God uses Jonathan's bravery to reveal His Glory!

JONATHAN

*Background from the Bible: 1 Samuel 13: Israel's first king was Saul. He had a son named Jonathan. Jonathan had already attacked the garrison of the Philistines with 1000 men and defeated them at Gaba. This made the Philistines mad. They mobilized. Their warriors numbered as grains of sand on the seashore. 1 Samuel 13: 6&7 tells us: "The men of Israel saw what a tight spot they were in; and because they were hard pressed by the enemy, they tried to hide in caves, thickets, rocks, holes, and cisterns. Some of them crossed the Jordan River and escaped into the land of Gad and Gilead."

Our main story for today is about Jonathan. This account takes place in the Bible in 1 Samuel 14.

  Saul and 600 men who were left out of 3000. They were camped out under a pomegranate tree at Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. At this time, Jonathan said to his armor bearer, "Come on, let's go over to where the Philistines have their outpost." Jonathan did not tell his father what he was doing.

Jonathan goes down between two rocky cliffs. He tells his armor bearer, "Let's go across the out post of these pagans. Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle with many warriors or a few."

Jonathan told his armor bearer that the two of them would cross over and let the Philistines see them. he went on to explain, if the Philistines tell them, 'Stay where you are or we'll kill you,' then they would stop and not go up to them. But if the Philistines said, "Come on up and fight, " they would go up. Jonathan said that would be the Lord's sign that he will help them defeat the Philistines.

Well, sure enough the Philistines saw them. They said, "Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of their holes!" Then the men from the outpost shouted, "Come up here, and we'll teach you a lesson." Jonathan told his armor bearer to crawl right behind him. Jonathan said, "The Lord will help us defeat them!"

So Jonathan and the armor bearer climbed up using both hands and feet, and the Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor bearer killed all those who came behind. They killed some 20 men in all.

Suddenly, panic broke out in the Philistine army, both in camp and in the field. Just then an earthquake struck, and everyone was terrified. Saul's lookout saw the Philistine army melting away. After calling role, they knew only Jonathan and his armor bearer were missing.

As Saul was talking to Ahijah, the priest, the confusion in the Philistine camp grew louder and louder. Then Saul rushed out to the battle and saw the Philistines killing each other. The Hebrews who had defected to the Philistines, joined the Israelites. Also, the men who were hiding in the hill country of Ephraim joint the chase when they saw the Philistines running.

So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle continued to rage even beyond Beth-aven. The Israelites chased and killed the Philistines all day. Saul finally called his weary troops back and the Philistines returned home.

***My thoughts:
1. Don't ever think one person (or two ) can't make a difference.
2. God can show His power in our weakness and defy ALL odds for His glory!
3. Praise God for my 1st BLOG!!!