Do you remember King Saul’s son Jonathan who couldn’t sit still while the enemies of God were spoiling the land?
Jonathan was a true believer, and he didn’t hide in the rocks as some of King Saul’s soldiers had done when they saw the huge Philistine army. Jonathan knew an enemy when he saw one, and on this day he saw many Philistines.
King Saul originally had a small army of a thousand men, but now it was only six hundred men. But Jonathan’s was smaller still, for he had only two—himself and his armor bearer. However, he had faith in the living God, and our God is worth more than an army of millions!
The Philistine’s camp was high on a hill, and the only way to reach them was climbing on hands and knees between two sharp rocks. Jonathan went first and then his armor bearer followed behind him, and there was no secret about it. Of course the Philistines saw them coming and said, Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they were hiding! They shouted to Jonathan and his armor bearer, Come up to us, and we will show you something.
If Jonathan had trusted his own plan, he would not have been there, but listen to his words of encouragement to his armor bearer: Come up after me, for the Lord has delivered them into the hand of Israel.
Do you see what made Jonathan so sure? It was not two climbers on their hands and knees looking for personal glory. No, it was the Lord who would deliver the enemy into the hand of Israel!
At that moment, King Saul was sitting, trembling, under a pomegranate tree. But Jonathan and his armor bearer used their swords against the Philistines until they were trembling and even the earth quaked!
King Saul was puzzled. Who is missing from us? he asked, and they soon found that Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there.
Bring the ark to me, said King Saul, and while he talked to the priest, the noise of the battle grew louder in the Philistines’ camp, and the Philistines went on beating down one another. King Saul and his six hundred men joined the fight, and his other men sneaked out from hiding and joined too. The victory was huge!
King Saul was determined to win, so he tried to add a little to Jonathan’s courage and faith. Cursed be anyone who eats or drinks today, he said, and the fighters remembered this. But Jonathan had not heard this curse, and when he saw some wild honey dripping from a tree, he dipped his rod into the honey and ate some. Then he felt better and stronger for the battle.
But fighting without food leaves men weak, and when the day was ended, King Saul’s soldiers were so hungry they killed some of the farm animals right there on the ground and ate them with the blood. Oh, no! said King Saul when he heard this. Roll a great stone here and kill the animals and drain the blood. It is God’s command not to eat blood.
Then King Saul wondered, Should we go down and kill the rest of our enemies? He asked God this question, but God gave him no answer. There’s something wrong, said King Saul. Someone has sinned since God does not answer. Even if it’s Jonathan my son, he shall surely die! That sounded very religious, but it seems that King Saul had forgotten the sin in his own heart. He drew lots to find out who the guilty person was, and the lot fell upon Jonathan. (Drawing lots meant putting names on sticks and pulling out one without being able to see the name.)
Now Jonathan must die, because he had eaten a little honey when he did not know the king’s command. NO! cried the people. He has brought salvation to Israel. Not a hair of his head will fall to the ground! So the people rescued Jonathan, and the king’s curse did not stand.
But God’s curse WILL stand, and no voices can rescue any sinner. We have sinned against God, not once, but many times. How is it possible for Him to forgive us? What will happen to His curse upon us? Galatians 3:1313Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (Galatians 3:13) gives us the answer: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that [hangs] on a tree.” Christ was made a curse for us. If the Lord Jesus Christ is your Saviour, there is no curse left for you. If He is not your Saviour, no crowd of voices can rescue you.
You may read this story for yourself in 1 Samuel 14.
ML-10/07/2012