§65. The New King and the Old Foes (I Sam. 13:2-7, 15-17; 14:1-23)

A. THE OUTBREAK OF WAR

When Saul had reigned two years over Israel, he chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with him in Michmash and in the mount of Beth-el, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent. And Jonathan smote the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard of it.

And Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, "Let the Hebrews hear."

And all Israel heard say that Saul had smitten the garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were gathered together after Saul.

And the Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the sea shore in multitude: and they came up, and pitched in Michmash, eastward of Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait, (for the people were distressed,) then the people did hide themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in holds, and in pits.

Now some of the Hebrews had gone over Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. And Saul numbered the people that were present with him, about six hundred men. And Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people that were present with them, abode in Geba of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash. And the spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines.

B. JONATHAN'S BOLD ATTACK

Now it fell upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armor, "Come and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on yonder side." But he told not his father.

And Saul abode in the uttermost part of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone. And between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side, and a rocky crag on the other side. The one crag rose up on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, "Come and let us go over unto the garrison: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is not restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few."

And his armorbearer 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 the 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 the 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 armorbearer, and said, "Come up to us, and we will show you a thing." And Jonathan said unto his armorbearer, "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 armorbearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armorbearer slew them after him. And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armorbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were half an acre of land. And there was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled: and the earth quaked; so there was an exceeding great trembling.

C. THE GENERAL BATTLE

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went hither and thither.

Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, "Number now, and see who is gone from us."

And when they had numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armorbearer were not there. And Saul said unto Ahijah the priest, "Bring hither the ark of God." For the ark of God was there at that time with the children of Israel.

And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the tumult that was in the camp of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, "Withdraw thine hand."

And Saul and all the people that were with him were gathered together, and came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. Now the Hebrews that were with the Philistines as before-time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan. Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in the hill country of Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle. So the Lord saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over by Beth-aven.

§66. Saul's Oath and Jonathan's Danger (I Sam. 14:24-46)

A. THE OATH OF ABSTINENCE

And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, "Cursed be the man that eateth any food until it be evening, and I be avenged on mine enemies."

So none of the people tasted food. And all the people came into the forest; and there was honey upon the ground. And when the people were come unto the forest, behold, the honey dropped: but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath: wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.

Then answered one of the people, and said, "Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, 'Cursed be the man that eateth food this day.'" And the people were faint.

Then said Jonathan, "My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey. How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?"

B. THE HUNGRY WARRIORS

And they smote of the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon: and the people were very faint. And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.

Then they told Saul, saying, "Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that they eat with the blood."

And he said, "Ye have dealt treacherously: roll a great stone unto me this day." And Saul said, "Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, 'Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the Lord in eating with the blood.'"

And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. And Saul built an altar unto the Lord: the same was the first altar that he built unto the Lord.

C. JONATHAN'S DANGER AND RESCUE

And Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night, and spoil them until the morning light, and let us not leave a man of them."

And they said, "Do whatsoever seemeth good unto thee."

Then said the priest, "Let us draw near hither unto God." And Saul asked counsel of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?" But he answered him not that day.

And Saul said, "Draw nigh hither, all ye chiefs of the people: and know and see wherein this sin hath been this day. For, as the Lord liveth, which saveth Israel, though it be in Jonathan my son, he shall surely die." But there was not a man among all the people that answered him.

Then said he unto all Israel, "Be ye on one side, and I and Jonathan my son will be on the other side."

And the people said unto Saul, "Do what seemeth good unto thee."

Therefore Saul said unto the Lord, the God of Israel, "Show the right." And Jonathan and Saul were taken by lot: but the people escaped.

And Saul said, "Cast lots between me and Jonathan my son." And Jonathan was taken.

Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what thou hast done."

And Jonathan told him, and said, "I did certainly taste a little honey with the end of the rod that was in mine hand; and, lo, I must die."

And Saul said, "God do so and more also: for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan."

And the people said unto Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel? God forbid: as the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day."

So the people rescued Jonathan, that he died not. Then Saul went up from following the Philistines: and the Philistines went to their own place.

THE MEANING OF THE STORY

215 (§65A). There was a strong enemy on the western coast that was the most serious trouble to Israel. It was to save themselves from these people that the Hebrews had longed for a king. Imagine how we should feel if some foreign nation should capture New York and Chicago and St. Louis and San Francisco and should compel us to give up a large part of our crops every year. We should look for a great general to lead us to turn them out. What then did Saul feel was his first duty as king? He had with him his noble son: what was his name? The first blow was struck at the town of Geba: what followed at once?

216 (§65A). Note the great force of the Philistines. What do you think they expected to do with the Hebrews? How did the Hebrews behave? We have seen before how the people would hide from their enemies. How many warriors did Saul have left? Notice that the two forces were drawn up on opposite sides of a valley. Each was on a height which it was difficult to attack. The reference to "the spoilers" means that the Philistines determined to destroy all the Hebrew country. The little army of Saul was unable to prevent the raids.

217 (§65B). Evidently some bold deed had to be done. We find that the king had a hero son. The knights in Europe used to have their squires: Jonathan had his armorbearer. Why did he not tell his father of his plan? At the battle of Santiago in the Cuban war Lieutenant Hobson wanted to do a very bold deed, but it was so dangerous that he had difficulty in getting permission. Jonathan was afraid his father would think his plan foolhardy. Study the description of the place. There was a narrow pass between two rocky crags. In order to reach the Philistines, Jonathan would have to climb the steep rock. Note that Jonathan hopes for the Lord to be with him. How does the armorbearer respond?

218 (§65B). Jonathan proposes to go into the open at the bottom of the valley and call to the Philistine sentinels, and then to decide whether to attack according to their reply. He thinks that they will make one of two replies: what were they? Tell what happened. How do you think the sudden attack of two men could have frightened the Philistines?

219 (§65C). The Hebrew sentinels on their crag suddenly saw a great disturbance on the opposite height, which the Philistines held. What did Saul do? The king intended to consult God through the priest, but the confusion in the enemy's camp grew so great that he decided to attack at once. Three causes helped to put the Philistines to flight: what were they?

220 (§66A). In the old time it was thought to be very religious to make solemn vows to God. Saul felt that the Lord was saving Israel from the oppression: what oath did he put upon the people? What did the hungry people find in the forest? How did they act? How did Jonathan act? The little food was so refreshing that he seemed to see clearly again, so it is said "his eyes were enlightened." Tell what conversation took place about the honey.

221 (§66B). In order to understand this story, we must remember that it was considered wrong to eat meat unless it had been properly killed so that the blood could run off. The blood was thought to be an offering to God. The Jews still keep up the same custom, and their meat is always specially killed. When the Philistines fled, what property did they leave behind? How did the hungry Hebrews behave? How did Saul secure an altar where the animals could be properly killed? Saul was very careful to do everything that was considered right.

222 (§66C). The king thought that the victory should be followed up, so that the Philistines could not return to trouble them. They had a custom of seeking to find out God's will about any matter through the priest, just as people do in the temples of Japan to-day. But there was some difficulty in securing an answer, so Saul felt sure that someone had broken the oath. It was a most solemn matter to him. What did he say to the leaders of the people? Tell how they found out that Jonathan was guilty.

223 (§66C). When a man was found out by the lot, he was expected to confess. What did Jonathan confess? Do you think that he had done wrong? Evidently Saul thought so, because at that time it seemed terrible to break a solemn oath. Picture the scene to yourself and see how nobly Jonathan was ready to bear the punishment.

224 (§66C). It seems to us most strange that the king should think so much of the matter as to feel that his son must die, but we must remember that it was part of their religion. It makes us very glad that we know God so much better, and that we can see that he must have been pleased with the hero who had risked his life to save his people from their enemies. Indeed we find that Jonathan's noble conduct was so clear that the people decided that the old custom must be broken. What did they say? Why did they think the Lord would not wish Jonathan to die?

WRITTEN REVIEW

Imagine that you were Jonathan's armorbearer. Write a letter home, just as the young man might, telling what happened that day. Make it as full of description as possible.