Jonathan Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Dennis Conrad Author

Prepare in Advance!

Dear Lord, I pray for wisdom for those who are resourceful and prepare in advance. In Jesus’ name, amen.

In 1 Samuel 13:15-18 (ESV) we learn Saul and his son, Jonathan, assemble men to prepare to fight the Philistines.

According to 1 Samuel 13:19-23 (ESV) the Israelites prepare by paying the Philistines to sharpen their work tools in order to be ready for battle.

“Now there was no blacksmith to be found throughout all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, ‘Lest the Hebrews make themselves swords or spears.’ But every one of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen his plowshare, his mattock, his axe, or his sickle, and the charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and a third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads. So on the day of the battle there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan, but Saul and Jonathan his son had them. And the garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.”

The example of the Israelites preparing to fight can be instructive.

Are you ready for either a man-made or a natural disaster?

Why not take steps to be well-equipped for whatever happens.

Tell me what you think in the comments below.

An Enemy of Superior Strength!

I pray for wisdom for those who face an enemy of superior strength. In Jesus’ name, amen.

What response do you have when you feel outnumbered?

Do you panic? Would it be rational to hide?

In 1 Samuel 13:1-4 (ESV) we learn Saul becomes king and soon thereafter chooses three thousand men of Israel. Two thousand went with Saul and a thousand went with Jonathan. The rest Saul sent home. Jonathan defeated the garrison of the Philistines that was at Geba. Saul blew a trumpet, and it was said that Saul had defeated the garrison and this made it so “Israel had become a stench to the Philistines.”

1 Samuel 13:5-7 (ESV) tells us how the Philistines responded and how the people of Israel reacted.

“And the Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots and six thousand horsemen and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude. They came up and encamped in Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven. When the men of Israel saw that they were in trouble (for the people were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns, and some Hebrews crossed the fords of the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.”

Outnumbered, the people of Israel hide.

Yet, we learn later in Scripture, others would prepare to fight.

Tell me what you think in the comments below.