THE GATHERING AT MICHMASH

THE GATHERING AT MICHMASH

Jonathan heard of the gathering at Michmash by the Philistines. He called his armor bearer to his side. This young man is nameless in the scriptures. Together, these two brave men decided to go out and face their enemies. 

WELCOME

Thanks for joining us at The IN SEASON Lifestyle.

This is our weekly COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY.  The students of this group of believers are slowly turning the pages of the bible together. As we consider God’s stories, we share our thoughts. Our journey through the scriptures is done with hearts of little children. Each child of God who participates is seeking to know more of their Father and His ways.  Eventually, we hope to walk through the bible from cover to cover. 

Today, we are studying from the book of 1 Samuel, Chapter 14. These scriptures will introduce us to details of two brave new characters. They are Jonathan and his armor bearer.

You may wish to receive these lessons inside your e-mail mail box once a week. If so; just click the “subscribe” button at the top of this page. The lessons are free of charge. We hope you will find them worthy of passing on to others. Just leave your email information for our mailing list. 

We never sell or distribute our reader’s information.  Note that this study group is a mixed gathering of laypeople. We are all learning together.  It is our pleasure to have you join us! So far this has been an exciting and adventurous journey.  We discover something new every time we open our bibles. 

SAUL AND HIS SIX HUNDRED

King Saul and his 600 men hear of the gathering at Michmash. The scripture from 1 Samuel 14:2-3 illustrates the significance of the state of this army.  

 And Saul was sitting on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men.  Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh, was wearing an ephod. But the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.

Gibeah was Saul’s hometown.  It had become the capitol city for King Saul’s Kingdom.  On the outskirts of Gibeah stood a hill named Migron.  We read of how King Saul is sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron.

Hebrew leaders often ruled from underneath a pomegranate tree. The pomegranate symbolized living under the law of God.  Each pomegranate has 613 pits. The 613 pits represent the 613 commandments of God’s law. There are 10 direct commandments and 603 indirect commandments.  Having this visual of the pomegranate represented that this ruler desired to be very fruitful under God’s laws. This also showed symbolically that he intended to dedicate his Kingdom to the keeping of God’s law. 

A PARALLEL OF GOD’S KINGDOM

Other biblical stories about pomegranates are even more significant.  Chapter 4 of The Song of Solomon teaches the pomegranate is an offering of a bride to her groom. This offering of pomegranates is symbolic of a precious wedding present.

A lover brings carefully chosen gifts to her groom. The thoughtful gifts are joyfully received.  Later, the Groom bestows the Bride with even more thoughtful gifts in return. 

So here we see a beautiful lesson in the relationship between God’s people and their tithes. The tithes from The Bride of Christ become a form of wedding gifts to her groom. Actually, this story is for a different time. So, if you wish to know more about this particular subject, below is an awesome video to listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VkLuQtFhrg. 

JONATHAN AND SHAGMAR

Another quick thought about pomegranates, is to note that Deborah also ruled under a pomegranate tree.  During her day there lived a mighty warrior named Shamgar. Shamgar and Jonathan had much in common.

Today we are considering the stories concerning Jonathan and his armor-bearer. Perhaps though, Jonathan too was intrigued with the symbols of the pomegranate. It could be that Jonathan sat under this same pomegranate tree. As he waited on his father to decide the fate of Israel, he might have studied Shamgar’s stories.   

Jonathan was smart enough to take a history lesson from the past to heart.  Perhaps he prayed under the same tree as Shamgar. This was possible while he was in the process of seeking new answers from God. It seemed that Shagmar was one man who wanted to make a difference in the world. I think Jonathan and his armor bearer felt the same about their lives.

We have older lessons from our blogposts concerning The Book of Judges studies which speak of Shagmar. If you wish to review them again click here: https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/one-man-can-make-a-difference/.

SAUL’S PLANS FOR THE GATHERING AT MICHMASH

Saul’s 600 men were camped under that same pomegranate tree with Saul and Jonathan.  Perhaps Saul and his men were doing a lot of strategic planning for the battles they were planning to fight.  It was a time of resting and preparing as they waited on answers.

Waiting under the pomegranate tree of Migron, the army of Saul studied what to do next.  Looking down the valley from where they were, they could view the numerous troops of the Philistines. This Philistine army was well equipped and ready to come against them.  The 600 Israelite men looked pitiful in contrast to these Philistines.  They had few men, no weapons to speak of, and no plan for attack.  Their outcome looked pretty hopeless.  It seemed that King Saul was stalling for time, trying to think of a way to survive the inevitable. 

I wonder if they thought their position under this pomegranate tree was helpful?

Traditionally, the pomegranate tree is a symbol of righteousness and fruitfulness.  The sages taught that a pomegranate containing 613 seeds was symbolic of God’s laws.  Each seed corresponded with the 613 commandments of the Torah.

If Saul’s men ate of the seeds of the pomegranate tree, would they gain the wisdom needed for battle?  Not necessarily.   However, if they knew and kept God’s commandments with all of their hearts, now that might be a different story.

Perhaps these thoughts were weighing heavily in the minds of Jonathan and his armor bearer as they waited.  We do not know if they ate any pomegranates, but we DO know that Jonathan prayed to God. It is clear from the scriptures that Jonathan followed God’s laws.

SUPERFICIAL PLANS OF SAUL

On the other hand, there is King Saul. His act of sitting under the pomegranate tree and acknowledging all it stood for would have been a superficial act.  The traditional picture gave the appearance of godly men on first glance. However, many things were not as God had commanded.  We see that Saul appeared to be doing holy and righteous things. However, true believers (such as Jonathan and his armor bearer) knew Saul’s actions were in contrast to his superficial appearance.  On the surface all seemed to be right; but underneath the surface there were huge wrongs.

Besides appearances, we do not really know why Saul picked this spot to wait. Maybe this tree was a part of his plan until he had a better plan. 

LEADERS OF FAME AND FORTUNE

The leaders with Saul were men of well-known names.  They were Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, who was the son of Phinehas. Phinehas had been the son of Eli, the Lord’s priest in Shiloh. Ahijah was wearing an ephod which symbolized religious authority.

We can get a vision of many important men sitting around with Saul. All of them were hoping to come up with some great new strategic battle plan. 

No thought was given to Jonathan by these men of high and public credentials.  They were so busy with pleasing King Saul from their own thoughts. The popular and well-known leaders didn’t even notice Jonathan being absent from the room.

JONATHAN LISTENS TO GOD

Yet, when God looked down and gave his answers; who do you think He give them to? 

It was Jonathan. 

Perhaps Jonathan was the one who had chosen to earnestly seek God’s face.  Does it seem strange to you that the answers did not come to the important High Priest? After all, these men with him were the more well known descendants of Eli. Were they not the ones with all of the credentials? 

Since this is true, it seems to be odd that Ichabod’s name was even mentioned.  Maybe God wanted us to realize and ponder the meaning behind Ichabod’s name.  Ichabod meant “the glory has departed.”  Perhaps this summarized the spiritual state of Saul and his men at the time.

CONTRASTING JONATHAN’S ACTIONS

It is very interesting to note how Saul and his son, Jonathan, decided to face this situation in contrasting ways. 

Saul, sitting under the protecting branches of the pomegranate tree in Gibeah, seemed to be pouting and hiding. Jonathan, on the other hand, was inspired by God to act. 

It does seem possible that Jonathan could have been inspired by the story of a past judge who once lived in this same area. His name was Shamgar.  This commentary on the subject https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=How+Shamgar+defeated+600+Philistines&mid=A38EBC8A4A7BB6ACE591A38EBC8A4A7BB6ACE591&mcid=689204A94C1A4AD89DA4FAB390C43EBB&FORM=VIRE gives us lots of parallels between Shamgar and Jonathan.  They were both farmers.  There was a need for their armies to use unconventional weapons in battle.  Both men were mighty men of faith.  

JONATHAN’S FAITH

Jonathan’s faith was great.  He wasn’t worried about the lack of men or weapons.  Jonathan believed that God could do anything. https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/sauls-son-jonathan/.

The warrior in Jonathan was prepared and ready.  He wanted to get out from under the shade of the pomegranate tree and face the enemies.  Jonathan, despite the rest of Saul’s unprepared army, had his armor on. 

When you are going into battle for The Lord, it certainly helps to have your armor on.  It is also good to have someone you can trust to guard your back.  We will talk more about the duties and responsibilities of an armor- bearer later.  Today I want to focus on the faith of Jonathan.

FAITH ELIMINATES FEAR

Faith seemed to be the most important part of that armor which Jonathan wore.  Jonathan didn’t stop to ponder or talk all of this out with his father.  He simply felt when God’s Spirit moved and acted upon what he knew to be God’s will for his day. 

1 Samuel 14:1 tells us more about Jonathan:

Now it happened one day that Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who bore his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistines’ garrison that is on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.

JONATHAN DOES NOT CONSULT SAUL OVER GOD

Notice those last words of the scriptures. “Jonathan did not inform Saul of his actions.”

Also; notice how Jonathon’s armor-bearer was unnamed in this passage.  Often we see such examples of righteous and godly men traveling with servants who are completely trustworthy and loyal.  These are always men who have dedicated their whole hearts to the service of God’s Kingdom. They always chose godly men to follow. Thus, they pledge their service to their Master who is also serving the Kingdom of God.

With such a combination of leadership and followers; what could possibly go wrong?

 This type of servanthood is symbolic of the work of God’s Holy Spirit.  We quickly see how it works for good between God and his people. 

SAUL DOES NOT NOTICE JONATHAN’S ABSENCE

King Saul remains completely unaware. Jonathan and his armor bearer make their way over to the camp of the Philistines. 

Still sitting under the pomegranate tree in Gibeah, Saul and his famous false priests never missed the presence of Jonathan. Not one discerned his absence.

It is often like this when God is truly at work among His people. The true leaders, who have fasted and prayed, who are carefully following God’s ways seem to be the least noticed. It was the same for Jesus, wasn’t it?

JONATHAN AND HIS ARMOR BEARER TAKE ON THE PHILISTINES

If you traveled to Israel today, you would be able to stand at Michmash and look down toward the deep caverns of the wadi. These were the rough places which Jonathan and his armor bearer crossed.  The terrain was extremely steep and rocky.  It was not easy to navigate.  The pathway required walking carefully. In many places they crawled through on their hands and knees.

It is true of every situation. When God takes you through a hard place you must remember to get down on your knees. Many times it will feel as if you are walking alone through great danger. Trust in God is definitely a requirement for reaching the other side.

HOW JONATHAN MOVED IN THE SPIRIT

The scriptures go on to tell us more about Jonathan’s movements:

1 Samuel 14:4-5:   Between the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistines’ garrison, there was a SHARP ROCK on one side and a SHARP ROCK on the other side. And the name of one was BOZEZ, and the name of the other SENEH.  The front of one faced northward opposite Michmash, and the other southward opposite Gibeah.”

I am unable to hear that word “rock” in the scriptures and not think of Messiah.  This scripture also reminds me of how The Word is like a sharp two-edged sword. 

I had a feeling that the words “bozez” and “seneh” were telling a story about the mountain ridges in the Hebrew language. I looked them up in the Hebrew dictionary. Bozez means gleaming, shinning, white. “Seneh” means “thorny.” The mountain ridges were shinning and reflective. Through faith and obedience, Jonathan and his companion were reflecting the mighty power of God.

The white of Bozez inplies elements of transformation. A process of transformation was going on with Jonathan and his helper as they moved in God’s instructions. God was strengthening them and using them to reflect His glory.

The sharp and dangerous crags of Bozez and Seneh are symbolic of the obstacles and challenges we must face in this life. Dangerous battles require faith and action. Jonathan and his armor bearer had both. The spiritual side of this challenge was as important as the physical.

In this hard place, Jonathan and his armor bearer trusted God.

WHEN OUR WAY IS TOO STEEP

Often through the conflicts of life the way is steep, rocky, and difficult.  We have to navigate places where circumstances are against us.  However, God is NEVER against His people. He is always for us. Jonathan understood this.

As we continue to study 1 Samuel 14 we will hear how Jonathan expressed his faith by declaring his trust in God to his armor bearer.  In clear, bold words Jonathan recognized the LORD is never limited by the lack of our abilities, powers, or resources.  This mighty warrior didn’t look at the size of the problem; He only saw that God was the problem solver.

As Jonathan and his armor-bearer climbed the rocky walls of the rock, the Philistines looked down on them. God had given Jonathan a plan.  He passed this plan on to his faithful armor-bearer as they bravely and courageously continued to climb the mountain.

Next week we will hear about Jonathan’s plan from God. We will see how this confrontation worked out.

Are you facing tough battles too? Remember that God is the One who can help. He has the power to solve all problems.  Give yourself completely over to Him and obey His plans.

He will never lead you astray.

ONE FINAL THOUGHT

Let’s stop here for just one moment. I have something for us to consider. I want you to consider who received the most benefit from dwelling under that ancient pomegranate tree? Was it King Saul and his men or Jonathan and his armor bearer? Why do you think it worked out that way?

Where is your pomegranate tree? What is God asking of you as you dwell there? Have you even asked these questions?

Just like Jonathan, your life is part of God’s over all plan for mankind. What you do with it truly matters.