The Few

Verse of the Day: 1 Samuel 14:1, 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.

Here is both a sad fact and a glorious truth. The sad fact is that there are going to be occasions, maybe more than we desire, when we will find little to no one to walk this path of life with us. In this chapter we have some key players, King Saul, his son Jonathan, Jonathan’s armor bearer, 600 men, and the priest. Which also begs to question, “Where are the 3,000 men Saul chose?” It screams loudly the reminder that when we depend on men, rather than God, we will be disappointed in our greatest moment of need. Yet, what is about to take place is carried out by two men. The sad part about this situation is that it echoes loudly of what we often see today in our churches. We gather with a bunch of fellow believers, sing some songs, and hear a message, then go about living our lonely lives, facing life’s challenges and troubles alone. The one place we are told not to forsake in Hebrews 10:24-25, is the one place where we often find discouragement. Yet, it is the one place we are supposed to gather together to find encouragement. Hebrews 10:24-25 read, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 clearly tells us, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? 12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Jonathan undertook a great feat, as we will see, but did not inform his father. Most likely, because King Saul would have restrained him and viewed Jonathan’s idea from a human standpoint, discouraging him. Far too often, we have a desire to serve God, and know that He is moving us to do something that may seem impossible, and when we express that to others, they apply their own lack of faith to our situation and discourage us. Although there is much wisdom in seeking godly counsel, there are times when we are called to simply go and do what God has called us to do, even if we have to do it alone with the Lord’s strength and guidance. In this case, the only one who Jonathan called upon to follow him was his armor bearer. The bright spot in this potentially dark situation was the faith and friendship of Jonathan’s armor bearer, who expressed his faith in verse 7 where it says, “So his armorbearer said to him, ‘Do all that is in your heart. Go then; here I am with you, according to your heart.’” Jonathan was about to embark on a mission from God that would require faith and courage, and only had one person, out of the 600+ people who were with King Saul, to follow him on this mission from God. How do we know this was God’s doing? The evidence was in how Jonathan and his armor bearer accomplished an impossible feat against great odds (v.14ff). The fact of the matter is that there will be times when we will have to go forward and serve God alone, or with very few who will partner with us. However, this is the glorious truth that I mentioned earlier. The truth that when God sets us on a path to accomplish something in His Name, it will be accomplished, whether it is just us and God alone, or whether there is one more, two more, or a thousand more. The most important Person who could ever partner with us in any venture is God Himself. Jonathan knew this, and because He put His faith in God to deliver them, he could confidently tell his armor bearer to follow him. As we go along, we will examine the extent of Jonathan’s faith as he marched forward to accomplish that which God called him to, even though it meant that it was going to be accomplish with just a few; for with God, a few is much.

Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).