One 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.
Israel was under Philistine power, and the king sat still with six hundred men. Then one man set out for the enemy outpost with no orders and no army, telling only the young man who carried his weapons.
Faith cannot sit still under the state of God's people
Jonathan's move begins not with strategy but with distress. One writer traces the whole action back to what the sight of a defeated Israel does to a believing heart:
J. N. DarbyIt is hard for faith to endure the afflictions of God's people, and the dishonour done to God Himself in them. Jonathan does not endure it. He has faith in the God of Israel, and he makes up his mind to attack the Philistines... The sin of the people of God may have put them under the power of the "uncircumcised." But this cannot put down the rights of God. Such is faith's reasoning. And nothing is more simple.
Two men and one sword
The ground argued against the plan, and so did the numbers:
W. W. FeredayJonathan was distressed by the condition of things in Israel. We have no doubt that prayer lay behind it. One day he said to his armour-bearer, "Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side." It was a step of faith. Two men with only one sword between them, marching out to attack a powerful enemy! Their camp sat on rocky heights that were almost impossible to climb.
Silence toward his father
The verse ends with a gap: Jonathan spoke, but not to the king.
William KellyThis was certainly bold; "but he did not tell his father." No — Saul had his own nature, which led him to keep silent, but Jonathan had faith. There was One to whom he did tell it; but it was not his father. The whole history shows he was dutiful right to the end of his life. That only makes his silence here more striking.
Why he did not ask permission
Others put it plainly: asking a man with no faith would have stopped the plan.
W. W. FeredayThere was no real wish to hide anything, but men who have no faith themselves are apt to discourage and hinder those who have. David would certainly never have gone down into the Valley of Elah if he had listened to Saul (1 Sam. 17:33). The unnamed armour-bearer was a lowly soul. If he shared the same faith, his help was worth more than the approval and backing of a king who had no faith at all.
The same writer applies this to us:
J. N. DarbyOne way we fail again and again is in asking advice from people who do not have the faith or the light we have ourselves. We sink down to their level.
The one man he did tell
Jonathan was silent toward Saul, but he was not alone:
The Christian's FriendHow rare a thing is hearty fellowship in the enterprises of faith! Jonathan enjoyed this priceless blessing in his armour-bearer. The man answered his master: "Do all that is in your heart; turn, behold I am with you according to your heart." Faith can open all its thoughts to such a soul. So Jonathan tells his armour-bearer how he plans to proceed.
Separation, and a heart set on the whole nation
Jonathan walked away from Saul's camp, but not away from Israel:
H. L. RossierBy acting on his own he separates himself from the political and religious world. He is separate from the religious world, because the priest, the ark, the ephod, and the altar were with Saul. But faith has God's secret, which Saul, the priest and the people do not have... On the other hand, he associates himself in thought and in all his actions with Israel. Saul appealed to the "Hebrews"; Jonathan says, "The LORD has delivered them into the hand of Israel."
Opening a path others can walk
The men left behind with Saul were not shut out of the blessing — only from the credit:
Numerical Bible NotesFor a moment we see Saul and his six hundred, as Jonathan turns his back on them... With the priest is the ephod, whose whole purpose is communication with the LORD, but there is none. None of the people even know that Jonathan has gone away. Victory may be gained for these, not by them. They may later walk in a path that others have opened; open it they cannot.
Summary
- Distress starts it. Jonathan does not plan a campaign. He cannot bear the dishonour done to God in His defeated people. That is where faith's reasoning begins.
- Silence guards it. "He did not tell his father" is not disloyalty — he told God instead. Faith that talks its plans over with unbelief usually stops there.
- Fellowship carries it. One armour-bearer with the same heart is worth more than a king with an ephod and no faith.
- Separation frees it. Leaving the camp where all the religious forms sat idle was the very thing that left Jonathan free to act.
- Others gain by it. Jonathan says the LORD delivered the enemy to Israel, not to himself. The six hundred could not open the path, but they could still walk in it.