Then 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 the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 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. Then Jonathan said, “Very well, let us cross over to these men, and we will show ourselves to them. If they say thus to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place and not go up to them. But if they say thus, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up. For the LORD has delivered them into our hand, and this will be a sign to us.” (vv.6-10)
Back in chapter 13 we read that the Phillistines had prepared a great army to fight with Israel in retaliation for Jonathan's attack against them; thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude. So they came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth Aven. And when the men of Israel saw that they were in danger (for the people were distressed), they hid in caves, in thickets, in rocks, in holes, and in pits. And some of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. As for Saul, he was still in Gilgal, and all the people who followed him were trembling.
We also learned that Saul had about 3,000 men in his regular army (1 Samuel 13:2). But now he was down to 600 because many soldiers scattered while Saul waited for Samuel in Gilgal (1 Samuel 13:8). The loss of so many men was probably the reason why Saul offered the sacrifice without Samuel, and it displayed a heart of distrust and disobedience to God. Therefore, God allowed this reduction to Saul's army to test his faith, to see if he believed God was great enough to deliver from so many with so few.
However, the story of our text (chapter 14), reveals that Jonathan was the great man of faith that day. For he believed that whatever God called him to do was possible. So much so that 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 the LORD will work for us. For nothing restrains the LORD from saving by many or by few.”
So Jonathan climbed up the rocky cliff on his hands and knees with his armor bearer after him; and the Philistines fell before him. And as the armor bearer came after Jonathan, he killed them. That first slaughter which Jonathan and his armor bearer made was about twenty men within about half an acre of land. (vv.11-14).
As a result there was a great trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the Philistines. The garrison and the raiders also trembled; and the earth quaked, so that it was a very great trembling (v.15). This devine quake caused the Philistines to be under confusion as they woke that morning thinking, “We are attacked by enemies in our midst!” They rushed about thinking their fellow Philistines might be the enemy and began to fight and kill one another.
You see, it didn’t matter that the Philistines greatly outnumbered the Israelites and had far better weapons. God was more than able to set the Philistines against each other. If the Israelites had no swords, the LORD would use the swords of the Philistines against the Philistines.
Who would have thought that two soldiers could set in motion the defeat of a whole army? But Jonathan followed God step by step. And he and his armor bearer.
Spiritual victories often come from small steps taken for God. Putting your feet to your faith, acting instead of sitting, it may be just what is needed to begin the chain of events leading to complete victory.
The Truth: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1)
