Anesti Ministries

Jonathan’s faith in the Lord.

After the events in the last chapter, Saul’s army was reduced to 600. Because of Saul’s actions, the Lord rejected him from being king. Saul had a priest with his army, but did not have God’s presence. But his son Jonathan was full of faith. Jonathan did not look at the size of the army but fixed his eyes on God. Instead of gathering a larger force to attack, Jonathan chose to take only his armor bearer. Jonathan calls the Philistines “uncircumcised” to make a contrast between God’s enemies and Israel, God’s covenant people. In Leviticus 26:8, God promises Israel that if they walk in obedience, they will defeat huge armies even when outnumbered. Just as Jonathan’s armor bearer followed him, God was also with Jonathan (v7). Jonathan sought God’s confirmation from the Lord before carrying out his plan (v8-12). As soon as Jonathan attacked the camp, God caused the enemy to panic and scatter. Jonathan was victorious because he trusted completely God.

Saul drifts from the Lord.

v16-23 Just like how the Israelites brought the ark into battle in 1 Samuel 4, Saul also brought the ark along with his army. It was a practice in Israel for kings to inquire of the Lord through the priest before going into battle. But when Saul saw a favorable opportunity to attack, he did not wait for the Lord’s answer. Just as Saul instructed the priest to withdraw his hand, God withdrew his favor from Saul. Despite this, God confuses the Philistines and rallies Israel to defeat them. Every decision we make should be done prayerfully. We should not step ahead of God like Saul did.

v24-30 Saul put himself before God and his people. Saul’s war with the Philistines was personal. He called them his enemies. And he put an unnecessary burden on his soldiers restricting them from eating until they had avenged him. Israel’s king was supposed to lead the people to walk in obedience to God. But Saul’s actions caused the people to sin against the Lord. In contrast to Samuel who built an altar of worship (1 Samuel 7:17), Saul built an altar to stop the people from sin. Godly leaders are shepherds who must lead God’s people to walk in obedience.

v31-42 Saul did not seek God’s counsel before acting. The priest had to remind him to inquire of the Lord. Saul assumed that the Lord was silent because of an unknown sin. And he made an unwise decision to kill the person found guilty of sin. Saul was not acting according to the Word of the Lord but based on his own feelings. Saul was even willing to kill his son whom God clearly used to bring victory (v39). But the leaders delivered Jonathan out of his father’s hand. Godly leaders must be led by God’s Word and not feelings.

Saul leads Israel to war.

Samuel’s reign brought peace but Saul led the nation to war. Saul led the army on military campaigns against his enemies for personal glory. He took the best men to fight in his army. While the war with Philistines was intense, God did not give him victory over the Philistines because Saul’s disobedience.