Jonathan Defeats the Philistines
14:1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2 Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave1 at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men, 3 including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4 Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5 The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.
6 Jonathan said to the young man who carried 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 can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7 And his armor-bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish.2 Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8 Then Jonathan said, “Behold, we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 11 So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12 And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13 Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14 And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre3 of land. 15 And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.4
16 And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there.5 17 Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people6 of Israel. 19 Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 21 Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. 23 So the LORD saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.
Footnotes
[1] 14:2
Or under the pomegranate [tree]
[2] 14:7Septuagint Do all that your mind inclines to
[3] 14:14Hebrew a yoke
[4] 14:15Or became a panic from God
[5] 14:16Septuagint; Hebrew they went here and there
[6] 14:18Hebrew; Septuagint “Bring the ephod.” For at that time he wore the ephod before the people (ESV)
Category: Scripture
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Going Deeper
David 3.30.24
Grab your Bibles, and let’s go deeper into 1 and 2 Samuel and the life of King David.
Few biblical figures are as important in God’s plan of redemption as David, the son of Jesse. He is the second king of Israel and the one with whom the Almighty makes an everlasting covenant for the good of the world. David is a model of loyalty, the writer of over half of the book of Psalms, and is an example of godliness for redeemed sinners because even though he sinned greatly, he still remained steadfast after God’s commands and practiced true repentance.
It was in the middle of a great national crisis that David was selected to rule over the nation of Israel. After Saul proved to be a great failure, the Lord came to the prophet Samuel and instructed him to anoint a new monarch who would replace him. This is where we picked up in our reading, in 1 Samuel 16. After a long process of having each of Jesse’s oldest and most charismatic sons stand before Samuel one at a time so that he might discern which of the lads the Lord had chosen to be the new king, it was God’s will to choose the youngest and “least likely” candidate in David. In this, God teaches us a very important life lesson: “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
When the Lord selected David to be His chosen king, He wanted a man who understood the need to be a man “after [God’s] own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14). David was surely this, as he was the least of his brothers and a humble shepherd who did not otherwise aspire to greatness.
Now it’s important we understand that David was a man after God’s own heart not because he was without sin, but because he was in tune with the Holy Spirit, and he repented when he had sinned. Men and women after God’s own heart are also sensitive to the work of the Holy Spirit, and we respond when He convicts us of sin and guides us in righteousness. One of the best ways to be sensitive to the Spirit is to study God’s written word, that we might hear Him when He calls. We must also be regularly in prayer and committed to our local church, where members and elders are tasked by God to encourage us in holiness and admonish us for sin. Our fight against sin and the temptations of this world are too real not to make these God-given things a priority in our lives.
Despite being anointed as king over Israel in his father’s (Jesse’s) house, David did not take the throne right away. He was pressed immediately into the service of King Saul. It was in the first part of his time serving the king that David displayed many of the heroic qualities that would be so closely associated with him later.
It is in 1 Samuel 17 that we get a front row seat to one of the most famous fights in all of history and the true public coming-out party of David as a strong and worthy leader. The phrase “David and Goliath” has become the illustration of the underdog overcoming the favored champion. Soon after David entered the court of the king, the Philistines moved to attack the nation of Israel. As was common then, the armies of each nation stood opposite one another on two mountains with a valley in between them as they squared off for battle. From their vantage point, the Philistines and their champion, Goliath, engaged in a bit of psychological warfare, taunting Israel and boasting of their military superiority. This was also the usual way for armies to face each other before battle, and the clear atmosphere of the land of Palestine made it easy for shouts to be heard up to a mile away. What this meant was Saul and his army heard Goliath, and Scripture says they were “greatly afraid.” Even though King Saul and his armies were greatly afraid of Goliath and the encroaching Philistine army, David rose to the occasion, not in his own ability or reputation as a victorious warrior, but in the strength and name of God. David trusted God to do His perfect will.
1 Samuel 17:45-47 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
Like David, we should not fear when we are pressed into service; indeed, we should be the first to volunteer to face potential suffering for the sake of Christ. We can be sure that God will give us the final victory when we fight for Him according to His ways. Though there will be some casualties on our side, the war’s outcome is decided, and all those who suffer now will be raised in triumph in the world to come.
I Samuel 17:48-51 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.
God surely gave a great victory to David and the Israelites that day, as the Giant was slain, and the Philistines fled. But this is not just a story of moral inspiration that it has commonly been made out to be. It is a great foreshadowing of the truer and better David, Jesus Christ, without whom all of our victories on earth are but a broken plastic trophy with no lasting value. Jesus is the one who defeated the true giant in our place. He is our victor and the one who gives a dead people new life to go out and make much of God’s name among all the nations. While David’s faith to stand up to the giant, who should have brutally slaughtered him, is great and worthy of following, it is Jesus, our bloodied champion over sin and eternal death, to whom David points us, that matters most.
David was eventually made king, and the greatest king in ancient Israel he would be. He was a poet, musician, warrior, and great leader; He was “a man after God’s own heart” because of his extraordinary devotion to the Lord. But, David was not perfect or sinless by any means. Instead, he is also remembered as one of history’s greatest sinners. 2 Samuel 11 tells the famous story of David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of her husband Uriah to try to cover his guilt and sin.
Like many of our own daily sins, David saw something he shouldn’t look upon. Instead of turning away, he pursued the lust in his heart of the sin. Instead of confessing of the sin and repenting from it, he tried to cover it up by having Bathsheba’s husband killed. How often does our engagement in sin slip fast and hard into addiction or more consequential sin? Oh, how we must fight our sin every day. This is why we are desperate for God’s word to instruct us and lead us unto righteousness. This is why we lean on the Holy Spirit in prayer and petition, not just over our Cheerios but all day long. This is why we do not make decisions alone but lean into our blood-bought family for godly counsel, encouragement, and admonishment when needed. We cannot fight this fight alone, nor should we when Christ has given us so much to armor ourselves and fight for His holy name.
Like God has done for us in Christ, He mercifully forgave David when he acknowledged his sin, but this does not mean his transgression had no horizontal consequences. This we see in 2 Samuel 12, as Nathan faithfully brings to mind and heart God’s view and judgment on David’s sin. David would lose the child in Bathsheba’s womb, but David would not curse God for His righteous judgment; instead, David would worship the Lord even after these consequences were brought to pass. This showed that he acknowledged his guilt and the justice of God’s verdict. This is a huge example to us today. Many things that come about in this life, or consequences we or loved ones face, set the table for us to be angry at God and sinfully curse Him instead of trusting His ways are always good and righteous and perfect.
Do you harbor lingering bitterness toward the Lord over the consequences you suffer from your sin or the hardships and loss that come with this broken world in which we live? We must always have faith in God. He is God and worthy of our praise no matter the situation. Circumstances do not EVER change the fact that God is worthy of our praise and due our trust and faith in Him.
By His grace and for His glory
Joshua “Shepherd” Kirstine
Soldiers For Jesus MC
Chaplain Council
SFJbible.com
Whose Son Is the Christ?
41 Now while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them a question, 42 saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?” They said to him, “The son of David.” 43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand,
until I put your enemies under your feet”’?
45 If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?” 46 And no one was able to answer him a word, nor from that day did anyone dare to ask him any more questions.
(ESV)
David and Bathsheba
11:1 In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.
2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 3 And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” 4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house. 5 And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”
6 So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. 7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. 8 Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. 9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. 10 When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” 11 Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” 12 Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. 13 And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.
14 In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. 15 In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” 16 And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. 18 Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. 19 And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, 20 then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? 21 Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”
22 So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. 23 The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. 24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” 25 David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”
26 When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. 27 And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD.
Nathan Rebukes David
12:1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms,1 and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”
7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8 And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. 9 Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 13 David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” And Nathan said to David, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the LORD,2 the child who is born to you shall die.” 15 Then Nathan went to his house.
David’s Child Dies
And the LORD afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and he became sick. 16 David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 On the seventh day the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he did not listen to us. How then can we say to him the child is dead? He may do himself some harm.” 19 But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David understood that the child was dead. And David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They said, “He is dead.” 20 Then David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and changed his clothes. And he went into the house of the LORD and worshiped. He then went to his own house. And when he asked, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this thing that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child died, you arose and ate food.” 22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the LORD will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”
Solomon’s Birth
24 Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the LORD loved him 25 and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah,3 because of the LORD.
Footnotes
[1] 12:3
Hebrew bosom; also verse 8
[2] 12:14Masoretic Text the enemies of the Lord; Dead Sea Scroll the word of the Lord
[3] 12:25Jedidiah means beloved of the Lord (ESV)
David Spares Saul’s Life
24:1 When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, “Behold, David is in the wilderness of Engedi.” 2 Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Wildgoats’ Rocks. 3 And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself.1 Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. 4 And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 5 And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “The LORD forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the LORD’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the LORD’s anointed.” 7 So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you.2 I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Footnotes
[1] 24:3
Hebrew cover his feet
[2] 24:10Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew it [my eye] spared you (ESV)