Better than the Ark

“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.” (1Sa 14:18-19 AV)

Saul was set to repeat a mistake Israel made a generation ago.  Eli allowed the ark to be taken to a battle and lost it.  This idea that God would bless simply because of the presence of the ark was hard to change.  The ark was not a good luck charm.  It didn’t work the first time because there was sin in the camp.  The ark was lost.  It wasn’t needed here because the faith of one man, Jonathan, was sufficient to the need.  All the LORD requires is obedience and faith.  If we have these two, there is no need for a good luck charm.

Jonathan was tired of the lack of faith and inactivity of the men of Israel.  His father had stalled in their efforts to overtake the Philistines.  They were waiting around for some kind of decision to be made.  This was Saul’s greatest fault.  He was a lousy leader.  He couldn’t make decisions and when he did, they were usually the wrong ones.  Jonathan was not wired that way.  He saw an opportunity and decided to trust the LORD.  The opportunity was a huge strategic one.  The Philistines were on top of a steep incline.  They had Jews who were living among them.  Jonathan knew if he could gain the upper hand, his fellow compatriots would switch loyalties and join the battle.  So, he devised a brilliant scheme to ascend the steep incline on his hands and feet, thus remaining low.  The Philistines would swing their swords in his direction thinking he was high.  They would strike each other.  This is what happened in verse twenty.  For Jonathan to trust the LORD and make himself extremely vulnerable took a whole lot of faith.  His fellow citizens, seeing the faith of the king’s son, were persuaded to assist.  For this battle to be won, they need not bring a piece of the tabernacle.  God is everywhere.  Not just at the ark.  All it took was a little faith.

We make serving the LORD by faith far more complicated than it needs to be.  We are insecure.  We need our fail-safes.  We cannot step out unless we have all that we think we need.  We have a hard time trusting the LORD unless that which we relied upon in the past comes with us in the future.  We want assurances far beyond that which the LORD is willing to provide.  We cannot cease to trust the LORD alone!  This is what Jonathan was willing to do and what his father repeatedly failed to do.  Jonathan would have made a far better king than his father.  This is what faith is and this is what faith accomplishes.  Those willing to trust the LORD without having some kind of fallback or security blanket often see God work in ways the rest of us never will.  I think of our missionaries who are on foreign fields, serving the LORD with little to no assurances.  These men are true men of faith.  Especially in these hard times.  Upon what are we relying?  Do we trust the LORD above all else?  Or, do we need extra assurances just in case the LORD isn’t up to the task?