perhaps the Lord will help us

Yesterday’s LifeJournal reading took me to one of my favoritest places in the Old Testament.  Israel is at war with the Philistines, and King Saul is leading Israel.Jonathan (son of Saul) and his armor-bearer are off by themselves when an idea pops into Jonathan’s head.  He…has…a plan…

Here’s what he lays out for his armor-bearer:  Let’s go over to the Philistines. Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few! We will cross over and let them see us. If they say to us, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you,’ then we will stop and not go up to them. But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight,’ then we will go up. That will be the Lord’s sign that he will help us defeat them.

Now here’s the rub: they had to pass between 2 cliffs, and the Philistines were at the top of one of those cliffs.  In order to get to the enemy, they’d have to climb the cliff using their hands and feet.  Can you imagine how tired they’d be when they got to the top?  And would the enemy even wait for them to reach the summit?  If I was the enemy, I’d toss rocks down on their heads as they climbed.  And to make matters worse, there were only two swords in all Israel.  Fortunately, Jonathan had one of them.  Bummer for the armor-bearer, I guess.

And all of this based on the idea that “perhaps the Lord will hep us…”

Here’s the amazing part:  Jonathan’s armor-bearer said, “Do what you think is best. I’m with you completely, whatever you decide.”

They walked out, got invited up by their enemy, climbed the cliff, killed 20 men, and sent the entire Philistine army into a panic.  Just like that…

I used to think that I should try to be like Jonathan–daring, bold, risky, expecting God to move on my behalf.  But as I read the passage yesterday, I found myself wondering if I could be a bit more like the unnamed armor-bearer.  He stands behind the man he’s sworn to protect and serve.  He believes in the man who comes up with the plan.  He rises to the occasion and throws down against some incredible odds.  And he never even gets his name in the paper, er, the Bible!  Serving faithfully no matter what the cost, supporting and defending my friend, not for my glory or recognition…

Oh Lord, let me have the faith and fight of an unnamed armor-bearer!