We Christians are supposed to place our gospel alongside the unbeliefs of the enemy to make something happen for the truth. And it doesn't take any craziness to do that. In fact, it takes the opposite. It takes sanity to preach the gospel, to engage people. I'm a firm believer.
That's a biblical pattern. It's what I tried to follow, and not just me, of course. It's just to go to people and become known to them and they to you, to establish a relationship, not a fellowship, but a relationship. That's how souls get saved, was one way. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston.
Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville. Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of 1 Samuel. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of 1 Samuel 14 as he begins his message: the gallant prince. 1 Samuel chapter 14.
Uh well I could we could do this chapter. Two times more, and not repeat any of the points. There's so much about this fool, Saul. That You can be on overload, and of course. The reader is to come away saying, Lord, do I do any of this stuff?
Am I like this? I hope not. The title is to the message, The Gallant Prince. And that'll be about Jonathan. the son of Saul.
He is the crown prince, the eldest son of Saul. And In contrast to the self-absorbed King Saul, his father, here is this. Gallant man in the faith on the battlefield, just An honorable Believer. and is amplified. By his father's Fool's touch That's what his father had.
Everything he touched suffered. Because of his Complete idiocy before the Lord. He gets me angry. I don't get in the flesh, but there's a righteous indignation. And I got to watch that, of course, because it could just get carried away.
But you look at his life and you say, where is his sense of reason? His mercy is not a part of his vocabulary. Honor does not belong to him. Moral bravery, you kidding me? What about just insight?
What about God? I would rather face twice as many enemies than have this person on my side. That's pretty bad. I'd rather double the enemy than have your help. Imagine being told that a menace to everything good.
Well, in this 14th chapter, the story is continuing from chapter 13, where Jonathan took his thousand men, presumably. And attacked the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines then amassed their forces together, and they were so fierce. just in their approach to the battlefield that Saul's army began to desert, run away. Cross over Jordan as refugees hide in caves.
Well, that pretty much the story stops. But not for Jonathan. Because Jonathan understands these Philistines are oppressing them. This is not just, you know. They're occupants in the land that don't belong, it's more than that.
They're harming the people of God. And he has this righteous indignation himself against these Philistines. Being so powerful, prohibiting the Jews from owning anything that's iron. that they could use for a weapon. We look now at the first verse because we've got 52 of them.
Now it happened one day that Jonathan, the son of Saul, said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, let us go over to the Philistines' garrison. that is on the other side. But he did not tell his father.
Well, now, evidently, the two, Jonathan had a thousand men, and Saul had two thousand, and they were in separate camps.
Now, Jonathan is with his father. The attrition, the deserters leaving, they've combined their forces, evidently. And the Philistines there are mass for war, but there's no war, there's no battle, nothing's happening. And so he says, Come let to his armor bearer, come let us go over to the Philistine garrison that is on the other side. Is is agitated.
This irritation comes from, again, these Philistine tormentors, and he's looking. For God to open a door. to do something about this, using him to do it. And he's quite bold in this move of his. This is not a little thing.
He says here at the bottom of verse one, He did not tell his father. This is an unauthorized covert operation.
Well, of course, he's not going to tell Saul because Saul doesn't do it. He just blocks everything. When David later When David says, I can take this giant, Saul is the one. No, you can't. No, no, just negative, no courage, no outlook, no.
Sensible inquiry. I think Jonathan knows that, so he just tells his armor: let's go take these guys out. Verse 2. And Saul was sitting in the outskirts of Gibeeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron, The people who were with him were about six hundred men. And so, of the 3,000, it appears that this is all they have left.
Now, he's sitting under the Pomegranate tree. Because he's pooped from resisting Samuel. Sarcasm. Jonathan sees his father's inactivity when there needs to be action, when they started this, they need to finish it. That's Jonathan's thinking.
The language I think throughout The the life of Saul in the scripture is very deliberate. I don't think they're casual. He's just sitting under the pomegranate tree. I think it's deliberate. This is Saul.
This is who he is. And instinctively, his son, the hero that he is, he wants to provoke. An action. He knows God is with him. He doesn't know the details of God being with him, but he's willing to explore it and find this out.
He's a gallant character. In contrast to ridiculous Saul, at the bottom of verse 2, it says, The people who were with him were about 600, and as stated, these are the reduced force. Why? Why didn't those men say? We're with you Saul.
We've got your back through thick or thin. Is that too much to ask? The armor-bearer of Jonathan has that attitude. The armor-bearer of Jonathan says, whatever you do, I'm with you. Verse 3 Ahijah the son of Ahitab Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, Yahweh's priest in Shiloh was wearing an ephod But the people did not know.
That Jonathan had gone.
Well, I'm going to pass over much of that. You can comment on so much in here about Ichabod and Phineas and all that, but it's again a long chapter, and we'll try to stick to. The points related to the gallantry of Jonathan, but there are priests. among the troops. That is important.
God's presence is there. These are the people of God. You would think that that would have a greater. You would think that Saul would appreciate that. But to get a fool to appreciate gifts from God or otherwise.
It's very difficult. There are those that are you come up in ministries under men of God who are solid and have much to give and they don't appreciate it. You have children born in a church that's solid, they don't appreciate it. Not all of them, of course. It's up to the individual.
Here you have Saul, and he has the high priest, the Ark, and the Ephod likely with him together.
Now he doesn't appreciate this. In fact, he's going to disrespect it. He's going to interrupt the use of these gifts that are given to him so that he can implement. Strength in his own power, which is just a fiasco. And Verse four Between the passes by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on one side and a sharp rock on the other side.
The name of one was Boes, and the name of the other was Sina. The front of one faced Northwood, verse five, opposite Mikmash, and the other southward, opposite Gibeah. This is really not much for us this evening on our theme, except to say. Um Bo Boses is it means shining. And the way this pass is set up to go through it, uh, the sun just would hit the one side of.
That rock, Bozes, and the other rock would right across from it was just always in the shade.
So it's called thorny. It really doesn't have anything to do except. You got what I got. Verse.
Well, because you gotta, I had to do a little map actually. Let me see if I got this right. All right.
Sometimes I have to chart it out like that. Verse 6, and Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that Yahweh will work for us. For nothing restrains Yahweh from saving by many. or by few.
Question How come Jonathan understands God and his father and so many others do not? Jonathan won't lose this. He will go to his grave understanding who God is, with a keener understanding of who God is than so many that are around him. Life is just so much like two thieves on a cross. Two people hear the same sermon.
One comes away blessed, saved, going to paradise, the other one's going to hell. Such is life. But I gotta say so in that for me personally as does everyone else. Jonathan understood enough about God to trust God with his life, because that's what's going on here. He's not trusting him with just money or investments or some future thing.
This is his life. If he messes up here, the Philistines will kill him. and the armour bearer. Who evidently, this armor-bearer, is close enough both to God and Jonathan to agree with Jonathan. Jonathan.
All this again started in the last chapter. Jonathan is seeing it through. They're going to demonstrate their verbal commitment with action by the time we get to verse 13.
So it's not all talk. Again, in contrast to Saul sitting under the tree, these two men are out there looking to. have something take place by God, models of great faith. And he is clearly prompted by the Holy Spirit of God because he says, For nothing restrains Yahweh from saving. By many or by few.
That's biblical according to their scripture in Deuteronomy with Gideon. God demonstrated this. You have to have the prompting. It must be the leading. You cannot just read the Bible lesson and say, that's for me.
I guess that's kind of illustrated with Peter wanting to walk on water. It's got, there's a lot more involved to it than just the desire. Anyway, he uses a term of contempt A derogatory term for these uncircumcised Philistines. These guys don't love Yahweh. They worship statues and they cause misery as a result.
Verse 7. Um pause there. Idolatry is not a harmless thing. And that's what the Bible teaches us. Their lives are affected by false beliefs about God.
the entire uh Soviet union their empire. And all the nations they put under their iron grip. Prove that. and they're not the only ones. Verse seven.
So his armor bearer said to him, Do all that is in your heart. Go then. Here I am with you according to your heart. Great leaders. Get more done with great men who allow themselves to be led.
Here's a great leader in Jonathan. Here's a man that is allowing himself to be led. He's not resisting. I use this verse in premarital counseling. Whereas you have the head of the home and the helpmate, and they are to be going in the same direction, not rowing opposite directions, resisting each other.
And this is an excellent illustration. And these two men is going to be carried through in the battle. Where Jonathan knocks them down, the armament bearer comes and finishes them off. They're working in unison. But back to these People of God.
Numbers chapter 1 This is when God was having Moses number the men for war and all that would be involved with the future history of Israel. And we read there, These are the names of men who shall stand with you, says God to Moses. and then the names are given by the tribes. Luke 22, 28, But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. Good leaders.
Are really Their skills, their abilities are wasted if they hunt great followers.
Somehow, that's become derogatory to be a follower in the minds of some. But leaders who follow the Lord, the Lord will provide those who will follow them, and that's how things get done. I don't know of exceptions to that. I'm sure there is always that one or two that's an exception, but not Not the pattern. Verse 8.
Then Jonathan said, Very well, let us cross over to these men. and we will show ourselves to them. What if the armor bearer had not been on board? What if he said, I don't want to go? And Jonathan might have said, Okay, let's go back to the camp.
And he got fired him and got another guy and went back to try it again. That would have been all right. get a different Esquire. A squire or an esquire. Is from the Latin to the French.
It's an armor-bearer. of the night. When you hire a lawyer who has that title, Esquire, and say, I'm going to carry your shield for you. And the idea of carrying the shield and prepping the horse and getting ready is so that the knight can win, has enough strength, hasn't been bogged down by carrying his own tools, it helps him put the armor on.
Well, at this point in the history there wasn't much armor around. There was some. We read later Jonathan had armor and tried to give it to David. But here is a man who truly is a shield bearer. He is there to support Jonathan any way he can.
He is determined to be the best second fiddler there is. and quite an honorable position. By going to the Philistines and announcing themselves, they're going to take away the element of surprise. They're going to just come right out and say, Here we are, verse 9. If they say thus to us, wait till we come to you, then we will stand still in our place and not go to them.
But. If they say thus, come up to us. Then we will go up. For Yahweh has delivered them into our hand, and This will be assigned to us. Either plan, whether they stand and wait or they are told to come, if the Philistines engage them, there's going to be a fight.
I kind of scratched my head at some of this. Say, Jonathan, you do know. You've kind of boxed yourself in. But either way, he is aggressive with his faith. And the opportunity to battle on behalf of God's people is here.
Admiral Nelson, the great British. Admiral during the Napoleonic War with Uh Great Britain. He says no captain. can do very wrong, who places his ship alongside that of the enemy.
Well, we Christians are supposed to place our gospel alongside the unbeliefs of the enemy to make something happen for the truth. And it doesn't take any craziness to do that. In fact, it takes the opposite. It takes sanity to preach the gospel, to engage people. I'm a firm believer.
That's a biblical pattern. It's what I tried to follow, and not just me, of course. It's just to go to people and become known to them and they to you, to establish a relationship, not a fellowship, but a relationship. That's how souls get saved. It was one way, not the only way, but that is a big one.
Maybe that's why we don't see a lot of souls saved. Are a lot of Christians afraid to simply share their faith and be witnesses for Christ instead of lawyers? I don't know. But I sure like to talk about it with people. But not at the moment.
Verse 11.
So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines, and the Philistines said, Look, the Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden.
Well, this is the voice of Satan. mocking the believer, belittling them.
Well, Jonathan had his chance. He's uncircumcised Philistines. That was a fact. There's also a fact that many of the Jews had hidden themselves in holes, and now they're being taunted. But Satan does not get the last laugh when God's people will.
Recover themselves. Verse twelve. Then the men of the garrison called to Jonathan and his armor bearer and said, Come up to us, and we will show you something. And Jonathan said to his armor bearer, Come up after me, for Yahweh has delivered them into The hand of Israel.
So he knows this is the. Leading an agreement he had with God. If they call to us, we know we're going to win this thing. And he's going to claim victory for the nation. This coming will show you something.
It's not like come here and we'll show you this new Lego set we bought or you know, just it's we'll teach you something and it's probably how to do just a wonderful tuna casserole.
So of course he's It means come down here and we're going to kill you. There's really nothing comical about this when it was taking place. Verse thirteen And Jonathan climbed up on his hands and knees, with his armour bearer after him and they fell before Jonathan as he came after him his armour bearer killed them.
So a dynamic duo. Here, this climbing up. I read this as a point: you're vulnerable. I were in the Philistine camp, all is fair and love and war. I would pick you off at that point.
But the uh you know Marcus of Quinsbury rules. Anyway, apparently he did strike them down, and the armor bearer would come behind him. And Here Jonathan he prayed, he planned, and with the help of the Lord and a loyal helper They were victorious. Verse fourteen. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about a half acre of land.
That first slaughter. It was a busy day. It's amazing what two can do if they're working together. and not resisting each other. Amen.
Again, I wish we had the name of the armor-bearer. I'm sure we would see children named after this man. But the Holy Spirit has decided that that would not be. Uh verse oh well this Half a yoke of land is really what it is, where it says about a half an acre. It's half a yoke, and a yoke of land was the area a pair of oxen.
Could plow in a day.
So in a day they could do an acre, but a half a yoke would be. Half an acre. Verse 14, and there was trembling in the camp. In the field and among all the people, the garrison and the raiders also trembled. And the earth quaked so that it was a very great trembling In verse 16, now the watchmen of Saul in Gibeea, of Benjamin, looked, and there was the multitude melting away, and they went here and there.
And so Jonathan and his armor bearers start this. Domino effect. The fear hits the camp of the Philistines. They don't know what's going on. In that Philistine camp, there are Philistine troops.
There are mercenaries that are not Philistines. And there may have been Jews, there were Jews in the camp. What their role was is not clear. We'll make a comment on that in a little bit. But these forces are self-destructing.
Jonathan caused a stampede. Fear is contagious and is spreading through the camp, and no one knows what's going on. Have the mercenaries turned on us? What is happening? And so the line collapses in fear and confusion.
Verse 17: Then Saul said to the people who were with him: Now call the role and see who has gone from us. And they called the roll, and surprisingly, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. Saul's camp is on a higher ground. He can see this happening, evidently across a valley or straight across, but he has a good view to where this is taking place. Again, the two armies, Saul knows where they are, and they know where Saul is.
Nothing's happening. It's going to be that way when Goliath shows up in a latter battle. But why call the roll to see who's missing? Does it matter? It's Louis the Rag Collector.
He's not with us. Oh no. Oh, why why would he even ask such a silly question? But we must know. Jonathan, again, speaks as though he knew to get out of there without asking to go do it.
I believe Saul's motive is, who is stealing my thunder? Who is making things happen here? Because that's how he thought. Everything was about him that's really going to come out in this chapter. And verse 18.
And Saul said to Ahijah, Bring the Ark of God here. For at that time the ark of God was with the children of Israel. There's some question whether it is meant the Ark of God or the Ephod of God. I think there's some interchangeability to the events taking place. Theologians can uh go back and forth on it.
The s the Septuagint has ephard. The Masoretic text has arc. But characteristic of Saul, he takes a step in the right direction and then he takes the next step in the wrong direction and he doesn't recover. That is Saul. And you're going to see that blunder in one moment.
But the high priest is with them. The Ark is likely there along with the Ephod. With the pres presence of the Urim and the Thummen, which the Jews would discern God's will. And they are now activated to find out what they should do next. In verse 19, now it happened.
While Saul talked to the priests, that the noise which was in the camp of the Philistines continued to increase, so Saul said to the priests, Withdraw your hand. I don't know. Has anybody missed that? Does anybody hear, like, I don't know what that means? It's saying stop praying.
Don't seek God. I'll take it from here. Never mind God. No time for faith, no time for religion, no time. For the Righteous men, it's time for men of action.
As though righteous men were not men of action, it was one of them that was causing the battle to begin with. His heart, his heart was just cluttered with stones. Matthew chapter thirteen, verse twenty one. speaking of the seed that fell amongst the stones, yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. That's all.
He hears the battle escalating. It's just two men on his side causing all this. What is Saul doing? What is his claim to obedience before God or his people? as king.
This is just one more place all failed. stony heart, Solomon failed in the parable, and just in passing, Matthew 13:22.
Now, he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. That was Solomon. But still, Solomon I do not believe was as bad as Saul. And Solomon had some issues, big issues.
So unlike David, though. David had a moment in his life when he was not yet king, and he's running from Saul. And he became desperate, even goes over to the Philistines. And When he returns from the Philistines today, we can't have you with us on the battlefield. You might turn on us, and they send him home.
And he goes back, and his home is gone. The Amalekites came and stole all their treasures and their women and children. Yeah. Um Thanks for joining us for today's edition of Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Virginia.
Currently, Pastor Rick is in the book of 1 Samuel. If you'd like to listen again to this or other messages or share it with someone you know, please visit crossreferenceradio.com. Here, you can also listen to interviews with Pastor Rick to learn more about his life and ministry. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast so you'll never miss another edition. All you have to do is find us on your favorite podcast app.
You can also access full-length video messages on YouTube.
So, many options are available to you. Again, if you're not sure where to go, just go to crossreferenceradio.com for resources. Tune in again next time for more Crossreference Radio.
Okay.
