The book of 1 Samuel is a great case study for those who want to become godly leaders. Through all the ups and downs in the story, we can observe godly leaders contrasted with ungodly leaders. We can see this contrast loud and clear in chapters 13 – 15 where – as one commentator notes – Saul, an ungodly leader, is constantly caught up by contrast with godly leaders like the prophet Samuel and his very own son, Jonathan.2

The plotline is simple. Saul is a cowardly, insecure leader who constantly puts himself and his people in danger with his foolish decisions as he chooses to act or not to act apart from seeking the presence and direction of God. Samuel and Jonathan on the other hand, are constantly depicted as godly leaders who wait upon the Lord for direction, persevere under immense pressure, and act courageously and obediently as the Lord directs them to.

You may remember that our study last week in chapter 13 gave us much to evaluate in our own lives as we examined the marks of a fool. The bottom line there was that King Saul was a spiritual fool. He procrastinated obedience and only obeyed half-heartedly. He took credit for the victory that did not belong to him. He had no backbone when the enemy showed up. He used religious practices to make himself look good and others look bad. He was completely oblivious to the disqualifying nature of his own sin. He was quite comfortable living in a constant state of dwindling spiritual strength. And he also led or allowed Israel to trade their weapons of warfare in to the enemy, and then they became dependent upon the enemy for their daily provision.

As a leader, King Saul refused to surrender in obedience to God as he held onto a false sense of control and power through his own worthless and pathetic ungodly decisions. Saul’s foolish and ungodly leadership left he and all of Israel scattered, unarmed, infiltrated, greatly outnumbered, and surrounded by a terrifying enemy at the end of last week.

Long story short, the future looked very dismal for Saul and the nation of Israel who were about to be consumed and devoured by the enemy. You and I may have never experienced physical warfare to the extent that we have witnessed in our study of 1 Samuel, but I am sure we have all experienced seasons where our own foolish and sinful decisions got us into a heap of trouble and the way out of our self-made trouble seemed dismal at best.

I am sure you have experienced seasons like this, right? Seasons where your foolish and sinful decisions created a whole mess in your life? Times when you should have listened to wise spiritual counsel but refused to listen. Times when you should have consulted God’s Word but chose to go about things in your own understanding. Times when you should have laid your hurts, hangups, and desires at the foot of the cross of Jesus in prayer but decided to act stupidly and sinfully instead.

I am fairly certain we have all done foolish and sinful things like this. And the question we all ask at some point – when we find ourselves in a deep mess of our own making – is “what do I do now?”. What do you do when you find yourself unarmed, infiltrated, surrounded, and outnumbered by the enemy who is taking advantage of your foolish and sinful decisions?

How do you pick yourself back up and begin moving forward like the godly leader God has called you to be? While Jonathan is not necessarily in a deep dark hole because of his own foolishness – because his circumstances are the result of his cowardly father – we can look at his decisions and his behavior in our passage today and learn some things about being the kind of godly leaders who pick ourselves up by God’s grace and move forward in ways that honor and glorify God. Look at the text with me…

1One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father. 2Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men, 3including Ahijah the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother, son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the LORD in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people did not know that Jonathan had gone. 4Within the passes, by which Jonathan sought to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on the one side and a rocky crag on the other side. The name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh. 5The one crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.

6Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.” 7And his armor bearer said to him, “Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.” 8Then Jonathan said, “Behold we will cross over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them. 9If they say to us, ‘Wait until we come to you,’ then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them. 10But if they say, ‘Come up to us,’ then we will go up, for the LORD has given them into our hand. And this shall be the sign to us.” 

11So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines. And the Philistines said, “Look, Hebrews are coming out of their holes where they have hidden themselves.” 12And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, “Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.” And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up after me, for the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel.” 13Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. 14And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow’s length in an acre of land. 15And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.

16And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude was dispersing here and there. 17Then Saul said to the people who were with him, “Count and see who has gone from us.” And when they had counted, behold Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God went at that time with the people of Israel. 19Now while Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into battle. And behold, every Philistine’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 21Now the Hebrews who had been with the Philistines before that time and who had gone up with them into the camp, even they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22Likewise, when all the men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed hard after them in the battle. 23So the LORD saved Israel that day. And the battle passed beyond Beth-aven.

#1: JONATHAN EXHIBITS COURAGE (VV. 1 – 5)

In verses 1 – 5, in the face of extreme danger, Jonathan sneaks out of town with his armor-bearer to pick a fight with the enemy while his dad, the king of Israel, is hiding in luxury. Verse 1 tells us that Jonathan did not even tell his dad where he was going or what he was up to, presumably because he learned his lesson from last week as he experienced his dad acting the coward and then taking credit for Jonathan’s accomplishments. The only army Jonathan takes with him is one man referred to as his armor-bearer. Kind of takes guts if you ask me.

In stark contrast to Jonathan’s courage is the description of his father’s whereabouts and the people he had with him in verses 2 – 3. Saul is literally staying on the outskirts of town, sitting under a shade tree full of sweet fruit to eat, with his six-hundred-man army, and his newly appointed priest “Ahijah” who is the grandson of one of Eli’s worthless sons from the beginning of the book.

The irony in the contrast is absolutely thick here. Jonathan takes one armor-bearer to attack the enemy who outnumbers Israel a thousand to one while his dad hides out with his six-hundred men and a newly appointed priest who represents the fact that the glory had departed from his own familial line due to the spiritual and moral decay in the family.3

There is also one more detail that our storyteller includes to highlight the courage of Jonathan even more in verses 4 – 5 where he describes the geography that lies between him and the enemy. Long story short, the description of the rocky terrain with its two massive cliffs, referred to as “Bozez” and “Seneh” are meant to inform us that the way forward was not going to be easy at all for Jonathan and his armor-bearer. But that does not stop him, does it?

All in all, Jonathan exhibits great courage as he sneaks out of town with his armor-bearer to pick a fight with the enemy despite the fact that he was severely outnumbered, and the way forward was nearly impossible, and his coward of a dad is hiding in luxury with his self-appointed priest whose family had all but been completely deleted for their sinful leadership.

Kind of ironic don’t you think? Now honestly, at face value, at this point in the story, without knowing what happens next, we might question Jonathan’s wisdom at this point. Is Jonathan actually a courageous leader, or is he just a young leader who goes off rashly and foolishly? This is where our storyteller is quick to let us know that Jonathan is not just a courageous leader, but he is also a leader who exhibits great trust in God as he heads out to pick a fight with the enemy.

#2: JONATHAN TRUSTS GOD (VV. 6 – 10)

In verses 6 – 10, Jonathan crafts a plan of attack while trusting God to do miraculous things with very little, all while relying on God to confirm the right course of action. In verse 6Jonathan tells his armor bearer that they are going to head over to the enemy camp to pick a fight and he makes this bold proclamation of trust or faith in God when he says, “It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few”.

That phrase “it may be” is an astounding proclamation of trust in God. One commentator notes, that “An active faith” – meaning a kind of faith that is put into action rather than mere fluffy words – is the kind of faith that “will venture far in God’s cause” when it is founded on “an ‘it may be’.”4

Have you ever stopped to think about what could happen in your life if you had enough faith in God to venture forward on the possibility of an “it may be” that the Lord will work on your behalf to give you the victory against insurmountable odds?

It may be that the Lord is simply waiting for you to trust him and begin walking forward by faith as you look for his confirmation in your next steps. This is exactly what Jonathan does. In verses 7 – 10, after his armor-bearer proclaims his loyalty, Jonathan lays out how they will discern if they are following God’s plan or not and the twofold plan basically revolves around how the enemy relates to them. If the enemy comes at them, then God is not about to give them victory, but if the enemy invites them over, then God is about to do something miraculous.

The bottom line here is that Jonathan crafts a plan of attack, based on a profound statement of faith captured in an “it may be”, while trusting God to do miraculous things with very little, all while relying on God to confirm the right course of action.

At the end of the day, in Jonathan we see that trusting God is not an exercise of passivity; as James says, have fun talking about your faith in the safety of your basement, I will show you my faith in action out in public. And true to his word, Jonathan, the man of faith puts his faith into action as he executes a plan to discern the will of God.

#3: JONATHAN EXECUTES THE PLAN (VV. 11 – 15)

In verses 11 – 15, Jonathan executes his plan of attack as the Lord confirms the right course of action, and the Lord gives him the victory over his enemies. Once Jonathan and his armor-bearer have crossed the rough terrain full of rocks and steep cliffs, the enemy sees them and invites them into their camp which confirms God’s will for them to wage a war of two men against more than twenty of the enemy, whom they seem to defeat effortlessly as the Lord gives them the victory.

I think it takes a tremendous amount of courage and faith to go face to face against more than twenty men with only one other guy at your side. But this is exactly what trusting God is all about right? We do not exert trust in God when things look easy. We trust God when there is no hope of success without his help.

Satan, Sin, and Death are no pansies. Satan spreads his lies to your heart and mind better than farmers planting in the spring. Sin’s temptation is more luring than the image of delicious food to a starving stomach. Death’s taunting jabs is far more terrifying than the worst horror movie you have ever seen.

A flimsy faith will never stand against our ancient enemies but our faith can go from flimsy to flexing like a beast in the gym in the matter of a moment when we realize, as one commentator states, that “the trembling” that happens among the enemy in verse 15, “was an unexplainable terror [that was ] set upon the enemy from the right hand of [the] God”who not only “made the heart” of these enemies, but also “knows how to make [those hearts]… tremble” or quake with paralyzing fear.5

It is true, that “those that will not fear the eternal God, he can make afraid of a shadow.”6Jonathan knew this; he knew that God, the Creator of the human heart, could cause the hearts of his enemies to tremble as he gave them victory against insurmountable odds.

Jonathan would have never experienced this victory if he had not exhibited courage or trusted in God as he sought to discern the Lord’s direction, or ultimately moved forward by putting his faith into action. These are the hallmarks of godly leaders; they exhibit great spiritual courage, they trust God as they seek his direction, and they act in obedience to God’s clear instructions and confirmation.

These kinds of godly leaders are like bright lights shining in a dark and perverse world that is full of ungodly leadership, which is exactly what we see in the final portion of our text today.

#4: THE CONTRAST OF UNGODLY LEADERSHIP (VV. 16 – 23)

In verses 16 – 23, the Lord saves Israel miraculously as Jonathan’s godly leadership is contrasted against his father’s cowardly and ungodly actions. In these verses, Saul’s lookouts bring him a report of how the enemy is scattering while he sits in passive, cowardly, luxury, maybe contemplating the despicable circumstances his nation was in.

Upon receiving the report from his lookouts, he learns that Jonathan and his armor-bearer have struck the first blow against the enemy again, so he asks his self-appointed priest to help him seek God’s help in verse 18 but then he quickly loses interest in the things of God in verse 19, and he commands all Israel to join the fight in verse 20.

Once again, we see that Saul has very little interest in genuinely following God’s direction because he is more concerned with looking good in front of the people. How could he sit back under the shade tree in passive luxury while his own son is out there waging war against the enemy and experiencing a miraculous victory? He seems to be in such a hurry to join in the victory that he even shrugs off his first instinct to seek God first.

Once Israel does join in the fight, and even as those who deserted their countrymen earlier, jump back into the fight, the enemy becomes so confused that they start killing each other. God literally uses two faithful, armed leaders (Jonathan and his armor-bearer) to rally all of Israel (unarmed as she was), even the cowardly king who wants some of the accolades along with those Israelites who had previously deserted Israel and joined the enemy camp, to wage war against the enemy.

But the most significant thing we see here – besides the contrast between Jonathan and Saul – is the fact that it is the Lord who causes the confusion in the enemy as they turn their own weapons on themselves and as the storyteller states in verse 23, “the Lord saved Israel that day.”

We must never forget that it is the Lord who gives the victory, and when he does give the victory, he always does it in such a way as to draw the attention to himself as the miracle working, redeeming God, who saves us in our darkest moments against all odds.

CONCLUSION…

In conclusion, Jonathan exhibits the marks of a godly leader as he exhibits great courage while others were hiding in the hills, he trusts God while seeking his direction, he takes faith-filled steps of action in obedience to God’s revealed will, and he stands in stark contrast to his own cowardly father.

But all of this leads us to the truth that true, godly leadership is about understanding and believing that it is God himself who gives us the victory. I do not know where each of you is at today as you study this passage with me. I do not know all of the details of the dark places you are seeking victory over the enemy today.

But as I prayed my way through this sermon with all of you in mind, I felt impressed to try to encourage you a little as we attempt to wage this war against Satan, Sin, and Death together. I know that some of you are fighting tooth and nail to overcome deep dark addictions. Others of you are facing the excruciating pain of one loss after the next. Many of you are fighting an inner battle with shame and guilt. Some of you are fighting hard to find healthy rhythms in your marriages. A few of you are battling the debilitating pressure of unfulfilled hopes and dreams.

As I observe your lives, as I listen to your stories, and as I labor to come alongside you the best I can as your pastor, I have to say that I see an entire church full of Jonathans. I see you finding courage. I see you trusting God. I see you taking faith-filled steps of obedience. I see you standing in stark contrast to not only the world around us but also in stark contrast to who you used to be.

The best part of experiencing this as a pastor is seeing you do this in the power of the Spirit of our crucified, risen, and returning Savior. Because here is the reality… there would be no Jonathans in this church family or in the Bible for that matter if there was not a King of kings named Jesus!

All of Jonathan’s great godly leadership attributes pale in comparison to Jesus. While Jonathan did yet know of a coming Jesus – technically – he did believe in God as his Savior and he looked to his Savior to empower his obedience in waging war against an enemy that if God chose to act, then “it may be” that he would give the victory in a very miraculous way.

This is something I know many of you believe. You believe that it “may be” that God will give you victory over the light and momentary afflictions of this life (heavy as they may feel at the moment) – even the ones that are self-inflicted as well as the ones that are out of your control – because God, in Christ Jesus has won the victory for us at a bloody cross, and an empty tomb, in light of the promise of heaven.

Jesus never lacked courage. The cross proves that. Jesus trusted ultimately in the Father’s plan of redemption. The empty tomb is evidence of that. Jesus executed the plan of redemption flawlessly. The promise of heaven and his seat at the right hand of the Father seals this for all of eternity.

I know you believe this. I know you look to Jesus daily and that is why you keep trudging ahead little by little in this war against our already defeated enemies. Do you need courage today? Do you need help with trusting God today? Do you need God’s guidance so you can move forward by faith?

Keep looking to Jesus. Keep seeking his presence. Keep surrendering at the foot of that bloody cross. Continue to let go of the worthless and pathetic things that you have held onto in the doorway of that empty tomb. Keep encouraging your hearts and minds with the hope of the promise of heaven.

The victory is ours if we trust in Jesus. Salvation is ours if we trust in Jesus. Eternity is ours if we trust in Jesus. Satan, Sin, and Death will ultimately turn their weapons of war against each other, and we will all experience full victory in eternity where there is no more sin, no more tears, no more pain, no more loss, no more disappointment, and no more warfare.

One day in the not-to-far distant future, all of our “it may be” statements (it may be that the Lord will give us full victory today) will be fulfilled once and for all! – Amen!!

1 Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references are to the English Standard Version Bible, The New Classic Reference Edition (ESV) (Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, 2001).

2 Victor, P., Hamilton, Handbook on the Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings, Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2001), 246.

3 John, Woodhouse, 1 Samuel: Looking for a Leader, Preaching the Word Commentary, (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008), 241.

4 Matthew, Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, New Modern Edition, Complete and Unabridged in Six Volumes, Volume 2 (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1991), 274.

5 Ibid., 275.

6 Ibid.