While Saul sits under a tree with six hundred frightened men and no strategy, his son Jonathan quietly leaves camp with one companion, climbs a cliff on hands and knees, and attacks a Philistine garrison. His reasoning is a sentence worth memorising: there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few. Twenty men fall, the earth shakes, panic runs through the whole enemy host, and God routs an army through two men who simply believed He could.
A study in 1 Samuel 14 · Arthur Baldwin · StandUp4Jesus.Org · 8 min read
There Is No Restraint To The LORD To Save By Many Or By Few
“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 armourbearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart… I am with thee according to thy heart.”
1 Samuel 14:6-7
Jonathan does not claim a revelation — “it may be that the LORD will work for us.” What he is sure of is the character of God: nothing stops Him from saving with a handful when He chooses. The armour-bearer’s reply is the other half of it — “I am with thee according to thy heart.” Two men, one conviction, no permission asked. It is the exact opposite of the paralysed king a mile behind them.
Come Up After Me: For The LORD Hath Delivered Them
“Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armourbearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel… and they fell before Jonathan… and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.”
1 Samuel 14:12-15
The Philistine sentries jeer — “come up to us” — and Jonathan takes the taunt as the sign he had prayed for. He scrambles up a slope too steep to be well guarded, and the garrison falls apart. Then the ground shakes and terror sweeps the whole army; in the confusion the Philistines turn their swords on each other. Ellen White says angels fought at Jonathan’s side. The victory Saul was denied for his impatience, God hands to a son who would not wait to be afraid.
“Angels of heaven shielded Jonathan and his attendant, angels fought by their side, and the Philistines fell before them. The earth trembled as though a great multitude with horsemen and chariots were approaching. Jonathan recognized the tokens of divine aid.”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 623
Cursed Be The Man That Eateth Any Food
“Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening… But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath… he dipped it in an honeycomb… and his eyes were enlightened… Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land.”
1 Samuel 14:24-29
Saul’s response to the victory is a rash public oath: no food till nightfall, on pain of a curse — “that I may be avenged on mine enemies.” The pronoun tells the story. The army, fainting from hunger, cannot press the pursuit. Jonathan, who missed the order, eats a little wild honey and is instantly refreshed, and says the plain thing: my father has hurt his own people. Saul’s vows tie knots; Jonathan’s faith cuts them.
Shall Jonathan Die, Who Hath Wrought This Great Salvation?
“And Saul answered, 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?… there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground; for he hath wrought with God this day.”
1 Samuel 14:44-45
The lot falls on Jonathan, and Saul — rather than admit his oath was foolish — is ready to execute the son who won the day. The soldiers physically stop him: the man who “wrought with God” will not be put to death to save the king’s pride. It is a grim preview. Saul will spend the rest of the book trying to kill the next man God is with, and the people around him will keep having to shield the deliverer from the king.
“Had not the men of Israel interposed to save the life of Jonathan, their deliverer would have perished by the king’s decree. With what misgivings must that people afterward have followed Saul’s guidance!”
Ellen G. White · Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 626
