LESSON LVII.

JONATHAN'S VENTURE.

B.C. 1094.—I SAMUEL xiv. I—15.

Now it came to pass upon a day, that Jonathan the son of Saul said unto the young man that bare his armour, Come, and let us go over to the Philistines' garrison, that is on the other side. But he told not his father.

And Saul tarried in the uttermost part of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree which is in Migron: and the people that were with him were about six hundred men ;

And Ahiah, the son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, the son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD'S priest in Shiloh, wearing an ephod. And the people knew not that Jonathan was gone.

And between the passages, by which Jonathan sought to go over unto the Philistines' garrison, there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side: and the name of the one was Bozez,* and the name of the other Seneh.+

The forefront of the one was situate northward over against Michmash, and the other southward over against Gibeah.

And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armour, 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.

And his armour-bearer said unto him, Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee; behold, I am with thee according to thy heart.

Then said Jonathan, Behold, we will pass over unto these men, and we will discover ourselves unto them.

If they say thus unto us, Tarry until we come to you; then we will stand still in our place, and will not go up unto them.

But if they say thus, Come up unto us; then we will go up: for the LORD hath delivered them into our hand: and this shall be a sign unto us. And both of them discovered themselves unto the garrison of the Philistines and the Philistines said, Behold, the Hebrews come forth out of the holes where they had hid themselves.

And the men of the garrison answered Jonathan and his armour-bearer, and said, Come up to us, and we will shew you a thing. And Jonathan said unto his armour-bearer, Come up after me: for the LORD hath delivered them into the hand of Israel.

And Jonathan climbed up upon his hands and upon his feet, and his armour-bearer after him: and they fell before Jonathan; and his armourbearer slew after him.

* Shining.

Either a tooth or a thorn.

And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armour-bearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half-acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.

And there was a trembling in the host, in the field, and among all the people the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled, and the earth quaked: so it was a very great trembling.

COMMENT.-After Samuel had spoken the sentence upon Saul, a time of great distress came on Israel. Saul had provoked the Philistines, but was not strong enough to resist the overpowering force they brought upon him. He had gone back to his rocky home at Gibeah, where Samuel was with him, and the high priest, Eli's grandson, with the ephod, containing the Urim and Thummim, and the ark of the covenant itself brought from Kirjath-jearim; for Gibeah seems to have been the only safe place left in all the country, and there were only six hundred men to guard that. The camp of the Philistines was on the opposite hill, and their bands of plunderers were to be seen winding along the valleys, and driving back the spoil. Moreover, following the policy described in Deborah's song, they had taken away all the weapons of the Israelites, and deprived them of all their smiths, so that they were forced to come into Philistia to get their tools for husbandry sharpened. No one even in the little camp at Gibeah had a sword or a spear but Saul and Jonathan. The rest had only axes and ox-goads-strong poles ten feet long, with an edge like a chisel at the end-such as Shamgar had once slain 600 men with. But all was discouragement when Saul had in his self-will and impatience lost the favour of God, and knew that if he reigned, it would be only for his own lifetime-he might not found a family. The hope with which he had been chosen seemed to have passed away-when, behold, the first brave effort for deliverance came from the very person on whom, though innocent, Samuel's sentence seemed to weigh most heavily, namely, Saul's eldest son, Jonathan.

Jonathan had not sinned, so his heart was free to dare; and though he knew he was not to be king, his love for his people and for the honour of God filled him with zeal; and thus there is no hero to be found shining with more pure and unselfish fame than Jonathan the son of Saul.

The stronghold of Saul at Gibeah and the camp of the Philis

tines at Michmash were divided by a passage or pass-that is, a long winding gorge or ravine, called in the East a wady-shut in by nearly perpendicular cliffs, with a flat space above: on one side named the "Shining," no doubt from the white chalk of which they were composed; on the other by a word either referring to their sharpness or to the acacia thorns growing on them.

Along this gorge Jonathan with his attendant crept secretly, at first, it appears, only to reconnoitre; but by and by, as he beheld the careless case of the enemy, a thought of daring enterprise came upon him. He and his armour-bearer would endeavour to surprise the whole camp. "There is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or by few," said Jonathan. Had it not been promised that one man should put a thousand to flight? He had the secret of courage and victory. Still, in order to be certain whether he were doing the will of God, he resolved that only if the Philistines should call to him to come up he would go ; if they only shouted to him to wait for them to seize him, he would return. But when he and his armour-bearer made themselves visible, there was a shout of derision at the Hebrews creeping out of their caves and holes, and the Philistines called to them, “Come up, and we will tell you something "-deeming them wandering peasants. It was the token Jonathan waited for, A mountaineer from his birth, he climbed up the crags, and in a moment, with his one attendant, fell upon the utterly unprepared enemy, who of course thought a whole troop were upon them; and while twenty men were actually slain by these two, there was a trembling or panic throughout the whole camp, and no one had the perception to turn and see how few the assailants were. The terror was as complete as that which Gideon's night attack had spread among the Midianites.

LESSON LVIII.

THE ROUT OF MICHMASH.

B.C. 1094.—I SAMUEL xiv. 16-35.

And the watchmen of Saul in Gibeah of Benjamin looked; and, behold, the multitude melted away, and they went on beating down one another.

Then said Saul unto the people that were with him, Number now, and see who is gone from us. And when they had numbered, behold, Jona

than and his armour-bearer were not there.

And Saul said unto Ahiah, Bring hither the ark of God. For the ark of God was at that time with the children of Israel.

And it came to pass, while Saul talked unto the priest, that the noise that was in the host of the Philistines went on and increased: and Saul said unto the priest, Withdraw thine hand.

And Saul and all the people that were with him assembled themselves, and they came to the battle: and, behold, every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture.

Moreover the Hebrews that were with the Philistines before that time, which went up with them into the camp from the country round about, even they also turned to be with the Israelites that were with Saul and Jonathan.

Likewise all the men of Israel which had hid themselves in mount Ephraim, when they heard that the Philistines fled, even they also followed hard after them in the battle.

So the LORD saved Israel that day: and the battle passed over unto Beth-aven.

*

And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of the people tasted any food.

And all they of the land came to a wood; and there was honey upon the ground.

And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth : for the people feared the oath.

But Jonathan heard not when his father charged the people with the oath wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes were enlightened.

Then answered one of the people, and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day. And the people were faint.

Laid an oatn on.

Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened,* because I tasted a little of this honey.

How much more, if haply the people had eaten freely to-day of the spoil of their enemies which they found? for had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines?

And they smote the Philistines that day from Michmash to Aijalon : and the people were very faint.

And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood.

Then they told Saul, saying, Behold the people sin against the LORD, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, Ye have transgressed : roll a

great stone unto me this day.

And Saul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say unto them, Bring me hither every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here, and eat; and sin not against the LORD in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there.

And Saul built an altar unto the LORD: the same was the first altar that he built unto the LORD.

COMMENT.-Saul had his sentries in his camp at Gibeah, where he sat under a pomegranate tree. Suddenly they saw a strange disturbance in the opposite camp. The Philistines seemed to be beating down one another and melting away! The king, in his amazement, first demanded who was missing in his little army. His six hundred men were soon told over, and nobody was wanting but Jonathan and his armour-bearer! Then the king called for the high priest that he might obtain direction from the Lord; but as the noise and confusion among the enemy increased, he again lacked patience, and broke off his inquiry with hasty disrespect. In truth, his brave son had won the victory for him. The Philistines, not knowing who hurt them, were striking at each other; and the Israelites in the camp, who had either joined them as allies or been captured by them as slaves, turned upon them, while all the rest of the people, who had hid themselves in the thickets and caves of Mount Ephraim, took heart and rushed out to complete the discomfiture of the flying enemy.

Saul saw that the honour of the day had been gained without him. He was carried along by the passionate eagerness that had made him break off his inquiry of the Lord; he laid the men under a

* I have been refreshed.