Recognizing The King – Part 10

The Philistines attack

As David served in Saul’s court, the king loved him. All seemed to be going well — David could calm Saul’s outbursts, and the king appreciated the affect that the music had upon him. Nevertheless, something was about to happen that would change the dynamic between Saul and David — and David and Jonathan — forever.

One day, the message came to Saul’s court that the Philistines had rearmed themselves and were preparing an invasion into the land of Israel. The court would have been in a flurry as preparations were made to engage with the former enemy before they made it far into the land. David, likely because he was too young, was sent back home to be with his father, while his three oldest brothers were sent to the front lines (1 Sam 17:13-15). Saul and Jonathan — with Saul still likely holding suspicions towards his firstborn — went together to the battle (cp. 1 Sam 18:1).

For a few days, the armies faced each other, and no one dared to attack. Both camps were on a hill, with a valley in between them. Whoever chose to attack would be the one who was at a disadvantage. Finally, a champion from the camp of the Philistines came forth and offered a challenge — he would fight anyone in the camp of Israel. If they were able to slay him, then the Philistines would be Saul’s servants, but if he won, then the Israelite would be their servants. His name was Goliath, and he was a giant.

Goliath’s challenge would have shot fear into the hearts of the men of Israel. This man was huge! No one could stand up against him! Yet out of all of the men in the Israelite camp, it likely brought more fear to the heart of one man than it did to the others. When Saul heard the challenge, the pressure for him to fight must have been enormous. Who else could Goliath truly have been challenging? He even mentioned Saul’s name in his taunt (1 Sam 17:9) — and hadn’t the children of Israel said that they wanted the king to go before them and fight their battles (1 Sam 8:20)? Saul was much taller than many of the other Israelite, so even his stature was closer to Goliath’s than anyone else’s (1 Sam 9:2). Truly, all eyes would have been on Saul.

Every day for forty days, morning and evening, Goliath stood before the armies of Israel and issued his challenge. Every day for forty days, morning and evening, no one from the camp of Israel did anything.

Waiting

How difficult this time would have been for Jonathan — the man who was filled with zeal to slay an entire garrison of the uncircumcised Philistines! Every morning and evening as he heard the blasphemy of the giant he would have burned with anger — longing to go out and face him himself. Yet he never did — and one is left to wonder exactly why that was. How was it possible that Goliath de­fied Yahweh before Jonathan so many times, and the prince never made a move against him? Could Jonathan have been frozen by fear? Hardly. That didn’t seem to inhibit him in any of his other endeavors. But then why did he not do anything? Why did he stand there next to his father and hear the mockery every morning and every evening?

Perhaps again the context of the story helps to explain Jonathan’s actions. Just as in the battle against the Amalekites, Jonathan likely saw that it was prudent for him to stay in the background. All eyes were focused on Saul — and if Jonathan were to stand in Saul’s place and do what Saul should have been doing again, the end result would not be pleasant in Saul’s house.

To add to that, Jonathan knew that he was not the promised king who was to come (that king had already been called; 1 Sam 13:14). There was another — and it appears as though Jonathan, while he waited for those forty days, was actively hoping and praying that the successor would reveal himself through this opportunity. His actions after the battle demonstrate this — soon after Jonathan heard David speak to his father about the battle, Jonathan took of his robe, his girdle, his armor, and his weaponry and gave them to David! Jonathan’s actions were a sign of his deference to the one whom he knew was destined to take the throne of Israel. Truly, he must have been watching and waiting in anticipation for the new king to appear and stand against the blasphemer.

Yet perhaps there was even another motive — and this would help to explain why Jonathan expected the new king to accept the challenge. When he had gone to fight against the Philistines before, Jonathan was certain that God wanted him to fight; he simply didn’t know how he was supposed to do so. Thus, in order to find out, he prayed for a sign. The sign revealed God’s will and Jonathan followed it. Is it possible that a similar type of thing happened as Jonathan heard the Philistine’s taunts those forty days? As his blood boiled within him and as he longed to go face the Philistine himself, perhaps Jonathan — knowing the impact that another attack like this would have upon his father — prayed for a sign from God so that he might know what he was to do. Should he attack or should he stay? Maybe the response came back that he was to stay — and that there was someone else who would take up the challenge, someone else who would be the captain of Yahweh’s people.

Thus, for whatever reason it was, Jonathan stayed with his father in the camp of Israel, listening to the giant’s blasphemous words, and waiting for the deliverer of Israel to reveal himself.

First encounter

Finally, he did — and just imagine the joy that would have filled Jonathan as he listened to the conversation going on between his father and David. David told Saul of his miraculous battles with the lion and with the bear. How his heart would have thrilled to hear of David’s courage and faith! Just picture Jonathan standing behind his father, eagerly listening to David’s tales of God’s power:

“And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: and I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him” (1Sam 17:34-35).

The stories which David told to Saul and Jonathan were stories which would have been utterly impossible — unless God were truly with David. Only a miracle would have allowed this young man to take a lion by his mane and slay him! There’s truly no comparison between a lion and a man — a lion could simply tear a man apart. Yet David had done the complete opposite and God had filled him with strength and power to do so.

As Jonathan heard these words, he would have recognized that here was a man who had God working in his life, in the same way that God had worked in his. Just as he and his armor bearer had come up against the Philistine garrison with seemingly impossible odds, Yahweh strengthened them and worked a miracle. It was the same type of event — one man versus a lion or a bear and two men against twenty Philistine soldiers. Could this be the one of whom Samuel had spoken? But David’s words continued:

“Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Phi­listine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God” (1 Sam 17:36).

David continued his words to Saul by telling him that just as he had been able to slay the lion and the bear, God would be with him in this endeavor. He was certain that God would strengthen him to slay the uncircumcised Philistine — Goliath had defied the armies of the living God, and that defiance would not go unchallenged.

As David spoke these words, almost undoubtedly, one of his words would have immediately caught Jonathan’s attention — because it was the same word which he too had used when he had charged against the Philistine garrison:

“And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, 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” (1 Sam 14:6).

Uncircumcised. This was the way in which both Jonathan and David saw the Philis­tines. They were enemies of the covenant and were destined for destruction — and as Jonathan heard David use this word to describe Goliath, he would have realized that he was looking at a kindred spirit. He was looking at a man who held God’s covenant with His people in high esteem and who cherished God’s name. Yet not only so, just as Jonathan had said to his armor bearer “there is no restraint to the LORD to save by many or by few,” David had uttered his belief in the same thing. David recognized that though he was just a young man and Goliath had been a warrior from his youth, if God was with him, he could slay the giant. Even more, just as Jonathan was prepared to fight not only the twenty men in the garrison, but the whole innumerable multitude of the Philistines, David was resolved to do the same. As he stood before Goliath, he taunted that not only would he kill Goliath, but he would single handedly kill all of the Philistines! Over and over, Jonathan would have seen in David the same mind which he had!

As the battle began and David stood before the Philistine, this connection be­tween the two men was reinforced. Jonathan, standing by his father and looking over the valley where David and Goliath stood, heard David confess that he was fighting so that the whole Israelite army might recognize God’s ability to save, and acknowledge that the victory wouldn’t be for his own honor, but for the nation’s.

“And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’s and He will give you into our hands” (1 Sam 17:47).

When David slew the Philistine, he wanted all of Israel to know that it wasn’t by his own might that he had won. Yahweh was the One who won the battle. He was the One who had the power. David fought against Goliath so that he might show all of Israel the power of their God — and his victory accomplished that goal. That day, the trembling troops of Israel were inspired and chased the Philistines back into their land — exactly as they had done when Jonathan had courageously attacked the Philistine garrison. At that time, the situation was the same. The army of Israel was full of fear and felt as though they were in a hopeless situation; but Jonathan’s faithful attack inspired the people to come out of their hiding place and chase the Philistines back.

Yet not only so, but David had also proclaimed that this victory would be a victory for Israel, not for him — “and he will give you into our hands.” David was fighting on behalf of the nation and for the nation’s honor. It wasn’t for his own name. Such was the same thinking which Jonathan had held when he went against the Philistine garrison:

“And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armor bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armor bearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel” (1 Sam 14:12).

Jonathan’s attack against the Philistine garrison was for the sake of Israel — not for his own name. Thus, as Jonathan heard David’s words, he would have been impressed with how remarkably similar the mind of this court musician and shepherd was to his own. He had seen the boy playing for his father and he had noticed him before, but he had never had a chance to really get an insight into his mind. Now, as he heard David speak, he suddenly realized that there was a perfect harmony between them:

• Both of them filled the void for leadership in Israel — Jonathan went up against the Philistines when Israel was trembling and his father was doing nothing; David came when all of Israel was petrified and no soldier had been willing to fight
• Both of them had experienced God’s mighty power working miracles in their lives
• Both of them had a love for the covenant and recognized that the Philistines were uncircumcised
• Both of them believed that God could save regardless of the odds
• Both of them desired to inspire Israel
• Both of them sought to fight for the nation rather than for their own glory
• Both of them chose to look upon Saul with respect and deference — their words towards him were almost always honorable, even though they could have straightly criticized him

Living in a court where this type of spiritual perception and love for the Truth was not held in high esteem by the king, Jonathan would have been overjoyed to see another man who thought in the same way. He would have already felt a deep affection for him. But his joy would have been even greater — he had refrained from fighting the battle because he was looking for the next king, and here was someone who was a man after God’s own heart and who had just demonstrated that he had the ability to be the captain over God’s people. All of the characteristics seemed to fit. Could he be the one?

As the battle ended, Saul looked on David with astonishment. He couldn’t believe what he had seen — this young man who had played for him in his court had just slain the giant. Turning to Abner, he asked Abner what family it was that David came from — he likely wanted to know the details because his daughter was now pledged to David (1 Sam 17:25). Yet Abner didn’t know. Thus, David was called before the king himself — with Jonathan likely by his side.

“And as David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son art thou, thou young man? And David answered, I am the son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite” (1 Sam 17:57-58).

It was a short and simple conversation — but it may have made all of the difference to Jonathan. He had seen David’s faith and seen into David’s thinking, but he hadn’t known anything about David’s lineage. But then he knew. David was from Bethlehem, meaning that he was from the tribe of Judah — he was from the kingly tribe. When Jacob had given his blessings to all of his children, he specifically blessed Judah by saying “the scepter shall not depart from Judah” (Gen 49:10) — and a man from the tribe of Judah was standing before Jonathan. He was from the kingly tribe.

With that, Jonathan knew that he was in the presence of the next king.