcised.
It may be notice that little expression, It may be that the Lord will work for us.
For there's no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.
He didn't say the Lord is going to work for us.
Reminds you what our brother brought before us yesterday. When those men answered the king, he didn't say our God's going to deliver us. He said he's able to deliver us. But if not, if not, we'll trust him just the same.
I remember a comment in Mr. Darby.
He said pretensions to special spiritual guidance are never humble.
We can say, well, I'm going to do this and the Lord's going to do this, and maybe there's a lot of our own self-confidence associated with it.
We know the Lords able, he said there is no restraint for the Lord to say by many or few. He doesn't need a big crowd. He doesn't need a big display of strength. But if we say, oh, he's going to use me, be careful. There might be a lot of self-confidence connected with that. And so I think it's a very lovely to see this humble spirit. He said. It may be the Lord will use us.
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It isn't that we question that he needs a big crowd. He is no restraint to the thought Lord to save by many or by few.
But everything's very bright here up to this point. But there's a little point to notice in this seventh verse.
And his armor bearer said unto him, do all of his inline heart.
Turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thine heart.
I want you to notice those two little words turn thee.
What does that say to you?
Says to me that when Jonathan saw those sharp rocks and he saw the host of those Philistines, that he actually turned around.
They actually said I can't do it, I can't do it.
But his armor bearer gave him that encouraging word right at that moment.
Just at that time, what was the name of the armor bearer? I don't know. God didn't record it. You may say I can't do anything, but you may speak a word of encouragement to somebody that's faltering, that may turn their whole life wrong, that may cause them to go against the Lord. Just that little word. And you didn't think that word in anything, but it did everything and it turned him around and he went forward from that point.
In season of sustaining word, Thou gifts our hearts to know. But there's also a second little lesson, I think.
You'll never gain a victory for the Lord that there won't be something to remind you of your own weakness.
There will be something Samson was the strongest man, but he failed in his strength.
And whatever. Solomon was the wisest, but he failed in his wisdom. Peter walked on the water, but he couldn't both.
He began to think because he got his eye off the Lord.
And I want to say this, there's iniquity in all our holy things, the best things we do for the Lord.
The Lord will never let us say, oh, I did something big because it would have broken down and failed if he hadn't supported us. And we have to. He gives us remembrance of that to keep us humble, to make us realize that we're really nothing. So at this point now strengthened by that little encouragement, but a reminder of his own weakness.
They go forward now to meet the Garrison of the Philistines.
And so they made a little plan that if these Philistines would come out and say come up to us, that.
In the sixth verse. I'll read it here.
If they say thus tarry until we come to you, then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up under them. But if they say that this to us.
See thus come up unto us, then we will go up, for the Lord hath delivered them.
Into our hand, and this shall be a sign unto us.
That if they say they'll come down and meet us, then we won't go up, but if they say come up, by then we'll know that the Lord is going to deliver us. That is, the Philistines answered I perhaps I should read what they said.
In the 12TH birth.
The men of the Garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer and said come up unto us and we will show you a thing. I think the idea was that they said here's 2 of you, we're going to show you how strong we are. You come up to here and we'll show you.
Yeah, that was the time when naturally they would have said, well, we better not because they're pretty strong. But you know, it's very often when the enemy just seems about to triumph that the Lord comes in. Just like it was with Samuel. He didn't come down till the end of the 7th day. He said, I think I've waited long enough. I'm really discouraged. Everything looks so dark.
The Lord lets things come to that point sometimes where we just think it's hopeless.
And then we can never say, well, we just knew how to work that thing out. We didn't, brethren. We didn't know how in our personal lives or in our assembly, the Lord lets us realize how very weak we are. But when everything seems as if the enemy was going to triumph, how often in the history of God's people we have seen that just when God comes in, when that great army came up against.
Against Hezekiah and he has felt absolutely.
Helpless. He didn't say, well, we got a big enough army, we think we can handle them. He felt absolutely helpless and just spread the letter out before the Lord and the Lord came in. The same in the life of Jehoshaphat, when the enemy just seemed to have the upper hand, when he just committed the matter to the Lord and left it in his hands, then the Lord took care of the situation.
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We mustn't be afraid. I I take great comfort myself from that lovely verse.
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.
Satan is more than a match for me, He's more than a match for you. But he's not.
More than a match for our Lord, He's the Lord is able and no matter how difficult things may be, if we just get humbly before him and say.
Don't say, oh, we think we can handle this because we can't. Even when things look easy, that's when we make most of our fumbles is when things look easy and we think we can handle it. But when we know that we can't, we know we've come to the end of our resources. That's where the Lord comes in. And that was what they agreed here that if they started boasting and say come up to us, then we know that the Lord.
Had noticed a little expression they use.
In the end of the 12TH verse. For the Lord hath delivered them into the hands of the Hebrews. Oh no.
The Lord hath delivered them into the hands of Israel. Hebrews were the name.
That were given to them after the flesh natural people, but the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. Who is Israel? A Prince with God. Brethren, we don't realize how dear his people are to him.
He cares more about you and about me than anybody else. He cares more about those who seek to gather to His precious name than we care, because that's dear to Him, that there should be a people who desire to keep His word and not deny His name. But He lets us see how very we can feeble we are, so that we realize.
That there's nothing in ourselves, our only resource.
Is in him.
Well, what does Jonathan do? It says here in this 13th verse. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet and his armour bearer after him. What a humbling thing.
It wasn't easy, you know.
Here he has to climb up the rock climb, had to get down on his hands and on his knees. That's where we need to get brethren. That's where we need to get just to get down and say just like Hezekiah when he presented the whole thing before the Lord and we need to get in that point. It looks like a very helpless position. If you can see those two men crawling up the rocks in this big Garrison on top, why didn't they come out and get them when they come up over the top?
Because God was taking care of them, that's all. No other good reason for it, just that God.
Was taking care of them and so they start very small, beginning 20 men.
There were thousands of Chariots and everything, we're told previously. They had a tremendous crowd. Oh, it didn't seem like much, 20 men. But then the Lord came in. There was a great shaking. So there was a great shaking.
Notice the 15th verse. And there was a trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people, the Garrison and the spoilers. They also trembled. And the earthquake. So it was a very great trembling. Yeah. You see how the Lord was working now.
Jonathan and his armor. River could never boast and say we handled a big crowd. They didn't. The Lord did it. The Lord did it. And why did he do it? Because they committed it all to him. Because they had confidence in him.
And he took care of the situation. And so it says here.
You come to the 17th verse. Then said Saul unto the people that were with him.
Number now and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armour bearer were not there.
Nobody had even noticed that they went, just went quietly on doing their work for the Lord. And it wasn't until something was beginning to happen that a little bit of a tension was attracted to those, shall I say, those humble men who had just counted upon God, who knew they couldn't do anything of themselves, but that the Lord would give them the victory. Well, at this point.
Saul jumps in.
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Puts on kind of a display and tries to get the credit for himself just like he did before before he says in all his.
Israel heard say that Saul smitten the Garrison. The fellows signs It wasn't Saul, it was Jonathan.
Now these men have done Saul again tries to get the credit. Later on we won't read it, but in the next chapter he actually tried to put Jonathan to death.
But leave the whole matter with the Lord.
The important thing is that the people of God are blessed. If you and I have to go into the background or what, that doesn't matter. It's the people of God that matter. It's God's glory that matters. That's the thing that really counts. And so we see here the Lord came in. Jonathan was learning lessons for himself. You say, well, he was certainly much used. He was learning lessons for himself too. And I say again.
In all the situations that arise.
Lord has a lesson for you, He has a lesson for me. And he's not gonna let any of us say, well, I did it.
Jonathan wouldn't have done it if it hadn't been for the little bit of support from his armor bearer, and he certainly didn't do it in his own strength.
The Lord took care of the whole situation and I just want to call attention before I close to something beautiful. 21St verse.
Moreover, the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time.
Which wind up with them under the camp from the country roundabout. Even they also turn to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in Mount Ephraim when they heard that the Philistines fled. Even they also followed hard after them in the battle. If you recall in the 13th chapter, when this problem loomed up at the start, some of these men went over to the country of Ephraim.
And some of them went and hid in holes. How do they get restored? Did they set about to make a great work of restoration? Now they saw where God was working. They saw the hand of God and that's what touched them. That's what touched them. We don't need to put on a lot of efforts by the Lord is the one who does everything. He just, He'll use us if we're content to say it's all His work. And if He gives me any little part in it, all the glory must go to Him.
Every time the children of Israel won a victory, they had to go back to Gilgal, where the sword and where the sharp knife was first lifted on self and in our difficulties, whether in our personal lives or whether in our business or whether in the assembly. Brethren, I believe these are the lessons at the Lord wants to teach us. We're really nothing. He loves his people. Let's never forget that.
You're dear to him. They're his people.
And He wants their blessing. And if you will, I have his heart, we will desire their blessing too. But we realize that it it's his work. It's his work. And in that coming day, church is going to be presented A glorious church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. Maybe continue then to have a love for the people of God, to seek their good and their blessing and leave everything in the hands of the Lord. If he is content to use us, he'll always use us in such a way as.
Nothing of ourselves He must have all the glory. Little hymn says, Oh mine divine, so must it be that our glory all belongs to God whole love divine that did decree we should be part through Jesus blood. Wonder if we could just sing 312. Perhaps we should have mentioned the last verse we read it said thus the Lord saved Israel that day. Thus the Lord saved Israel that day, that day.