subject: A Story For The Afraid Christian: Saved By Many Or By Few [print this page] Do you fight fear and anxiety even as a Christian? To one extent or another, we all do. Here is a story we need to hear.
Imagine yourself in these people's position! King Saul was with an army of two thousand foot soldiers, and his son Jonathan commanded an army of a thousand. Trouble was brewing, so Saul summoned more men from all Israel. Then a Philistine army of six thousand charioteers (two per chariot) and foot soldiers "as numerous as the sand on the seashore" marched forth and camped not far from Saul and Jonathan. Saul and the Philistines were enemies. A battle was inevitable.
But the odds were actually worse. The Philistines had previously conquered Israel and taken away all their swords and spears (1 Samuel 13:22). Only Saul and Jonathan had swords.
How do you think you'd feel as an Israelite soldier, maybe armed only with sticks and stones? Most deserted or hid until about six hundred remained, and these were "quaking with fear" (1 Samuel 13:7). Even if there had been only six thousand Philistine foot soldiers, there would have been twenty armed Philistines for every unarmed Israelite soldier.
It was under these conditions that the indomitable Jonathan knew "nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or by few" (1 Samuel 14:6). After receiving a requested sign from the Lord to proceed, he and his armor bearer (two people with one sword between them) attacked a small Philistine outpost, impressively killing twenty of the enemy (v. 14).
How did Jonathan and his armor-bearer act with such courage when his nation was afraid, out-manned and out-gunned (so to speak)? He believed God could deliver despite the odds, for God was greater than all the military might combined. And he believed that God had approved his mission to the Philistine outpost.
And what happened next suggests that Jonathan alone was right to trust God in his action. The earth shook at the point of Jonathan's outpost victory, causing the whole Philistine army collectively to have a "panic attack," perhaps in part because they remembered stories of what the Israelite God has done.
Panic can make one do strange or unwise things. The Philistines fought each other in the confusion (v. 20). The then-emboldened Israelite deserters rejoined their fellows in attacking the Philistines, and the Philistines were defeated in their terror.
Thus the story is written to imply that the Lord saved "by few," that is by the hand of Jonathan and his armor bearer. The Philistine terror was a test of faith in the God who delivers by many or by few.
Thus the story prods us in honesty to admit that we are obliged to rise above our fears and to act in faith as Jonathan did.
The story also warns us that our faith must be acted out in ways that the Lord approves or according to His directions. Had Jonathan fought the Philistine outpost when the Lord wanted them to refrain, Jonathan would have acted foolishly and without the Lord. No doubt Jonathan would have been defeated and would have provoked Philistine retribution.
Indeed, Jonathan's father Saul in fear had offered sacrifice in a way contrary to what the Lord had said (1 Samuel 13:7-14), hoping for the Lord's blessing by blatantly disobeying the Lord.
If we exercise our religion in ways contrary to what God has directed, God will not bless our self-centered endeavors.
But in principle, when a Christian is afraid, the solution is to believe and act upon what God says despite the army of problems we may see around us. If we can trust God with our very lives as Jonathan did, surely we can also trust Him for lesser matters.
God can deliver by many or by few, and when He delivers a Christian, that Christian has trusted and obeyed God. Do not let fear conquer faith.
