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JONATHAN_S_COURAGEOUS_FAITH.hwp|
1 Samuel 14:1-52 Key Verse: 14:6 JONATHAN’S COURAGEOUS FAITH “Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, ‘Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.’” Today's passage is about Jonathan's courageous faith. It is true that Jonathan is less known than David. And it is also true that we don't want to be Jonathans, but David. It shows that we want to make our name greater. But it is not important to become famous. More important is that we must learn the faith David and Jonathan had. It is surprising that 1 Samuel deals with Jonathan's story very significantly. It shows us that David without Jonathan is not imaginable. I pray that all of you including me may learn Jonathan's faith through this passage. PART 1 NOTHING CAN HINDER THE LORD FROM SAVING (1-23) Jonathan was first mentioned in Chapter 13. He and his father, Saul, was at war with the Philistines. Jonathan had 1000 men while Saul had double that amount. But it was Jonathan who first attacked the Philistines. The size of the enemy's army was formidable. The Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with 3000 chariots, 6000 charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Israel was in great fear when they saw the Philistine soldiers. They hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns. They looked like fleeing rats. Some people crossed the Jordan River to the neighboring countries for refuge. All the more despairing situation is that Israel had no weapon except for King Saul and Jonathan. They had just plowshares, mattocks, axes, and sickles. There were no blacksmith that made iron weapons. But the Philistine soldiers were armed with high-tech weapons. There was nothing for Israel to do. King and the priest were powerless, too. But there was one man of faith who made a breakthrough in that critical situation. It was Prince Jonathan. Look at verse 1. One day Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, "Come, let's go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side." Jonathan knew that they were vastly outnumbered, and were greatly surpassed in military technology. Yet Jonathan is bold enough to go over to the Philistine camp just to see what the Lord might want to do. But Jonathan did not tell his father about his mission because he thought Saul would not let him go. Jonathan was not in fear. He didn't think of the serious situation as hopeless. He didn't draw back. He didn't think, "there is nothing I can do now." or "I can't help it." He didn't complain, "Who is responsible for this?" or "Why did God give us suffering?" He couldn't be compared with his father, Saul, who was staying without doing anything. He tried to find a way. But there was no way found. Now he tried to make a way for God to work by taking a surprise attack. He was a man of faith. What is faith? There are a lot of definitions for "faith"? Here, the definition of "faith" in this very context is "making a breakthrough, not shrinking back." Hebrew 10:38-39 gives us the definition of faith clearly, "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." The Bible points out clearly our unbelief--"Do not shrink back." When we are caught in fear, we shrink back. When we think of things realistically, we cannot but shrink back. When we don't fix our eyes on God, we shrink back. God is never pleased when we shrink back. What is God pleased with? He is pleased with the person who has faith and go forward instead of shrinking back. Jonathan didn't shrink back. He tried to do something to break through a stalemate. He tried sacrifice himself to make a way for Israel. So he planned a sudden attack. He knew shrinking back would make things worse. He stepped forward by faith for God and his people. He was a man of faith. From a human viewpoint, it seems like he challenged the Philistines recklessly. But he was never reckless. He was never impulsive. He had faith in God Almighty. What faith did he have? Look at 14:6, “Jonathan said to his young armor-bearer, ‘Come, let's go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised fellows. Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few.’” Jonathan called the Philistines “those uncircumcised fellows.” He was sure God would be with his people Israel, even though they were cowardly and weak. He loved his people. He loved God's people. He firmly believed God would give his people a great victory over the Philistines. Israel people had won great victories against great odds before, as in the days of Gideon or Samson. God gave this land to Israel, not to the Philistines. God could do it! Why not now? Why not today? Why not through me? With God’s help, he would defeat the mighty Philistines. How? Pay attention to what he said: "Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf. Nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few." "The LORD will act" means "The Lord will fight." He believed that nothing can hinder the LORD from saving, whether by many or by few. NAS version says, “Nothing restrains the Lord!” We often feel that God is restrained in one way or another. That's not true. The only thing that restrains God is our unbelief. Matthew 13:58 says, “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” God’s power is never restrained. Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving. Only thing to hinder God from saving is our unbelief. God cannot act until we demonstrate our faith in him alone. God is the only source of salvation. God found one man of faith he can use to show his power. Jonathan was confident that the Lord would fight for Israel and that nothing can keep God from saving them. Jonathan knew that if God was on his side nothing could hinder the Israelites from winning the victory. Who is the Lord? He is eternal God who created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1) He is mighty God who parted the Red Sea to make it dry ground. He is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent. Our spiritual victory does not come from numbers or weapons but comes from faith in the living God. How can we win spiritual victory? In Mark 9:14-32, one father brought his son with an evil spirit to his disciples for healing. But his disciples failed to drive out the evil spirit from the boy and the father fell into unbelief. Jesus rebuked him by saying, “Everything is possible for him who believes.” (Mark 9:23b) The father repented his unbelief by saying, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.” All things are possible when we believe. Faith in God is our spiritual weapon. With faith in God, we can overcome mountain of unbelief and experience the power of the living God. Jesus said in Mark 11:23, "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” When we trust God, we can move a mountain into the sea. This means that everything is possible when we believe in God’s power. When we think about our nation, despair comes into our heart. A few days ago, North Korea bombarded Yeonpyon Island. It was a shocking and tragic news. There has been tension between two Koreas. We are praying for two Koreas' unification, but things are getting worse. There seems to be no solution, no hope, and no progress. Humanly speaking, it seems hopeless. But God is working in a hopeless situation. This conflict shows that God is still working in our divided nation. We don't know how God is working. But we know God will answer our prayer for the unification of Koreas. God will surely make our divided nation a unified nation in his time so that Korea will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation to serve his work of salvation. I'm sure God is working in Kenya. According to Brother Philip, the unemployment rate of Kenya is around 40 %. Superficially, Keyna is hopeless because of poverty and confusion. Brother Philip is now worried about his nation and his family. He said that he does not know what to do. But I believe that what God wants him to do is to have faith in God. God wants him to challenge the despairing situation like Jonathan. God led him to Korea to make him a blessing to his family, Kenyan universities, and his nation. God let him meet UBF shepherds and shepherdesses to study Bible and attend worship services. This is God's guidance and will. God destined him to be a shepherd for campus students. I believe God will surely bless him, and through him God will bless his country. In the past Korea was poor and underdeveloped. It was colonized by Japan for about 35 years. It was torn by Korean war in 1950. Korea looked hopeless. But there were people of faith in Korea. They prayed early in the morning and studied and preached the Bible diligently. They saw God's hope and vision in the hopeless situation. They accepted God's will and vision God had put on Korea. God raised Korea from a heap of ashes to make us a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. God blessed Korea not only spiritually but also economically. I believe that God will bless the nation Kenya of Brother Philip abundantly as he did for us. The only thing God wants is faith. What does it mean by “by many or few”? In a war, the numbers of soldiers and weapons are very important. The high-tech weapons are more important for current wars. But to God "numbers" does not matter. To expand its translation, "age" does not matter. "Personal ability", "Intelligence", or "appearance" does not matter. "Fluent English-speaking ability" or "Biblical knowledge" does not matter. To go further, "not enough time", "bad spiritual situations in campus", or "the limits of lay shepherds" does not matter. To Go, what matters is faith. Romans 8:31 says, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Nobody can stand in our way when we trust the Lord. Let's expect great things from God. Let's attempt great things for God. God will give us great victory. Jonathan was not a reckless man, but a very careful man. He carried out his plan very carefully. Jonathan shared his plan with his armor-bearer first. This was the most important step to win the victory. In modern day terms, the armor bearer is like a personal body guard to the president. Jonathan could have ignored him not as an important person. But he did not ignore the wisdom of his armor-bearer. He did not carry out his mission alone but he consulted with his armor-bearer. He sought after his coworker’s opinion and regarded his opinion to be very precious. Co-working begins when we simply ask. If we want to be a leader, it is important to ask other’s opinion though we have our own plan. God’s work cannot be done by one person; Team work is important in doing God’s work. How did the armor-bearer assist Jonathan? Look at verse 7. "Do all that you have in mind," his armor-bearer said. "Go ahead; I am with you in heart and soul." Wow! The armor-bear gave Jonathan a full support. They were united in their hearts and soul for their common good. Impossible mission can be carried out if two people are agreed in heart and soul. These words from Jonathan’s armor bearer must have cheered Jonathan greatly. When we step out in faith, encouragement can make all the difference to boost our confidence. On the other hand, discouragement can make all the difference to bring a negative energy. God was going to use Jonathan, but He wasn’t going to use Jonathan alone. When God uses a man, he calls others around that man to support and help him. They are just as important in getting God’s work done as the man God uses. If you look up Matthew18:19, Jesus promised that anything will be done if two people agree and pray together. Finding one co-worker with heart and soul is a beginning of the great work of God. Without Barnabas’s support we cannot think about Apostle Paul. Behind great work of God there is always an armor-bearer who encourages the servant of God. Verse 8-10 say that Jonathan was a man of prayer. Jonathan did not rush to his enemies in no time. He knew that the battle belongs to the Lord. So he first prayed and sought God’s sign before action. Prayer is important before action. Prayer allowed them to depend on God not on their human strength. Absolute faith in the Lord, co-working spirit in heart and soul, and prayer bring success to us. What sign did Jonathan ask for? They would cross over toward the enemies. This means that the enemies would see them. This would be dangerous. Then if the enemies say to them, "Wait there until we come to you", they would stay where they are and not go up to them. But if the enemies say to them, "Come up to us" they would climb up. If the enemies say, "Come up to us", that would be the sign that the LORD has given the Philistines into their hands. A sudden attack is to get into the enemy's territory secretly and attack suddenly. But in this case it was not a sudden attack, but a suicidal attack. And also, to attack the enemies, they had to climb up the cliff. As you have seen ancient war movies, when soldiers climb up the wall of a fortress, the opponents pour hot water or throw heavy rocks or shoot arrows. The decision Jonathan and his armor-bearer made was totally opposed to our common sense. That means they totally relied on God. At last, they climbed up the cliff toward the enemies. The enemies didn't understand why they tried a reckless action. They thought Jonathan was crazy. but, soon, they were terrified by their courage. They were frozen by their faith. Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men. Look at verse 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.” God himself attacked the Philistines. Jonathan and his armor bearer had faith in God, worked together, and prayed together by seeking God’s signs. They did their parts and waited for God’s help. Indeed, God began to fight for them.God also a great earthquake to terrify the Philistines. If we do our part, God will do his part. Look at verse 16. Saul's lookouts at Gibeah in Benjamin saw the army melting away in all directions. 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. When all the Israelites who had hidden in the hill country heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined the battle in hot pursuit. So the LORD rescued Israel that day. God brought a great victory to Israel through a man of faith, Jonathan. PART II JONATHAN EATS HONEY (24-48) On this day of battle against the Philistines, Saul declared a curse. Look at verse 24. “Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying ‘Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!’" This oath was based on his selfish personal vengeance not for the sake of Israel. He put his personal ambition before God. Saul abused his authority in this. What was the result of his rash oath? His men were too tired to fight(31). They were so hungry, they ate meat that still contained blood (32). It was really out of sense that Saul should almost kill his own son Jonathan (39). Jonathan have different idea about his father’s oath. He said his father had made trouble for the country. When he tasted a little of honey, his eyes brightened. He said that if the men had eaten some of the plunder they took from their enemies, how much better it would have been. He thought that the slaughter of the Philistines would have been even greater. Jonathan had compassion for the soldiers and thought about God more than anything else. Saul was willing to kill Jonathan who brought victory because of his oath. The people rescued Jonathan from execution(45). Here we can learn Jonathan's compassion for his people and his love for truth. In spite of his father's anger, he risked his life to protect his people. He stood on the side of truth, not his father. Afterward, he stood on the side of David God chose. Sometimes we are required to chose on which side we must stand. Then, I pray we may stand on the side of truth. In conclusion, God saved the people of Israel through courageous faith of Jonathan. We learned that God is using people who trust in him. We need three things to win our spiritual battle today. We need to have faith that nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few. We need to build a co-working relationship with our heart and soul. And we need to pray by seeking God’s sign. Only unbelief hinders the work of salvation. I pray that God may give us courageous faith to set our feet to rescue many young students from the power of sin and Satan. |
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