Faithful and True Lenten Devotional

Read I Samuel 14:1-23

When two parents allow their children to choose the topic for their Lenten study, the family just might end up with a theme like:

Characters from the Bible whose names start with “J,” like Jesus.

Which is exactly what our kids came up with this year. I’m pretty sure they thought we would reject their suggestion. But it seemed as good an idea as any other, and I get the feeling we are going to learn a lot.

Our youngest began the list with Jonah. Job, John the Baptist, and John the disciple were quickly added, along with Jesus’s brothers James and Jude. With a bit more thought, we added Jacob, Joseph, Jeremiah, and Joel.

It was our daughter who added Jonathan. Remarkably, my children seemed to already know much of his story. Jonathan was the oldest son of King Saul, and in line for the throne. Yet, Jonathan chose to see David as comrade rather than competition, ultimately backing David’s reign over his own. It is a perplexing turn of events, considering the fact that Jonathan had the makings of a fine leader—a brave man of action, who stood firmly for what was right, at great personal risk and loss.

In 1 Samuel 14, we read the story of Jonathan’s nearly single-handed defeat of a Philistine outpost. He and his armor-bearer climb a cliff in order to attack a group of Philistine soldiers, leaving twenty dead and throwing the remainder of their army into confusion. Jonathan explains his reasoning in vs. 6, “Come, let us go over to the outpost of those uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf.” His later words prove that this isn’t simply the reckless act of a hot-headed young man, but rather the bold actions of someone with a strong faith in the Lord’s guidance and provision. “If they say, ‘Wait there until we come to you,’ we will stay where we are and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the Lord has given them into our hands.” (I Samuel 14:9-10)

The results of Jonathan’s leap of faith are astounding:

“Then panic struck the whole army—those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties—and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.” (1 Samuel 14:15)
“Then Saul and all his men assembled and went to the battle. They found the Philistines in total confusion, striking each other with swords.”

This past Sunday, our pastor exhorted us into faithful prayer for the people of Ukraine. In addition to prayers for comfort and protection for the vulnerable, he also asked us to pray for God to send a spirit of confusion into the Russian political and military leadership. He pointed to Old Testament stories such as Jonathan’s as a foundation for our prayers.

Yet, the story of Jonathan seems to demand more of a response. It feels wrong for us to sit here in the comfort and safety of America, watching violence reign down on an innocent people. Praying for the people of Ukraine somehow doesn’t feel like enough, knowing that the miraculous victory against the Philistines didn’t occur until after Jonathan climbed the cliff and moved against the enemy in the Lord’s name.

God’s intervention seems to be connected to Jonathan’s leap of faith—something that only he and his armor bearer appeared to be willing to do. By contrast, we see King Saul and his 600 fighting men camped out under a pomegranate tree, while some of the Israelites are hiding in the hills and others have even gone over to the Philistine’s camp.

Where do we see ourselves in the story?

Are we a people who climb cliffs to confront evil in the Lord’s name? Or an apathetic people camped out under the pomegranate trees?

It is a question that can be asked of us in a multitude of situations, from the world to local level. Will we be a people who stand up to the oppressor with the faithful courage of Jonathan?

Lord, in Your mercy, let it be so.