Prophesy and Panic

 DEVOTION

1^ST SAMUEL

PROPHESY AND PANIC

1 Samuel 14:8-15

8 Jonathan said, "Come, then; we will cross over toward the men and let them see us. 9 If they say to us, 'Wait there until we come to you,' we will stay where we are and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, 'Come up to us,' we will climb up, because that will be our sign that the LORD has given them into our hands." 11 So both of them showed themselves to the Philistine outpost. "Look!" said the Philistines. "The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes they were hiding in." 12 The men of the outpost shouted to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, "Come up to us and we'll teach you a lesson." So Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Climb up after me; the LORD has given them into the hand of Israel." 13 Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer right behind him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer followed and killed behind him. 14 In that first attack Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed some twenty men in an area of about half an acre.   15 Then panic struck the whole army — those in the camp and field, and those in the outposts and raiding parties — and the ground shook. It was a panic sent by God.  

NIV

Two nuggets of truth are within this portion of the narrative about Jonathan and his armor-bearer. First, we believe that Jonathan was empowered with the gift of prophecy, as he made those choices that the Philistines would make once they saw Jonathan and his armor-bearer. If the Philistines told them to come up to them, Jonathan knew the LORD had given them into their hands. It was, in some sense, a fleece, but it was more of a prophetic declaration given to him by the LORD. God knew what was going to happen, and that he would give the Philistines into the hands of Jonathan and his armor-bearer, and he knew the response of the Philistines once they saw Jonathan and his armor-bearer. This is why we should trust the leading of the Spirit within us, because He knows the outcome of our actions and words before we act or speak. It is when we act or speak out of our own accord is when we can get into trouble or troubled times. It is always best to consult with the Spirit, then, knowing his plan, we can move forward with confidence, and our actions or speech will be successfully received. The second nugget of truth is about the panic of the whole Philistine army. Of course, the LORD gave them into the hands of Jonathan and his armor-bearer, as with the first attack together they killed some twenty men in an area about half an acre. Interestingly, on a side note, the Hebrew word defines the area as half a yoke, with a yoke being the amount of ground a farmer with a pair of oxen can plow a field in a day. However, the truth we want to focus on is that the whole army was sent into a panic because the ground shook, and the panic was sent by God. Who may ascend the hill of God, only he who has clean hands and a pure heart. The wicked, in this case, the Philistines, cannot ascend the hill of God, but are in absolute panic at the presence of God as he shakes the ground beneath them. We see this present world in panic because of the power of God. However, their panic has driven them to deny the existence of God and readily accept false gods and the people who serve them. There are whole areas of our country that have even elected officials who serve a false god, who has no ears to hear, eyes to see, or a mouth to speak, and no power to control any part of the earth. This is a full panic mode because even if they say they refuse to accept God, they are afraid of his power and his authority over them. It is if they are saying, “let us ignore God and find a god that has no power over us, then we can make our own rules.” However, a day is coming when the world will be full of panic because of God. The day with Jesus appears in the sky, and calls the believers up to meet him, it will be the worst day of panic for the wicked, as not only will we rise up, but the ground will quake as the dead rise from the graves all over the world. We can warn them of their impending panic, but will they listen? They will panic, but we will be at peace.