THURSDAY March 21, 2019
Hardly a Threat to the Enemy
Saul, Jonathan his son, and the people present with them remained in Gibeah of Benjamin. But the Philistines encamped in Michmash. Then raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies. One company turned onto the road to Ophrah, to the land of Shual, another company turned to the road to Beth Horon, and another company turned to the road of the border that overlooks the Valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.
1 Samuel 13:16-18
Israel, for the first time in their history, had a king and their own army of men. Saul’s son Jonathan was a valiant man of war, and he was very loyal to his father. He remained in Gibeah with Saul and his 600 men who had not deserted the king. Previously, Jonathan, with 1,000 men at his disposal, attacked a Philistine garrison in Geba; he won a great victory, even though his father took the glory for the battle (1 Samuel 13:3-4).
After an embarrassing defeat at Geba, the Philistines gathered together a greater army at Michmash––a garrison that had a massive army–– a multitude of people as the sand on the seashore. The Israelites had become an abomination to the Philistines, and they fully intended to wipe out their forces. In comparison, Saul only had 600 men (1 Samuel 13:15), hardly a threat to such a massive Philistine camp.
Michmash was a small town in the territory of Benjamin, about 7 miles from Jerusalem. It was on high ground surrounded by dangerous precipices. Imagine, the army of the Philistines and the army of the Israelites faced each other across a great gorge. The Philistines, having such a large troop at Michmash, released raiders to wreak havoc in the area. They wanted Israel to remain weak and subservient to them.
As a Christian, are you hardly a threat to the enemy because you have grown weak in the faith by yielding to your carnal desires?
The idea that this world is a playground instead of a battleground, has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of Christians.
~A.W. Tozer~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
