The story of Jonathan is different than almost any other story that can be studied. It is the story of a man with astonishing abilities — a man who charged into a garrison of Philistines with only his faith and his armorbearer, and threw off the Philistine oppressors. It is the story of a man who had the potential to have his name on the lips of Israel for many years to come, and who could have been part of the victory songs of the young women when the armies returned from battle. Yet in all of this, Jonathan’s story is one which takes an unexpected turn.
In Jonathan’s story, his position of glory is given up — willingly — to another man. All of his abilities and his prowess were focused toward the glory and honor of someone else. All of the fame which he could have claimed as his own, and all of the battles which he could have won in his name, he never thought to acquire. Instead, Jonathan channeled all of his energy, all of his talents, and all of his love towards another man. The story of Jonathan isn’t a story about his fame and glory. It isn’t a story about personal honor and pride. It isn’t a story about riches or wealth. Rather, it is a story about humility and love. It’s a story which speaks to the heart — and shows a picture of a man who could have had the entire nation attending to his every whim, but who chose instead to follow the path of humility and obedience to God. Instead of advancing his own will and his own name, Jonathan focused all of his efforts and all of his hopes on the one whom God had chosen and on lifting that man’s mind to the Kingdom, when his vision had fallen short.
It is a story from which all of us can benefit, and thus his story will be told through this next series of articles. Altogether, our goal will be to bring Jonathan’s story to life and make it real — so that as we read through these things we can actually picture him there in the land of Israel, scaling the cliff to the Philistine garrison, or sliding off his robe to give to the anointed of Yahweh. We will try to picture him striving to calm his father’s raging emotions about David, and try to picture him reassuring David that he will be king and that one day the two of them will be together again. We will endeavor to see him on the heights of Gilboa, fighting alongside his father — the man whom he sought for so long to turn to God — and falling to the ground in his last breath. Yet we will picture him in another age to come — arrayed in glory so much greater than that which he gave away, and in robes so much whiter than those which he gave up. In all of these events, may the story of Jonathan, the son of Saul, be a story which speaks to us and which calls us to follow his way of thinking and his humble attitude.
Jonathan’s introduction
Jonathan first appears in the Scripture narrative in a story about his father’s early reign. Saul had reigned over Israel for two years, and he divided his army between himself and his son:
“Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel, Saul chose him three thousand men of Israel; whereof two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in mount Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent” (1 Sam 13:1-2).1
This is the first reference to this Jonathan in all of Scripture. He was made one of the commanders of his father’s troops. Altogether, there were three thousand men — two thousand were with Saul in Michmash, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin. Interestingly enough, it doesn’t actually appear as though Saul set up this arrangement for any particular battle or war — the record is silent about a Philistine advance against Israel or any specific plans for battle that Saul might have had. It doesn’t preface the chapter by saying “And there was war between the Philistines and Israel.” Rather, it would seem as though Saul had simply divided his troops and desired to place them in strategic positions — likely for defense. Nevertheless, this was soon to change:
“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 a garrison of the Philistines, and that Israel also was had in abomination with the Philistines. And the people were called together after Saul to Gilgal” (1 Sam 13:3-4).
Jonathan, with his army of one thousand troops, entered into the Philistine outpost at Geba, and destroyed it. At first, this garrison of the Philistines would seem to indicate that there in fact had been a battle brewing, and that Saul had placed his troops to position them for the fight. It would appear as though the Philistines had set up their troops in Geba and thus Saul brought his army in to challenge them. However, when the relationship between the Israelites and the Philistines at this time is examined in a little bit more detail, it becomes apparent that this likely wasn’t the case. In this article, we will set the stage for this battle by examining the context of the chapter. In doing so, we will see that this outpost of the Philistines wasn’t there to begin any particular battle or fight — but it was more than likely a fort which the Philistines had set up in the middle of Israel, specifically to keep the Hebrews in subjection to them. Thus had been the relationship between the Philistines and Israelites for many years.
Philistine domination
When Samuel was a young man, Israel had lost a very decisive battle against the Philistines. It was in that battle that Israel had been completely and entirely humiliated. The ark was stolen, the two sons of the high priest were killed, and even the high priest himself – Eli –died partially as a result of the battle. Israel was in a state of total shame. Eli’s daughter in law, who was about to give birth at the time of this clash, summed up the national feeling with the name which she gave to her son:
“And she named the child Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken” (1 Sam 4:21-22).
The Philistines had defeated Israel, they had slain the two sons of the high priest, and they had stolen the ark. For the next seven months (1 Sam 6:1), the ark plagued the five major Philistine cities — prompting the lords of the Philistines to send it back to Israel. Nevertheless, though the Philistines were struck by God’s wrath during those seven months, Yahweh still allowed Israel to be oppressed by this southern invader. Samuel indicated this in the speech which he gave to the nation once the ark had returned:
“And the men of Kirjathjearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord…And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your heats, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Sam 7:1, 3).
Seven months after the battle in which the ark was taken, this symbol of God’s presence was returned — but the nation was still under the hand of the Philistines. Yet, Samuel promised hope. If the people were to put away their false gods and turn back to Yahweh with all of their hearts, they would be rescued from their Philistine masters.
A shift of power
The people heard these words, and they chose to act according to them — putting away their gods and turning solely back to the God of Israel. Then, just as Samuel had promised, God fought for them against the Philistines:
“So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the coast of Israel: and the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even unto Gath; and the coasts thereof did Israel deliver out of the hands of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorites” (1 Sam 7:13-14).
Thus, the Philistines were pushed out of Israel and even their major cities — Ekron, Gath, and likely Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Gaza — were taken. After this, the Philistines “came no more into the coast of Israel.” Yet there was still a bit of a problem. Though the Philistines were subdued, they were never fully destroyed, as they were supposed to be like the other nations in Deut 7:2-5.
This was the same issue that Israel had faced when they have first come into the land under the charge of Joshua. God had commanded that the Philistines be entirely wiped out. Even back then, Israel didn’t follow the command. They attacked the Philistines — taking over their main cities (Jdgs 1:18) — but they never fully destroyed them. Because they didn’t follow the command, God promised that the Philistines would be a continual problem for Israel — they would be a thorn in their side — until Israel finally followed heeded God’s voice and eradicated them:
“Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baal-Hermon unto the entering in of Hamath. And they were to prove Israel by them, to know whether they would hearken unto the commandments of the Lord, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses” (Jdgs 3:3-4).
Yahweh kept the nations in the land — specifically the Philistines — to see if Israel would follow His commands to destroy them. Now, even during the time of Samuel and the battle after the ark was returned, the commands were still not entirely followed. Israel subdued the Philistines and prevented them from entering into their coasts for a long while, but they did not annihilate these wicked people.
Thus, though the main cities of the Philistines had been taken, and though the people had more or less conquered the Philistines, these people would prove to be a resilient enemy. Just as God had said, they would be a thorn in the side of his people. The Philistines would come back and would oppress Israel once more.
Conquered once more
Such was the situation when Samuel anointed Saul as king. The Philistines had come back — and not only had they come against Israel, but they had become rulers of Israel! When Yahweh spoke to Samuel about his mission to anoint Saul, God specifically told Samuel that this new king would try to save Israel from the Philistines:
“Tomorrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me” (1 Sam 9:16).
One of Saul’s missions was to put down the Philistines. Though they had been subdued during the early days of Samuel, they had somehow come back — and they had come back in power, putting the nation of Israel beneath their feet and ruling over them. In doing so, the Philistines had set up a fortress in the land of Israel. After anointing Saul, Samuel, in a passing comment to the new monarch, indicated the presence of this military establishment:
“After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp, before them; and they shall prophesy” (1 Sam 10:5).
Samuel, when telling Saul some of the things that would happen to him after he left the presence of the prophet, told Saul that he would come to a place near Bethel, called “the hill of God.” In giving another detail about the place, Samuel mentioned that this was a place where there was a Philistine garrison! Thus, at the time when Saul was anointed, the Philistines had actually recreated their army and had charged back into the land of Israel —setting up a garrison in the land. Yet perhaps there was even more than just this one. Consider the way in which Samuel nonchalantly mentioned the existence of a Philistine fortress in Israel! It was as though the presence of this garrison was simply a fact of life — as though it was normal.
Such was the situation at Jonathan’s introduction. There was no actual battle taking place and there was no ongoing war with the Philistines. Instead, the Philistines were the rulers over Israel. Israel was a subjugated nation. The Philistines had placed their outposts in strategic locations throughout the Promised Land, and forced Israel to submit to any rule that they pleased. Thus, at the time when Jonathan attacked the garrison, the Philistines had ruled that no man could own a sword — and so the only ones who had a sword were Jonathan and his father.
“Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel: for the Philistines said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears: but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his share, and his coulter, and his axe, and his mattock… So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people that were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found” (1 Sam 13:19-20, 22).
How humiliating and shameful this rule by the Philistines would have been for Israel. The people only had farming tools with which to fight — only Saul and Jonathan actually had a sword or a spear (of iron?). But such was the situation. The Philistines were the masters of Israel. They had come back, they had conquered, they had passed their laws, and they had set up troops throughout the land.
Truly, Israel was in need of a deliverer. Yet from where would one arise?
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One