In the battle between Israel and the Philistines, we see the warfare mentality of Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Jonathan was a brave man because of his faith in God. He knew that he could do anything, because he knew that God was with him. Therefore Jonathan wasn’t afraid of his enemy, the Philistines. And when the opportunity arose, Jonathan went to the battlefield with his armor-bearer and gained the victory, through only three steps.
The battle between Jonathan, his armor and the Philistines
Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines ‘garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father. And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. And his armor bearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.
Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them. If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them. But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the Lord hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us.
And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines: and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves. And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armourbearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing.
And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the Lord hath delivered them into the hand of Israel. And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armourbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him. And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow. And there was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people: the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling (1 Sam 14:1 en 6-15)
Jonathan and his armor-bearer
The brave Jonathan and his armor-bearer were together with God as bold as a lion. Jonathan was not led by fear. He dared to step out in faith and do something, which seemed impossible in the natural realm to do, namely to beat the Philistines.
Jonathan trusted the Lord completely. He knew that the Lord would be with them and that there was no restraint to the Lord to save by many, or by few. He knew it was all God’s work and not the work of man.
Jonathan asked indirectly for a sign. What seems logical, since Jonathan was not born again and was still the old creation. Jonathan belonged to the ‘unfaithful’ carnal generation, who was led by his senses and needed a sign.
But anyway, God gave him a sign through the mouth of the Philistines. Therefore Jonathan knew for certain, that God had given the Philistines in his power.
Jonathan went with his armor-bearer into the camp of the Philistines without any doubt and slew about twenty men. Imagine that, 2 against 20!
It is remarkable to read, how they slew these twenty men. The men fell before Jonathan and his armor-bearer slew after him. Because of their actions, fear came upon the Philistines. There was trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people and therefore the Philistines fled.
This was, of course, the work of God. Because God delivered the Philistines into the hand of Jonathan, and his armor-bearer. The only thing that Jonathan and his armor-bearer had to do was to have faith in God, show up, and take action (Read also: Has Jesus bound the strong man or do you have to bind the strong man?)
Faith, action, victory
It all started with faith in God. Because of his faith in the Lord, he took action and the result was total victory. It only took three steps:
- Faith
- Action
- Victory
In Jesus Christ, you have total victory
In Jesus Christ, you also have total victory. Because Jesus has defeated the devil and conquered death. Jesus rose from death as a Victor. Jesus reigns and every living thing that has a name is under His feet.
When you have faith in Jesus Christ and believe in His words and His work, then actions will follow.
These actions shall bring victory in your life.
Just like God had delivered the Philistines into the power of Jonathan and his armor-bearer, Jesus has given the devil and his whole army into the power of the Church; the assembly of born again Christians (born of God and seated in Jesus Christ).
The only thing that the Church has to do is to take action.
When the Church has faith in Jesus, take action, and keep standing and don’t back down, then the result shall be total victory. The Church shall be in Him victorious on earth.
Nothing shall be impossible. Because nothing shall be able to stand against the power of Jesus Christ.
In the next blogpost, the task of the armor-bearer will be discussed and how it relates to our relationship with Jesus Christ. If you want to read this blog post then you click on the following link: ‘The armor-bearer’.
‘Be the salt of the earth’
