JONATHAN'S BRAVERY AND HIS SIN

Proclamation

“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, ‘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 … behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.’ ” 1 Samuel 14:6-7 (KJV)

 

Explanation

These words were written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God by the prophet Samuel.  One day Jonathan, the son of King Saul, took his armor-bearer with him and went over to the Philistine outpost without his father knowing it. (1 Samuel 14:1-8)  Jonathan and his armor-bearer went to the Philistines and they killed about twenty men. (1 Samuel 14:13-14)  Then The Lord God caused a panic to break out among the Philistines.  The lookouts of Israel’s army told Saul of the panic among the Philistines army.  Then Saul gathered together the men he had left, called for the ark of God, and went to battle the Philistines. (1 Samuel 14:15-20)  When the Israelites who had fled and hidden in the hills heard that the Philistines were on the run, they joined in the pursuit of them. (1 Samuel 14:21-23)  Unbeknownst to Jonathan, Saul had the people take an oath cursing anyone who ate before evening.  When the entire army entered the woods, there was honey oozing out of the trees but no one ate any of it because of the oath.  Jonathan ate some of the honey and immediately he was enlightened.  One of the soldiers told him of the oath which they had all taken and Jonathan said that was why the men were faint. (1 Samuel 14:24-28)  Later that day when the Israelites struck down the Philistines, they took their livestock and butchered them and ate the raw meat.  Someone told Saul that his men were sinning by eating meat with blood in it.  He built an altar unto The Lord.  He consulted with the priest before continuing his attack on the Philistines but God did not answer him. (1 Samuel 14:31-37)  After questioning the men Saul learned of Jonathan’s sin. 

 

Application

We can have good intentions and yet do wrong.  As the old saying goes, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” (Henry G. Bohn)  It is not enough to simply mean to do well; one must act and actually do a good action as well.  While it is true that God sees our heart and knows our intentions, a sin is still a sin.  Although “all unrighteousness is sin …” (1 John 5:17) all sin is pardonable.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)