Ce – Jonathan Attacks the Philistines First Samuel 14: 1-14

Jonathan Attacks the Philistines
First Samuel 14: 1-14

Jonathan attacks the Philistines DIG: What attitude did the Philistine taunt reveal? What did the sign from God reveal? How did Jonathan contrast with his father Sha’ul? What enabled Jonathan and his armor-bearer to launch the incredible attack on the Philistines? Why did Jonathan feel so confident in God’s blessing? How does the author of the books of Samuel use comparisons?

REFLECT: What “cliffs” do you think ADONAI would have you climb? How do you typically deal with failure or the risk of failure? Do you think that victory in our endeavors is always a sign of God’s favor? Explain. How does your response to life’s obstacles compare with Jonathan’s? What rocky cliff are you willing to climb over to get there? How swiftly do you follow other godly leaders?

Jonathan realized that victory is not determined by humans, but by divine grace and power alone.

The focus in this chapter is on Jonathan, Sha’ul’s oldest son, who had won the first major battle against the Philistines, but his father had taken credit (13:1-4b). It’s a remarkable blessing of the grace of God that a fickle and wicked man like Sha’ul should have such a faithful and godly son as Jonathan. He was a courageous warrior (Second Samuel 1:22), a born leader, and a man of faith who sought to do the will of ADONAI. As the narrative progresses, it becomes obvious that Sha’ul is jealous of Jonathan and his popularity; and that jealousy only increased when Jonathan and David become devoted friends (see the commentary on the Life of David, to see link click An – David and Jonathan’s Friendship).²⁹⁵

Contrasting faith (14:2-3): As Richard Phillips makes clear in his commentary on 1 Samuel, the writer of the books of Samuel frequently makes his points through the use of contrasts: Hannah and ‘Eli, Samuel and ‘Eli, Sha’ul and David, David and Absalom, and Hushai and Ahithophel. This provides parallel details that make clear the issues of faith and unbelief, and virtue and sin. In this chapter the two contrasting figures are Jonathan and King Sha’ul. Having attempted to lead the people on the LORD’s behalf, Sha’ul had failed miserably. His first strike against the Philistines had provoked their massive retaliation, and his failure to obey God’s Word had led to his rejection by Ha’Shem (13:13-14). His present condition reflected both of those sad realities. Surrounded by an enemy vastly superior in both numbers and armament, Sha’ul was cornered on the outskirts of his capital with a mere six hundred soldiers who lacked the basic weapons of war (13:22). Accordingly, Sha’ul took no military initiative; however, Jonathan’s ability to slip away from his camp unobserved suggests that Sha’ul’s soldiers were so demoralized that no one was aware that Jonathan had left (14:3b). On the spiritual plane, Sha’ul’s situation was even worse. Sha’ul had set up his court and was sitting at the far edge of Gibeah (where he had been since leaving Geva back in 13:15) under the pomegranate tree in Migron; the force with him numbered about 600 men (14:2).

Sha’ul called for the high priest, wearing his ephod (see the commentary on Exodus Fz – Make the Ephod of Gold, Blue and Purple Yarn) with the Urim and Thummim (see Exodus Gb – The Urim and Thummim: The Means of Making Decisions) inside the fold of the breastpiece. So far so good – until we learn the identity of the high priest: Ahijah, the grandson of the wicked Phinehas, of the rejected and cursed house of ‘Eli (see Au – God’s Rejection of ‘Eli’s House). Ahijah was the nephew of Ichabod, or “the glory has departed” (14:3a). These words are not randomly inserted into the Biblical text. Rather they tell us something about Sha’ul. With his own royal “glory gone” (see Cc – Samuel Rebukes Sha’ul), where else would we expect Sha’ul to be than with a relative of “glory gone” (see Bd – The Birth of Ichabod). Sha’ul, who was no leader (see the commentary on Ezra-Nehemiah Ch – The Completion of the Walls Despite Opposition: ten fatal flaws that derail those who think they are in charge), replaced the wise counsel of Samuel with the disgraced counsel of Ahijah, had lost his way and was able to do little else than to grasp the tattered shreds of his lost credibility.

In contrast, is Sha’ul’s son Jonathan, a leader (see Ezra-Nehemiah Bt – The Third Return: A Manual for Leaders), who did not surround himself with royal hangers-on, but went only in the company of his armor-bearer. The picture of Sha’ul sitting under the pomegranate tree contrasts his timidity, and relative ease with Jonathan’s willingness to risk his very life for Isra’el. He was the one man other than Sha’ul in Isra’el’s army to possess a sword, and he used it not in safety, but by wielding it against the enemy. While Sha’ul sat, Jonathan acted. While Sha’ul’s pious inactivity inspired no help from ADONAI, Jonathan’s faith received God’s aid. Whereas Sha’ul, the commander, publicly dishonored the LORD through his fearful disobedience; Jonathan, the warrior, would bring honor to Ha’Shem through the fearlessness of his faith.

This comparison suggests that one way for us to strengthen our faith is to consider how our situation mirrors that of others in the Bible, and to remember how YHVH delivered His people of old. Moses and the Israelites had their backs to the Sea of Reeds with the army of Pharaoh bearing down, and the LORD parted the water to pass His people through, then to crash down on their pursuing enemies (see Exodus Ci – The Waters Were Divided and the Jews Went Through the Sea). Likewise, God will often provide an unforeseen way of escape for His struggling people today. Sennacherib’s army surrounded Jerusalem, but when Hezekiah took their taunts before Ha’Shem in prayer, an angel of ADONAI came and struck them all down (see the commentary on Isaiah Gw – Then the Angel of the LORD Put to Death a Hundred and Eighty-Five Thousand Men in the Assyrian Camp). Earlier still, when Joseph refused to offend the LORD by sinning with his master’s wife, for which he was thrown into Pharaoh’s dungeon unjustly, but God not only arranged for his release, but used a pagan king to elevate Joseph to second only to Pharaoh in Egypt (see the commentary on Genesis Jv – Joseph as Prime Minister). Likewise, we should trust God to use our afflictions to reveal His grace and power. These and many other biblical examples have parallels in our lives today, great and small, and should fuel the fires of a bold and daring faith.²⁹⁶

Daring faith (14:1 and 4-5): The strain of Sha’ul’s indecision was more than his son could bear. Therefore, one day, Jonathan, the son of Sha’ul, said to the young man carrying his armor, “Come, let’s go across to the garrison of the Philistines on the other side.” Jonathan had no definite plan. Rather, wearied by the inactivity, he simply went out to look for the opportunity to do something for the sake of the LORD and his people. But he didn’t tell his father (14:1). But why didn’t Jonathan tell his father that he had a plan to route the enemy? Because Sha’ul wouldn’t have believed in such a daring venture of faith, and Jonathan wanted to get the battle settled, as he had already done before with the Philistine outpost at Geva (13:3).

The opposing armies were situated across a valley several miles north of Jerusalem at a place where the ascent on both sides was especially demanding. Between the passes by which Jonathan was trying to cross to the garrison of the Philistines, there was a rocky cliff on one side and another rocky cliff on the other; the name of the one was Bozez (meaning shining because it was in the full sun), and of the other, Senneh (meaning thorny because it is almost always in the shade). Boaz rose up on the north side of the ravine toward Micmash, and Senneh rose up on the south side toward Geba (14:4-5). It was probably because of this difficult terrain that Sha’ul caused his army to retreat to Gibeah, and why the Philistines had contented themselves with besieging rather than assaulting the Israelites.

Strategic faith (14:6-14): Both sides viewed a frontal attack impossible. But Jonathan thought differently. Thus, he said to his armor-bearer, “Come on, let’s go across to the garrison of these uncircumcised people. Maybe ADONAI will do something for us. In other words, Jonathan realized that victory is not determined by humans, but by divine grace and power alone. If the LORD wanted to use Jonathan to gain the victory for Isra’el, then it didn’t matter what forces were against him or how difficult the terrain. He probably learned this from the record of God’s dealings with His people over the years, the most famous was ADONAI’s deliverance of Isra’el from the Midianites through Gideon (see the commentary on Judges Bb – Gideon’s Victory Over the Midianites). There are so many parallels in this chapter to Gideon’s victory over the Midianites that perhaps Jonathan referred to, and concluded examples that nothing can hinder ADONAI from saving, whether by many or by few (14:6).²⁹⁷

Such faith will often attract worthy followers, and Jonathan’s armor-bearer was eager to accompany him, saying: Do everything that is in your heart; I’m with you, whatever you decide (14:7). The ravine that Jonathan and his companion had to negotiate was steep and involved skillful rock climbing. As the two men approached the Philistine side of the ravine, Jonathan proposed a solution. He said, “Here, we’ll cross over to those men and let them know we’re there. If they say, ‘Wait till we come to you,’ we’ll stand still where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we’ll go on up; and that will be the sign that ADONAI has given us victory over them” (14:8-10). It is likely that Jonathan combined his request for a sign with some military savvy. This was the last route anyone in their right mind would choose to take; hence, Jonathan managed to surprise his enemy.²⁹⁸ Expecting God’s help, he was ready to act boldly when it came.

With their false sense of security, the Philistine troops at the new outpost wouldn’t be afraid of a couple of Jews who managed to cross the ravine and climb the cliffs. Maybe the guards would see them as two Jewish men who wanted to desert Sha’ul’s army and find refuge with the enemy. No matter what, Jonathan wasn’t going to let the enemy attack first. So both of them let their presence be known to the garrison of the Philistines; and they said, “Look, some Hebrews, a derogatory term, coming out of the holes they’ve been hiding in” (14:11)! When the two-man assault team disclosed themselves to the enemy, the Philistines only laughed and mocked them. Sure enough, the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come up to us, and we’ll teach you a lesson.” That was the kind of arrogant self-confidence that Jonathan wanted to see, because this gave him and his armor-bearer an opportunity to get close to the guards before attacking. Who would fear one soldier and his armor-bearer?²⁹⁹ Goliath would learn the foolishness of saying, “Come here” (17:44), to a mere boy who seemed to pose no threat.

Jonathan told his armor-bearer, “Come on up after me, for ADONAI has handed them over to Isra’el.” Meanwhile, the Philistines had returned to their duties, not worrying about the threat of two men climbing this unlikely steep ravine. Wasting no time, Jonathan climbed up over the top of the cliff named Boaz, using his hands as well as his feet. And before the Philistines knew what hit them, Jonathan attacked them with his sword. One by one, the Israelite hero destroyed his enemies, with his armor-bearer coming behind to finish them off. Before long, there were about twenty men who would never teach another Hebrew lesson!³⁰⁰ All this was accomplished by Jonathan and his armor bearer in a space only half as long as one side of the area a pair of oxen could plow in a day [about 200 yards], or an acre of land (14:12-14).